Material Composition

Even though most people think that authentic casino poker chips made of clay, in reality most of the chips made after 1951 are a composition of materials, which includes clay, that have been compressed into a mold. aswell as clay, the poker chips also can contain an earthen material such as sand or chalk.

The actual process

The actual process of devising the poker chips is kept hush hush, but some details are known. The edges of the chips are differently coloured, not because they are painted, but because tiny pieces of clay are abstracted and replaced with a different color of clay during the process. This is done before the chips have been cut and are still in one long cylinder.

Compression Molding

After the cylinder is cut into poker chips, the inlays are added. This is done before the molding process starts. Inlays are the graphics found on clay chips. They are usually made of paper covered with a very thin layer of plastic. The paper and plastic are put on the chip before the molding process begins.

To mold and compress the chip, each chip is put in its own mold, which is compressed slowly and heats the chip at 305 degrees Fahrenheit. During this time, all the materials are infused, and the inlay is also fused to the chip.

Ceramic and Plastic

Ceramic and plastic chips are also in demand, specially with casual home poker games. Ceramic chips are some of the time called clay chips, but they are truly made from a resin formula (another trade secret) that makes a chip feel and sound like clay when you tap it against the poker tables. These chips are made by injecting the resin into closed molds. Other chips are obviously plastic. These are the least expensive type of poker chips and are made by injecting ABS plastic into a mold. when it dries, they take off the mold and cut around the poker chip to remove any excess. The molds sometimes have a common design imprinted on them so that when the chips are removed, they have that design impressed on them.

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