What is a Dice made of?
What is a Dice made of?
Cheap dice are injection-moulded plastic with painted pips; casino dice are machined cellulose acetate with density-matched fill.
The difference between a casino die and a board game die is a factor of a hundred in precision and it is entirely about fairness. Casino dice are transparent so that a slug of metal cannot be hidden inside, machined true within thousandths of an inch, serial-numbered, and retired after a few hours of play because wear rounds the edges. Ordinary moulded dice are measurably biased — the drilled-and-unfilled pips alone put slightly more mass on the one face than the six. Cellulose acetate also degrades with age, releasing acetic acid and crumbling, which is why decades-old dice smell faintly of vinegar and eventually crack.
Component by component
| Part | Material | Why that material |
|---|---|---|
| casino dice body | cellulose acetate, cast in sheets and sawn to size | It can be cut to a tolerance of about a thousandth of an inch and is transparent, so any inserted weight would be visible. |
| casino pips | drilled holes filled with paint of the same density as the body | Flush, equal-density pips keep the centre of mass exactly at the centre — a hollowed pip on one face biases the roll. |
| consumer dice | injection-moulded ABS or polyester resin with painted or moulded pips | Moulding is fast and cheap, but shrinkage and the gate mark mean the faces are not identical to any useful precision. |
| finish | sharp-edged (razor) for casinos, rounded for everything else | Sharp edges stop dice rolling too far and make them tumble unpredictably; rounded ones roll further and wear evenly. |
Other around the house objects
- Banknote Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
- Lego brick ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- Soap Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- Toothpaste Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- Coin Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- Sunscreen UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- Credit card Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- Candle Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- Lipstick Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour.
- Shampoo Three-quarters water, a primary detergent, a milder secondary one, salt to thicken, and silicone to make hair feel smooth.
- Balloon Party balloons are dipped natural rubber latex; foil balloons are metallised plastic film and are not rubber at all.
- Deodorant Deodorant kills the bacteria that cause the smell; antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to plug the sweat duct. Different products.
Common questions
- What is a Dice made of?
- Cheap dice are injection-moulded plastic with painted pips; casino dice are machined cellulose acetate with density-matched fill.
- What is the casino dice body of a Dice made of?
- Cellulose acetate, cast in sheets and sawn to size. It can be cut to a tolerance of about a thousandth of an inch and is transparent, so any inserted weight would be visible.
- What is the casino pips of a Dice made of?
- Drilled holes filled with paint of the same density as the body. Flush, equal-density pips keep the centre of mass exactly at the centre — a hollowed pip on one face biases the roll.
Related pages
- Banknote Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
- Lego brick ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- Soap Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- Toothpaste Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- Coin Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- Sunscreen UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- Credit card Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- Candle Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- Pencil Stationery and paper
- Tennis ball Sport and games
- Golf ball Sport and games
- Paper Stationery and paper
- Glass Building materials
- Soccer ball Sport and games
Sources
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place