3rd grade at Eagle Point Elementary School (Oakdale, Minnesota)
First Place
I am curious about toothpaste, an item that I use every day. It helps me to maintain my oral health and so I brush my teeth twice every day. Without toothpaste we will have lots of cavities in our teeth. My favorite flavor of toothpaste is Strawberry Bubblegum! Recently I came to know that even ancient Chinese and Egyptians used some kind of toothpaste during their time. Even though it seems like a simple item, toothpastes are made in an interesting way and involve quite a bit of engineering!
Chemical Engineers start the process of making the toothpaste by selecting the materials. This is a very important first step, since it determines the kind of toothpaste that is made. Chemical engineers know about chemistry and the process needed to make them into useful chemicals. Chemicals needed for making toothpaste are binders, water, sweeteners, gum, abrasives, color dyes and others. These are brought to the factory and checked for quality.
Chemical Engineers choose and mix these chemicals in a large metal tank. They add them in certain amounts to make sure that the toothpaste has the desired qualities. Each chemical serves a certain purpose in the toothpaste. Sweeteners are added to get a certain flavor while abrasives (it could be silica which is actually a form of sand) is added to remove stains from our teeth. Thus, Chemical engineers play an important role by selecting the correct chemicals, choosing the right conditions (temperature and pressure) to make the toothpaste mixture.
The mixtures are carried along pipes to another part of the factory. Then color dyes are added. The color dyes can be red or blue. Color is added to toothpaste so that kids like it. Who wants boring white toothpaste, certainly not me! However, we all want sparkling white teeth. Once the dyes are added, we have multicolored toothpaste that almost looks like yummy ice cream!
Mechanical Engineers play a big role in the manufacturing process. They design and build the machines used in the factory. The machines can be mixers, the filler machines and the packaging instruments. The interesting thing here is that the process is mostly automated. The engineers sit in a control room and run the process using computers. Without Mechanical Engineers, it is not possible to run a modern factory even for making an everyday item like toothpaste. They make the factory run smoothly.
Now the toothpaste is ready to be put inside the tube so that we can buy it from the store and use it every day. This important step is known as packaging. Using pumps and syringes, the toothpaste is forced into the tube in desired quantities. The toothpaste is also checked for quality and safety to make sure that the customer is getting a high-quality toothpaste. Quality Control Engineers are involved in this part of the process to make sure we have high-quality toothpaste.
Industrial Engineers also play an important role in the production process. They make careful study of the whole manufacturing process and analysis to ensure that everything is working ok, and that wastage is reduced, and minimal energy is used for the whole workflow. This is called the optimization process and Industrial Engineers are experts in this role.
Once the packaging is complete, the toothpaste cartons are transported to the warehouse and shipped to different parts of the country where we can buy it in different stores. Toothpaste is so important that we can buy it from any store, big or small. Once we buy it, we use it every day until there is no toothpaste left in the tube, which is then thrown away.
Toothpaste might seem like a simple squiggle in a tube, but behind it lies a fascinating tale of science and engineering that keeps our teeth grinning from ear to ear!
These winning entries in the 2024 EngineerGirl Writing Contest showcase the lifecycle of everyday items and the types of engineering involved along the way. Congratulations to all winners and finalists!
