How chipboards are made: equipment and manufacturing technology

• May 21, 2019
• Production
• Tatyana K

Among practical and multifunctional wood materials, particle boards or simply chipboards occupy a special place. Their production can take place both in large wood processing plants and at home.

Purpose

Chipboard is an environmentally friendly, easy-to-process, functional material, and also a high-tech alternative solution to solid wood. It is used to sheathe walls, roofs, make wall panels, create carpet or linoleum flooring, flooring, various partitions, make a wide variety of furniture, packaging, construct enclosing arrays, and decorate interior spaces. What is the production technology for chipboard? How is it made at home? Let's look at these questions later in the article.

History of origin

Chipboard was first used in the post-war period, when a huge amount of resources was required to restore destroyed buildings. The high cost of natural wood has prompted furniture manufacturers to look for alternative options. Numerous experiments in this area led to the invention of a material that consisted of almost 90% waste materials and waste from the wood processing industry.

Previously, wood shavings were burned along with other waste, but later found a new purpose. Over time, the production of chipboard has improved and today this material occupies a leading position in the furniture industry.

What is chipboard made of?

The basis for the production of particle boards is a process in which sawdust is mixed with a special adhesive mass and the resulting mixture is pressed under high pressure and high temperature. The great advantage of making chipboard is the use of sawmill waste.

Pressed slabs have good strength, created by mixing the sawdust mixture with glue (resin) hardened to the state of stone. To produce environmentally friendly types of material, an adhesive mass of minimal toxicity is used.

The production of chipboards can occur on a small scale. In general, only the size of the produced slabs is limited, which should be no more than 50 x 50 centimeters.

The production of chipboard at home is the same process as on an industrial scale, but in miniature. All stages where automation should be involved are replaced by manual work.

conclusions

Even though there may already be large competitors on the market who are most likely not interested in your active development, you should not miss the opportunity to make yourself known through advertising. This should be approached with maximum responsibility, since the initial starting potential for the business will depend on its quality organization and implementation.

With a successful start, you can fully count on further development and prosperity. Promotion can be organized using all available methods, and first of all, we should talk about the possibilities of the Internet: with the help of such advertising, target clients will be found from the very first day of launching an information campaign.

It is worth noting that the production of laminated chipboard requires a fairly large initial capital, but the invested funds will pay off in just one or two years.

How to make chipboard at home

Let's consider the sequence of chipboard manufacturing:

• first, the sawdust mass is mixed in a medium-sized container (from 10 to 15 l);
• then the adhesive solution is added, you need to make sure that the sawdust is completely saturated;
• shaped into tiles under high pressure;
• Then, using high temperature, the workpieces are pressed; this process requires special equipment;
• The manufactured slab is cooled in air, and its edges are trimmed.

Surface lamination is carried out in the same baking press that is used in the production of uncut blanks. You can purchase a ready-made special laminate for chipboard, which can be “baked” to the surface in a certain way using an iron. Such coatings have a beneficial effect on the appearance of wood boards, but are not considered a full-fledged laminate layer.

Storage Features

Storage areas for chipboards should be dry, warm, with good ventilation and humidity not exceeding 65%. This is due to the fact that when exposed to moisture, the sheets become deformed, lose their density and appearance. Direct sunlight and heating pipes in close proximity to the products also cause loss of shape.

Another condition that ensures the preservation of appearance and physical and mechanical characteristics is the location of the product in a strictly horizontal plane.

Equipment list

The full list of equipment for chipboard production includes:

1. Mixers, which are needed in order to obtain a homogeneous mixture made from sawdust and an adhesive (usually a resin with special impurities to create a solid structure).
2. Forming devices are necessary to impart viscosity and shape to the mixture.
3. High temperature pressing equipment and machines.
4. Coolers are used to make hot chipboards cool faster.
5. Edge trimming devices that remove the edge from slabs.
6. Grinding machines make the formed surface smooth.

The functionality of all equipment in large-scale production is ensured automatically. The quality of work is controlled by maintaining the mechanism settings at the required level.

All of the wood-based panel manufacturing equipment listed earlier is suitable for the job, assuming ready-made raw materials are available.

If you plan to use your own raw material in the manufacture of chipboards, then the equipment must be supplemented with auxiliary equipment, such as cutting machines, chopping mechanisms, mills and planing machines.

Among other things, additional equipment that will improve the manufacturability of wood-based panels includes conveyors, tables equipped with lifting mechanisms, ventilation systems necessary to remove sanding dust, drying chambers and conveyors. Let's look at how chipboard is made.

Workshop requirements

Considering that the production line is very bulky and multi-component, it is not advisable to look for a space less than 500 m2. In addition to the large area, there are a number of conditions that the workshop must meet:

• distance from residential areas;
• equipping with utilities, including heating, ventilation, power supply, cold and hot water supply and sewerage systems;
• full compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards and fire safety requirements;
• separate room for each production process;
• additional space for warehouses for raw materials and finished products.

Manufacturing sequence

The manufacturing steps are as follows:

• first you need to find raw materials, sawdust and wood chips in the warehouse;
• then the raw materials are prepared for work by grinding;
• the materials are dried to obtain a suitable consistency for gluing;
• chips are sifted using automated sieves and sorted depending on size;
• larger and smaller chips are mixed with each other;
• a resin adhesive is added;
• the viscous mixture is sent to a molding machine, which forms wood boards;
• Chipboard is pressed under high pressure and high temperature;
• the plates are cooled;
• the edge is trimmed, and the resulting workpieces are sawn into pieces of the required size.

So, we looked at how chipboard is made. Sanding this material is necessary as the final step in the manufacturing process. It is the level and quality of grinding that directly determines what grade the finished product will be classified as. First grade chipboards should not have scratches, stains, insufficient sanding, or waves on the surface.

The necessary parameters of wood boards are controlled both during production and after the chipboards are ready. The manufactured sheets are stored in blocks, which are laid on special wooden pallets - pallets.

Recruitment

The most responsible and important employee of the workshop is the technologist. A streamlined work process, control and correction of operations depends on his qualifications.

There are several employees under his subordination. So, for example, for equipment with a capacity of up to 300 sheets per shift, 4–5 people will be required. The more powerful the line, the more maintenance personnel will be needed.

Taking into account the size of the premises and the industrial volume of the business, the services of an accountant, driver, security guard and cleaner will be required.

Milling process

Creating shaped surfaces from the inside and processing corners from the outside is done during the milling process. A cutter is a cutter equipped with teeth; it usually has any regular shape (for example, a cone or trapezoid). Particle boards require processing along the entire thickness, which differs from processing harder materials. This is necessary to prevent accidental chips from appearing.

Before you start milling, you need to prepare. To do this, you need to cut out the contours of the planned figures in advance using a jigsaw or saw. They are usually processed manually or using a stationary milling cutter. In this way, cylindrical and oval-shaped holes of any size are obtained, which ensures an aesthetically pleasing appearance of the finished slab.

Possible difficulties

If we take into account all the parameters of the necessary equipment, then you will need to spend 44,000-100,000 rubles on the machine. Certain problems may arise with impregnation and drying equipment, since it is not sold anywhere, it can only be purchased by special order.

In addition, already existing well-promoted enterprises may not allow your business to develop, since you will take away their profits. The press will require another three to four million rubles. You will need to hire several workers and also advertise.

What is the process of chipboard lamination?

Considering how chipboard is made, let's take a closer look at the lamination process. Any furniture, including cabinets, kitchen units of any class, is made from wood boards, the surface of which has undergone a special stage of processing and has been laminated with special materials necessary to protect the product, as well as create a more aesthetic appearance. These products are called laminated chipboard or expanded laminated chipboard.

To laminate a product, it is necessary to apply a stable coating to its surface, which improves the appearance; no additional processing is required.

The main stages of the wood board lamination process are as follows:

1. First, the highest quality material is selected, the most durable and dense products that have low humidity.
2. The chipboard is coated with a primer to ensure the best adhesion of the laminate;
3. Now several layers of paper are applied (no more than three), which are impregnated with a resin mixture. With the help of paper, the product will be more durable, and painting the outer part creates an aesthetically attractive appearance of the slab. The process of creating layers is accompanied by compression at high temperatures.
4. Next, the product is quickly cooled, sometimes with the help of watering.

The surface of the particle board must be carefully polished before it is laminated. If even small roughness and uneven places remain, this can lead to deterioration of the laminate layer and, accordingly, the product will be rejected. The process of laminating with your own hands at home is very difficult to produce with high quality, so often already processed, industrially made laminated chipboards are purchased for subsequent use.

Chipboard production – competent business organization

Even a child understands that specialized equipment is required to make something. In this case it is also necessary. The production of laminated chipboards cannot be organized without the following tools:

• Special drying machine. It is used to make laminated paper.
• Press. It is used to press chipboard with such paper.
• Calibrating and grinding machine (it affects the quality of the resulting surface).

So, you need not only basic equipment for chipboard lamination, but also accompanying equipment. First of all, we can talk about a device designed for preparing an adhesive base, which is then poured into molds and pressed into slabs.

Flaws

1. The presence of formaldehyde resins. The composition that binds small wood shavings releases a certain amount of formaldehyde into the air, which is not entirely safe for health. Despite the insignificant amount emitted by laminated chipboard, some types of this material are not recommended for use in the manufacture of furniture for a children's room.

2. Impossibility of fine processing. Due to its hard and heterogeneous structure, laminated chipboard cannot be subjected to fine processing - milling. It is impossible to make curly and elegant parts from it.

3. Susceptibility to swelling. With the exception of moisture-resistant types of laminated chipboard, this material swells when exposed to moisture. However, the PVC edge on the end elements performs a protective function and prevents moisture from entering the material. Swelling occurs only with prolonged contact with water.

Raw material supplies

Most likely, no one will have problems with the supply of waste wood for chips. If 10-15 years ago such waste was sold to the population as firewood, now owners of sawmills and woodworking industries will be only too happy to get rid of it. If you're lucky, you might even get paid extra for it.

Thermoactive resins can be purchased in any quantity at manufacturing plants in Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod - in almost every region of the country. Many entrepreneurs involved in the production of chipboards and related businesses prefer to order thermoactive resin from China. With large volumes of the batch it turns out to be somewhat cheaper than at home. By the way, you can find out what kind of business you can do with China in this source – https://business-poisk.com/chto-prodavat-v-internete-chast-2-top-6-tovarov-iz-kitaya-na -kotoryiy-horoshiy-spros.html.