How Are Billiard Balls Manufactured?
Billiards is a game played in nearly every country around the world. Compared with other sports and games, billiards has more amateur players than any other pastime. Billiards is also one of the only games that can be played by almost anyone at any age, resulting in an activity that can be enjoyed and improved upon for your entire life. However, it is surprising that very few billiards players, even the professionals, have any idea about how the balls are manufactured.
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Historical Perspective
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The game of billiards, around since the early 1600s, has evolved significantly over the centuries. As technology has improved, so has the hardware used to play the game. Initially, billiard balls were made from clay or wood and colored with oil paints. However, significant difficulty existed when manufacturers attempted to find pieces of wood without imperfections that could be shaped into perfectly round spheres. Also, the clay balls were often damaged with age and the abuse sustained during games. In the mid-1600s, the most common material used to manufacture billiard balls was ivory. However, the decreasing elephant population and increasing cost of acquiring ivory led to the search for alternative substances.
Today's Technology
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Today, billiard balls are made from a compound called phenolic resin, an extremely hard polymer that can be shaped by modern machines into perfectly round spheres that resist dramatic impact and abuse. Because phenolic resin is relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain for those companies in the plastic manufacturing industry, the average cost of a set of billiard balls has decreased dramatically over the past several decades.
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Manufacturing Process
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Billiard balls are initially manufactured by creating a small cured resin core that is approximately 2 inches in diameter. This core is then covered with yet another coating of hardened resin using machines that ensure a perfect sphere without any pockets of air or other contaminating debris. It is during this process that any inlays are added to the balls, including colors, numbers and stripes. At the conclusion of the coating process, the balls are fed into special polishing machines that rotate and buff them at high speeds, adding specialized chemicals that bring the outer layer finish to a near-mirror shine.
Available Options
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Modern chemical and mechanical processes have made the creation of billiard balls fast and simple. Instead of the process taking months, it now takes weeks or even days to generate a set of billiard balls. Additionally, the machines used in layering the balls have the ability to inlay different designs below the clear surface, leading to the ability of consumers to buy customized balls. Many billiard ball manufacturers create sets of balls with intricate designs, sports team logos and corporate logos. You can buy billiard balls with your own designs inlaid into the balls.
Top Manufacturers
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Dozens of billiard ball manufacturing companies exist, all offering sets of average quality and moderately priced balls. However, there are two major companies with solid reputations for designing and manufacturing equipment and supplies. Aramith is one of the oldest and largest providers of pool and billiard supplies, primarily for the professional circuits. Brunswick is one of the oldest and largest providers of supplies, primarily for the amateur realm, which includes commercial pool halls and residential tables.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Dave Walker
