## Forward *Testing the erasers as I have in this experiment has given ==mostly accurate answers== to my goal. However, ==the tests were performed without the use of any mechanical devices that would remove the human element==, as such I cannot definitively confirm that this list is 100% accurate. My ongoing goal is to recreate the tests after designing a mechanical system to remove the human element during testing. A part of this is creating a system to deposit graphite on paper in equal amounts and consistent pressures, this will be accomplished during my experiment to determine the best 0.5mm pencil graphite. [[Mechanical Pencils|Here]]. Grading for the future test will include highly accurate determinations based on camera sensor data rather than "eyeballing" it as I have done here.* ## Abstract Testing 8 popular erasers in a uniform method has allowed the collection of empirical data to determine the correct eraser to purchase for your needs. The highest rated eraser is [[#Amazon Basics Eraser]] based on the score achieved in the grading [[#4. The Rubric|rubric]]. The second highest scoring eraser is the [[#Pentel Hi-Polymer]] with the fastest erasing and the second most efficient use of the erasers mass. See [[#4-a. Crumbs|Crumbs]]. # 1. Introduction Creating a uniform testing method for various pencil erasers and cataloging the results in an easy to decipher database will allow for effective and efficient determination of which product to purchase. This data base shall be easy to maintain, update and add new products. Having empirical data and knowing the best pencil eraser will decrease wasted costs and increase productivity. #### Nomenclature | Nomenclature | | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | Fastest, Fast, Speed, Slow | How quickly pencil is erased from the page based on number of swipes. | | Crumbs | The small flakes of eraser that rub off while using it. | | Erase | The effectiveness of the eraser based on how much graphite it removes from the paper. | | Smear | Graphite that is pushed across the paper. | | $C$ | Cost of eraser pack | | $Q$ | Quantity of erasers in pack | | $E$ | Cost per eraser | | $S_n$ | Erase Test | | $R$ | Erase test result | ## 2. Goal My goal is to perform a series of tests with a variety of pencil erasers and determine the "best" one according to the rubric below. ## 3. Method I will conduct a series of 7 active tests and 3 passive tests. These are as follows: - How many crumbs are produced during the last test [[#Crumbs]]? - How many times do I need to drag the eraser across the graphite to erase it adequately? - This consists of 6 experiments defined [[#Erase|Here]]. - Size grading was based purely on subjective opinion. - Cost per eraser determined by ==$C/Q=E$== - $C$ = Cost of the eraser pack - $Q$ = Quantity of erasers in the pack - $E$ = Cost Per Eraser - Smearing test was performed passively while conducting the other experiments, I recognize that I will need to perform this test again when I do the secondary study [[Eraser Testing 2.0|Here.]] #### 4. The Rubric | Test | 1 Point | 2 Points | 3 Points | 4 Points | | ------ | ------------------------------ | ------------- | ------------- | ---------- | | Crumbs | 0.016g-0.022g | 0.031g-0.038g | 0.041g-0.046g | 0.065g + | | Erase | 10+ Avg strokes to erase (STE) | 8+ Avg STE | 6+ Avg STE | 4+ Avg STE | | Size | Tiny | Small | Medium | Large | | Cost | $2+ | $1+ | $0.90+ | $0.80+ | | Smear | Unusable | Small Smear | Smudged | None | #### 4-a. Crumbs By dragging the eraser with constant pressure (or as close as I could without a mechanical device to remove human error) across a distance of 170.4mm 10 times for a total of 1,704mm dragged, I was able to generate and gather all the crumbs produced and weigh them. With 8 results I grouped the data in sets of 2 starting with the lowest weight. 4 points was given to the two lightest weights, 3 points to the next 2 lightest excluding the previous measurements and so on. #### 4-b. Erase By creating a standard set of erase tests I was able to effectively compare their performance against each other. The testing set comprised of six separate shapes that need to be erased. Erase test 1-6 - 1: Regular pressure square with "This is test one." written through it. - 2: A right angle triangle with slightly less pressure than test 1. - 3: An obtuse triangle with still less pressure. - 4: A right angle triangle with less pressure than 3. - 5: A lightly shaded pentagon. - 6: A heavily shaded pentagon. #### 4-c. Size Size was determined mostly from subjective observations. This will be corrected in future experiments. #### 4-d. Cost I scaled the possible points gained based on the range of all the costs of erasers. 1 point was set as the maximum price in the set, 4 points was set as the minimum price in the set. 2 points and 3 points were determined based on the mid points between the minimums and maximums. #### 4-e. Smear Smearing was determined from the amount of graphite that was pushed across the page rather than being erased/removed from the paper properly. # Results The experimental results for the erasers are shown in detail below, overall there are 3 that I would highly recommend. The others in the tests fail on one or multiple criteria causing them to be "not worth the money.". | Eraser Name | Score $x/20$ | Consideration | | ---------------------- | ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Amazon Basics | 18/20 | While this eraser is perfectly functional, it is not the fastest or most effective eraser on the list. The Amazon Basics eraser is in first place purely because it is a functional eraser at an ==extraordinarily good price.== | | Penel Hi-Polymer | 17/20 | This is my true recommendation for anyone or any organization that does not mind spending slightly more money per eraser. It is ==the fastest and most effective eraser== on this list at 11% faster than the runner up for speed Staedtler Exam Dust Free. | | Staedtler Mars Plastic | 17/20 | While this is not the fastest it is the cleanest eraser, ==producing the least amount of crumbs of any tested==. This eraser is roughly 62% slower than the Pentel Hi-Polymer. | ## Amazon Basics Eraser Total points earned: 18 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 4 (0.022g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (4.8 stroke average) | | Size | 4 (Large) | | Cost | 3 ($9/10=$0.90/per) | | Smear | 3 (Smudged) | References: [[#Fig 1 - Amazon Basics]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 10 Strokes 2) 4 Strokes 3) 3 Strokes 4) 2 Strokes 5) 2 Strokes 6) 8 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=4.8$ stroke average ## Pentel Hi-Polymer Total points earned: 17 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 4 (0.022g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (2.8 stroke average) | | Size | 4 (Large) | | Cost | 2 ($2.50/2=$1.25/per) | | Smear | 3 (Smudged) | References:\ [[#Fig 2 - Pentel Hi-Polymer]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 2 Strokes 2) 2 Strokes 3) 1 Strokes 4) 1 Strokes 5) 4 Strokes 6) 7 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=2.8$ stroke average ## Staedtler Mars Plastic Total points earned: 17 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 4 (0.016g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (4.5 stroke average) | | Size | 4 (Large) | | Cost | 2 ($5/4=$1.25/per) | | Smear | 3 (Smudged) | References: [[#Fig 3 - Staedtler Mars Plastic]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 7 Strokes 2) 3 Strokes 3) 2 Strokes 4) 1 Strokes 5) 4 Strokes 6) 10 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=4.5$ stroke average ## Staedtler Exam Dust Free Total points earned: 16 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 3 (0.038g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (3.1 stroke average) | | Size | 4 (Large) | | Cost | 1 ($17/5=$3.4/per) | | Smear | 4 ( None) | References: [[#Fig 4 - Staedtler Exam Dust Free]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 5 Strokes 2) 2 Strokes 3) 1 Strokes 4) 1 Strokes 5) 2 Strokes 6) 8 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=3.1$ stroke average ## Sargent Art Total points earned: 15 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ----------------------- | | Crumbs | 2 (0.041g of crumbs) | | Erase | 3 (6.16 stroke average) | | Size | 2 (Small) | | Cost | 4 ($11.60/20=$0.58/per) | | Smear | 4 (None) | References: [[#Fig 5 - Sargent Art]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 10 Strokes 2) 8 Strokes 3) 3 Strokes 4) 2 Strokes 5) 4 Strokes 6) 10 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=6.16$ stroke average ## Paper Mate Total points earned: 14 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 2 (0.046g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (4.1 stroke average) | | Size | 3 (Medium) | | Cost | 1 ($5.00/2=$2.5/per) | | Smear | 4 (Smudged) | References: [[#Fig 6 - Paper Mate]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 8 Strokes 2) 6 Strokes 3) 3 Strokes 4) 1 Strokes 5) 2 Strokes 6) 5 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=4.1$ stroke average ## Plastic Eraser Total points earned: 13 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 3 (0.031g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (5.5 stroke average) | | Size | 1 (Tiny) | | Cost | 2 ($10/9=$1.11/per) | | Smear | 3 (Smudged) | References: [[#Fig 7 - Plastic Eraser]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 7 Strokes 2) 6 Strokes 3) 3 Strokes 4) 2 Strokes 5) 7 Strokes 6) 8 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=5.5$ stroke average ## Tombow Mono Total points earned: 12 | Test | Points Earned | | ------ | ---------------------- | | Crumbs | 1 (0.065g of crumbs) | | Erase | 4 (3.5 stroke average) | | Size | 3 (Medium) | | Cost | 1 ($6/3=$2.00/per) | | Smear | 3 (Smudged) | References: [[#Fig 8 - Tombow Mono]] [[#4. The Rubric]] [[#Nomenclature]] #### Erase Test 1-6 1) 5 Strokes 2) 2 Strokes 3) 2 Strokes 4) 1 Strokes 5) 3 Strokes 6) 8 Strokes $(S_1+S_2+S_3+S_4+S_5+S_6)/6=R$ $R=3.5$ stroke average # Figures ## Fig 1 - Amazon Basics ![[Amazon Basics.jpg|300]] ## Fig 2 - Pentel Hi-Polymer ![[Pentel Hi-Polymer.jpg|300]] ## Fig 3 - Staedtler Mars Plastic ![[Steadtler Mars Plastic.jpg|300]] ## Fig 4 - Staedtler Exam Dust Free ![[Staedtler Exam Dust Free.jpg|300]] ## Fig 5 - Sargent Art ![[Sargent Art.jpg|300]] ## Fig 6 - Paper Mate ![[paper mate.jpg|300]] ## Fig 7 - Plastic Eraser ![[Plastic Eraser no Name.jpg|300]] ## Fig 8 - Tombow Mono ![[Tombow mono.jpg|300]]