How volleyballs are made

Inside a volleyball is a rubber balloon wrapped in thread, so the ball stays round when it is pumped up.

stations: 5
things upstream: 53
raw sources: 14
steps from the ground: 8

The short version

Factories build a volleyball from the inside out. A rubber bladder is molded into a sphere and wrapped in nylon or polyester thread so it stays round. Cover panels, 18 on most balls, are cut and either coated with adhesive for bonding or prepared for stitching. The panels join over the lining, and each ball is inflated and left for 24 hours to reveal leaks before weight and roundness checks.

Mold the bladder

Butyl or latex rubber is molded into the sphere that holds the air. Butyl keeps its pressure for far longer.

Goes in
Vulcanized rubber
Wind on the lining

Layers of nylon or polyester thread and cloth wrap the inflated bladder, keeping the ball from going lumpy under pressure.

Goes in
Nylon Polyester
Cut the cover panels

PU, TPU or PVC cover material is cut into precise shapes, then coated with adhesive or readied for the needle according to the ball's grade.

Goes in
Polyurethane PVC
Bond or stitch the cover

For match balls the panels are glued straight to the lining, leaving no visible seam. Training balls are machine stitched, almost always in PVC tough enough to hold thread.

Goes in
Adhesive Sewing thread
Inflate and hold

Every ball is pumped up and left for 24 hours to expose leaks, then checked for roundness and weight against official limits.

End of the lineVolleyball

Worth repeating

The earliest volleyballs were leather panels over a rubber carcass.
Beach volleyballs are slightly larger than indoor balls, with a coarser texture and lower internal pressure.