Billiard balls Low-poly 3D model

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Billiard balls, essential for cue sports like carom billiards, pool, and snooker, come in different numbers, types, diameters, colors, and patterns according to the specific game being played. Important ball properties such as hardness, friction coefficient, and resilience affect accuracy. Early balls were made from diverse materials including wood, clay, affordable ox-bone, and highly favored elephant ivory since at least 1627 until early 20th century. By mid-19th century, the demand for high-end billiard balls led to the slaughter of elephants at an alarming rate, with just eight balls made from a single tusk. Dyed and numbered balls appeared around the early 1770s. The billiard industry faced a challenge due to endangered elephant supply and dangerous acquisition methods. A US$10,000 prize was offered for an alternative material, which led John Wesley Hyatt to invent nitrocellulose in 1869, patented as the first American billiard ball material. It was later commercially branded Celluloid, the first industrial plastic by 1870. However, celluloid's instability made it impractical. Subsequently, synthetic materials like Bakelite, Crystallite, and various plastic compounds were experimented with. Today, billiard balls are cast from strongly resistant plastic materials such as phenolic resin by Saluc under the brands Aramith and Brunswick Centennial, while other companies use polyester or clear acrylic. Ivory balls continued to be used in artistic billiards competitions until late 20th century.