Introduction
The Ballpoint pen is an amazing invention that makes writing easy and hassle-free. Its earliest form was in the 19th century when inventors wanted to play around with a pen that could replenish its ink by itself and not be as messy as the fountain pen. It was a very important invention and had a lasting impact on art and writing.
The Ball Bearing
The ball bearing is the main part of the pen and it is the area that holds the tiny ball. It’s usually made of tungsten carbide. Its shape and sides are carefully engineered to direct the ink’s flow and control the amount coming out so that the Ink doesn’t dry out. The ball has to fit perfectly, because if it is too big, then the ball won’t move stopping the pen from refiling its ink, and if the ball is too small, then it will fall out of the bearing or let too much ink out.
The Ink’s Viscosity
In simple terms, viscosity is how much resistance there is in liquid. The Ink in Ballpoint pens has to have enough viscosity to not easily spill out of the pen, but also needs to not have too much because if there’s too much the pen won’t write smoothly. Engineers will usually stick to ink with more viscosity because it dries quicker making it harder to smudge.
The Ink Reservoir
The ink reservoir is the part of the pen that stores the ink. It needs to be designed with constant pressure on the ball bearing so that it doesn’t overload the ball bearing and doesn’t spill ink in air travel.
The Barrel and Grip
The Barrel and the grip are the outer casings of the pen. Engineers worked hard to find shapes for the barrel and grip to make the pen more comfortable.
Click Mechanism
The click mechanism is part of the barrel and is mostly found in retractable pens. However, some pens do not have this part. The click mechanism must be sturdy so that the part with the ball and ink stays inside the pen when you’re not using it.
Conclusion
Ballpoint pens are a reliable kind of pen that is very commonly used. Despite its simple external structure, it is still quite complex on the inside and wasn’t easy to make. Because of this invention, pens became a very popular writing utensil and became easier to use and far less messy.
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