The Stapler, How Is it Made?
Whether its to hold papers together or used to organize yourself, I'm sure all of us have used a stapler once in our life. But have you ever wondered what it's made off or where in the world those resources come from? Since this seems like the end to the story of the stapler, lets look at the resources used, manufacturing process and some other brain puzzlers. All here at Trekker News.
REsources
We often don’t give much thought to the day to day items that shape our lives, such as the stapler. Even more, we take these items and the resources their made of, for granted, as if they will be there forever. Now you may be thinking, well what about water, it’s always going to be there, right? Well take a look.
Renewable Resources
Water, wood and wind are considered renewable resources, a natural resource which can be replenished in a person’s life time. A renewable resource is a natural resource which can be replenished in a person’s life time. Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere.
Non-Renewable Resources
Whereas coal, petroleum and natural gas are considered non-renewable resources. A non-renewable resource (also known as a finite resource) is a resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time-frames. An example is carbon-based, organically-derived fuel. The original organic material, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas.
Manufacturing Process
A stapler comprises many components, most of which are metal stamping and spring type parts. Main components of a typical home or office stapler include the base; the anvil (the metal plate over which you put the document that you want to staple).
Here's a few brain puzzlers about the stapler.
- The hanger (which is welded to the base and holds the pin that connects the magazine and base) and the magazine (which holds the staples); the metal head (which covers the magazine). Rivets are used to keep the parts together, and a pin is the hinge point for the top and bottom half.
- The springs in a stapler typically perform two separate jobs: they keep the row of staples lined up in the track and ready to be used, and they return the plunger blade to its original up position.
There are also rubber and plastic materials used both in enhancing the product and in making the stapler cosmetically appealing. Currently, however, the most popularly used staplers are still those made of metal. Thus, the following focuses solely on the metal stapler and how it is manufactured.
How the metal stapler is made
The parts of a stapler are formed in various ways before coming together to form the finished item. Coil springs such as the follow spring are wound around rods and heat-treated, while leaf springs such as the clearing spring are rolled or bent to their proper shape. Sheet metal parts such as the head and base are typically stamped between a punch and die, while plastic parts can be injection molded.
Stampings are typically made of flat sheet metal material of varying thicknesses that are sandwiched between a punch and die. When the punch pushes on the material, it "shears" a piece of material (the shape of the punch) out of the sheet. A similar principle is applied when using a cookie cutter on rolled-out dough. The pins, stampings, and springs are sub assembled in stages and then assembled together with the upper and lower halves of the stapler frame. The last items to be assembled are the feet lanti-skid rubber pads) and the Snap-On plastic cap. A rivet is usually made of a fairly strong steel material, but it must also have some elasticity. A rivet is designed to hold parts in place just like a screw and nut, except that the rivet is one piece and cannot be easily disassembled. One end typically has a head on it (like a nail or a screw), and the other end is usually hollow (either partially or along the whole length). As required to prevent rust, or for cosmetic reasons, some of the components are painted. The pins, stampings, and springs are sub assembled in stages and then assembled together with the upper and lower halves of the stapler frame.”
After the stapler is created, it is sold and transported to retail stores. The materials and final product are typical transported through trucks and oil tankers which requires petroleum. These objects are used in Offices and Business and schools, for organization and clerical work or personal use. If overused or broken, the staple will be discarded and sent to a garbage dump or landfill. Throwing away those important resources used to make it. Let’s take a look at where the resources where mined.
WHERE ON EARTH ARE THESE RESOURCES FOUND?
The sheet metal in a stapler is made out of aluminum, the most abundant metal element in the Earth’s crust. The largest producers of aluminum metal are Russia, China, the United States, and Canada, countries which have abundant hydroelectric power.” More than 40 other countries also produce aluminum, including Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, and New Zealand. Aluminum may be a common material but it is also environmentally unfriendly one.
Different types of steel and metal are also used in making staplers, depending on the company. The top miners of steel are China, European Union, Japan, United States and India. The top metal miners are South Africa, Russia, Australia, Ukraine, and Guinea. These resources are all non-renewable.
Resources are the building blocks of life, they are found in different forms and are important for the environment and development of countries and the world. You may be asking what can we do to conserve these resources, both renewable and non-renewable? ,Ever heard of reduce, reuse and recycle? Simple acts like remembering to throw your pop can in the recycling bin instead of the garbage, or using scrap paper instead of new paper. Small ways of environmental friendliness can make our world a better place for all of us.
And this ends the special segment of Trekker News, the stapler. We hope you have learned a thing or two about how the stapler is made, what resources are required and most importantly those resources are not there for granted. Both renewable and non-renewable resources are important for our daily lives to run, realizing their value is the first step to protecting them.