Crayola crayons are made through a fascinating process that involves melting, mixing, molding, cooling, and packaging. Here's a step-by-step breakdown:
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Mixing the Ingredients: Paraffin wax is melted and combined with powdered pigments to create the crayon's color. The specific recipe for each color is carefully controlled.
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Pumping into Molds: The melted mixture is then pumped through pipes to a steel mold containing 110 crayon-shaped cavities.
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Filling the Molds: An ejector head fills each cavity with the colored wax mixture.
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Cooling and Hardening: Water circulates around the mold to cool the wax and harden it into solid crayons.
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Ejection: Once hardened, the crayons are ejected from the mold.
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Labeling (Optional): Some crayons are mechanically wrapped with the characteristic Crayola paper label.
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Inspection: The crayons are inspected for any defects.
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Packaging: Finally, the crayons are packaged into boxes of various sizes and color assortments, ready to be shipped and used.