Plate structure type
Nowadays, furniture is generally made of artificial boards, and using solid wood as raw material is relatively rare.
Introduction
Simply put, wood based panels (manufactured boards ) are made of wood or other plant materials as the main raw materials, which are separated into various units through mechanical processing and then joined together with adhesives or other additives.
There are many types of artificial boards , all of which have different characteristics and are widely used in various furniture manufacturing and decoration woodworking fields. Different types of boards have their own grades, which are mainly determined by the wood used, structure and origin of the board. The price and quality will also vary. The following lists only the most commonly used panels in furniture making and home decoration, and their main classifications based on their different structural characteristics.
Solid wood board
Solid Wood Board
What is solid wood board?
Solid wood board is a wood board made from complete natural wood (logs).
The application of this type of board requires very high craftsmanship and is expensive. Nowadays, wood resources are limited and it is rarely used in decoration. Except for floors, doors and some furniture, which may use solid wood boards , we generally use processed artificial boards .
Wood can generally be divided into two categories: hardwood and softwood:
- Hardwood (Hardwood) - Generally speaking, hard and broad-leaved wood, common ones include oak (Oakwood), birch (Birchwood), beech (Beechwood) and so on.
- Softwood — refers to relatively soft coniferous wood, common ones include pinewood, firwood, etc.
Advantages of solid wood board
- Strong and durable, with a service life of decades or more;
- The texture is natural and beautiful, and the texture is excellent;
- High plasticity; curved surfaces, isolated edges and even complex openwork carvings can be produced;
- Less chemical pollution.
Disadvantages of solid wood board
- Expensive
- Poor stability; easily deformed by the dryness and humidity of the climate and the contraction and expansion of indoor temperature.
As large-format log wood resources are becoming more and more precious today, most of the solid wood furniture on the market is made of spliced boards, such as solid wood plywood (solid wood splicing boards/straight boards Edge-Glued Panels) . Solid wood panelling refers to a board made by horizontally splicing small narrow wooden strips with adhesive, and then sanding the top and bottom surfaces or pressing them with hardwood veneer.
Another type of spliced board derived from solid wood is called finger-jointed board (Solid Wood Finger-Jointed Board/Integrated Board/Integrated Wood Finger-Jointed Panels/Finger-Jointed And Edge-Glued Panels/Glued Laminated Panels/Glulam) , which is made up of multiple pieces of wood. The longitudinal direction uses a serrated interface to cross-dock, and the upper and lower surfaces are not glued to the surface. Finger-jointed boards are generally made of fast-growing wood such as pine and fir, and are relatively inexpensive.
Source: Baozhai Wood Industry - Solid Wood Puzzle.
Source: Ecobirch AS – Finger-joined panels.
Plywood / Veneer Core Plywood
Source: Ace Kitchens and Baths, Inc.
What is a splint?
Plywood (core board/core plywood/plywood/solid wood plywood/multi-layer solid wood board/plywood) is mainly composed of three layers (three-ply/three-ply), five layers (five-ply/five-ply) or more odd numbers of thin wooden boards about one millimeter thick, which are arranged at 90 degrees according to the grain direction (straight grain/horizontal grain) of each layer and then joined with adhesive. The more layers there are, the greater the hardness and load-bearing capacity.
- The "plywood" that stores on the market claim to use may also be referring to core boards (core plywood) .
Source: Royal Plywood Company — Grain direction of each plywood layer, above is a five-ply board.
Common thickness specifications of plywood
| 1 split board | 1.25 Board | 2 split boards | 3 points board | 4 points board | 5 points board | 6 split boards | 7 points board | 8 points board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 mm | 3.6 mm | 5 mm | 9 mm | 12 mm | 15 mm | 18 mm | 21 mm | 24 mm |
- The actual thickness of sheets produced by different manufacturers may vary slightly, and the above figures are only approximate.
Advantages of splints
- High hardness, made of thin wood with interlaced grains, making it structurally strong, load-bearing and not easily deformed;
- High moisture resistance, less affected by shrinkage and thermal expansion;
- It is lighter than fiberboard and particleboard .
Disadvantages of splints
- Higher prices;
- Due to the rough surface, it is difficult to paint and the effect is not good, so additional processes such as plastering or additional fiber panel mounting and spraying are required;
- The surface is bonded with fireproof plastic board , aluminum-plastic board and other decorative panels, which are not as stable as medium-density fiberboard .
Blockboard / Lumber Core Plywood
Source: Chiang Leng Hup Plywood Industries Pte Ltd
The core board (core plywood/blockboard/wood core board/wood core board/woodworking board) is made of two pieces of veneer, the upper and lower pieces, glued together and pressed together with a core made of wooden strips in the middle. In terms of the direction of the core material, its longitudinal bending strength is slightly lower, but it has a higher bending strength in the transverse direction. Core boards are widely used in carpentry, furniture, door panels and wall panels in home decoration.
Core boards are generally divided into three-layer or five-layer boards, depending on the number of core material layers plus the bottom surface board layers.
^ The "plywood" that stores in the market claim to use may also refer to core boards (core plywood).
The core of the core board is made of wooden strips, and the above is a three-layer core board.
The following are the main advantages of large core boards:
- The price is lower than that of plywood ;
- Good screw holding force, high overall strength and not easy to deform;
- Light weight, excellent sound absorption and heat insulation;
- On-site construction is convenient; the board specifications are uniform, the requirements for processing equipment are not high, and other fabrics can be pasted.
The following are the main disadvantages of large core boards:
- The price is higher than fiberboard ;
- Affected by thermal expansion and contraction, it may cause warping and deformation;
- The longitudinal bending strength is slightly lower, and long-term stress will cause obvious lateral deformation of the plate, and the strength is not as good as that of plywood ;
- The surface is rough, difficult to paint and the effect is poor, requiring additional processes such as plastering or additional fiber panels for mounting and spraying.
Fiberboard
Source: Fulham Timber Merchants Ltd - MDF.
Fiberboard (compressed board/synthetic board/MDF/dense board/midi board/dense bottom board/high pressure board/quick board) is mainly made of wood fiber or other plant fiber as raw materials, and is formed by adding urea-formaldehyde resin or other adhesives under high temperature and high pressure.
According to their density, they can be divided into:
- High-density fiberboard (HDF / Hardboard) - most commonly used in flooring and also in some furniture making;
- Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) — The most common board material for furniture making. Most fiberboards commonly referred to in the market belong to this category.
- Low Density Fiberboard (LDF / Particleboard / Chipboard) - that is, particleboard or other similar structural boards, commonly found in mass-produced panel furniture.
Source: Perry Babin — MDF (top) vs. particleboard (bottom).
Source: JAS Timber Ltd - High Density Fiberboard.
The main advantages of fiberboard:
- Affordable price;
- Easy to paint and glue finish processing; its smooth surface and fine material characteristics allow all kinds of paint to be evenly applied to the surface, and the painting effect is ideal. In addition, various finishing materials such as veneer, adhesive film, veneer, light metal sheet and even melamine board can also be easily glued to the surface.
- Easy to shape, can be carved and create isolated edge effects;
The main disadvantages of fiberboard:
- Poor moisture resistance, will swell and deform when exposed to water;
- If the load is carried for a long time, it will fall and deform;
- Poor screw gripping force;
- The weight is higher than other man-made panels.
Adding a certain proportion of moisture-resistant particles inside the medium-density fiberboard or particleboard can greatly reduce the expansion of the board when it encounters moisture, thereby achieving a moisture-resistant effect, which is also called moisture-resistant medium-density fiberboard/particleboard (Moisture Resistant MDF/Particleboard) ; the moisture-resistant particles on the board are generally green.
Source: Cut & Construct — Moisture Resistant MDF.
Particleboard / Chipboard
Source: Racking-UK
Particleboard (bagasse board/particle board/chip board/plywood/system board/pattern board) can be classified as low-density fiberboard , which is made of wood or other wood fiber fragments as the main raw material, with adhesives and additives added and then made under high temperature and high pressure. Particleboard is relatively cheap and is particularly common in mass-produced panel furniture.
The so-called " bagasse board " is just a customary name, and early low-quality particle boards did contain bagasse as a material component, but it is quite rare nowadays.
The following are the main advantages of particleboard:
- Cheap price;
- Good sound absorption, sound insulation and heat resistance;
- The surface is flat and the weight is even, so it can achieve ideal veneer effects.
- It is lighter than other fiberboards and easier to carry.
The following are the main disadvantages of particleboard:
- Difficult to mill; the edges of the board are easily damaged or jagged due to cutting, which is not suitable for on-site production;
- Low strength and poor load-bearing capacity, not suitable for making furniture that needs to bear force, and its durability is also lower than other boards;
- Poor moisture resistance, easy to swell and deform when exposed to water;
- Poor screw grip;
- The quality of boards on the market varies.
Another type of particle board is called Oriented Strand Board (OSB / Oriented Strand Board / OSB / Flakeboard), which is an imported board. It is mainly made of small-diameter wood or fast-growing wood. The upper and lower surface particles are arranged longitudinally according to their fiber direction, while the core particles are arranged transversely, forming a three-layer board core structure, which is then mixed with glue and hot-pressed. Its directional paving characteristics give it higher strength in a certain direction, and its general physical properties are better than ordinary particleboard and fiberboard . It can even be regarded as a substitute for plywood and has been widely used as a structural material in North America, Europe, Japan and other places. The application of oriented strand board in local area is not very popular, but its unique texture and appearance have become the reason why some people choose it as the board for decoration woodwork and furniture making.
Source: Granulas.eu — Oriented Strand Board.
Original link: https://www.homeplan.hk/home-decor-information/furniture-design#structure-particleboard