The manufacturing process of plywood has a significant impact on the environment, the economy, and society. Plywood is a widely used construction material that is made from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneers that are glued together to form a strong and durable panel.
A building material called plywood is made of veneers, thin wood layers or plies, joined together by an adhesive. A sheet known as plywood is constructed of thin wood layers. Core refers to these thin layers of wood. These cores are bonded together and layered in alternating directions to create plywood. A very thin layer of wood veneer, sometimes referred to as the face of the ply, covers the front and rear sides.
Plywood comes in two varieties:
1. Softwood Plywood and
2. Hardwood Plywood.
Coniferous species often correspond to softwoods. Firs and pine are the softwoods most frequently used to make plywood. Typically, deciduous species correspond to hardwoods. Common wood species used to make hardwood plywood include oak, poplar, maple, cherry, and larch
Did You Know? The veneers are usually obtained from rotary-cut or sliced logs and are glued together with their grains running perpendicular to each other.
Types of Plywood
Plywood is a type of engineered wood that is made by glueing together thin layers of wood veneer. It is an economical and versatile building material that is used in a variety of applications, including flooring, walls, roofs, and furniture.
Also Read: Best Small Business Ideas Under 1 Lakh
Three main types of plywood are:
1. Hardwood Plywood
These are made by glueing the plies parallel to one another. This technique strengthens and makes plywood more durable. This product is considerably heavier than other types of plywood since hardwoods like birch, oak, and maple are used to manufacture it. It has a hardwood veneer on the front and rear.
You can use hardwood plywood for any piece of furniture that needs a sturdy structure to support its weight.
2. Softwood Plywood
Softwood plywood is produced by manufacturers using softwoods like cedar, redwood, or pine. Although these woods are less robust than other types of plywood, as their name might imply, construction workers, use softwood plywood for sub-flooring, roof sheathing, and exterior frame sheathing.
3. Marine Plywood
Tropical hardwoods are used in producing marine plywood, which has high moisture resistance. Water retention is less likely since the epoxy resins are moisture-resistant, and the hardwoods have less core separation. These resins also repel insect infestations and bed bugs.
In other situations, the planks undergo artificial treatment to render them water, termite, and borer-proof. The binding adhesive on the hardwood is extremely water-resistant, keeping the veneer panels from peeling apart when it comes into contact with water.
Raw Materials for Plywood
The face and the back of the plywood are the two outermost layers. The surface that will be used or seen is the face, whereas the back is left empty or concealed. The core refers to the central layer. The intermediate layers of plywood with five or more plies are referred to as crossbands.
Adhesive Used in Plywood
According to the specific purpose of the finished plywood, the type of adhesive used to join the wood layers together will vary. Because of its superior strength and resistance to moisture, the phenol-formaldehyde resin is frequently used as an adhesive in softwood plywood sheets intended for installation on the exterior of a structure.
Although most softwood interior sheets are now constructed with the same phenol-formaldehyde resin used for exterior sheets, softwood plywood sheets meant for installation on the interior of a structure may still employ a blood protein or soybean protein adhesive.
Hardwood plywood, typically manufactured with urea-formaldehyde resin, is used for interior purposes and furniture construction.
Also Read: Best ideas for starting a small business in Pune
Steps Involved in the Plywood Manufacturing Process
Step-1: Selection of a Log
In the first step, a suitable log is chosen from a selection of tree wood according to the specifications.
Peeler is the name of this log. Peeler is straight and has an adequate diameter because it will likely produce many layers. The mill processes logs that are hauled there from the forest concession.
Step-2: Debarking
Rubber-tired loaders pick up logs from the log decks as needed and then place them on a chain conveyor that transports them to debarking equipment. While the wood is progressively rotated about its long axis, this machine removes the bark using high-pressure water jets or grinding wheels with sharp teeth.
The debarked logs are transported into the mill on a chain conveyor and cut into pieces using a massive circular saw that can produce standard-length sheets.
Step-3: Cutting the Logs
After being debarked, the logs are subsequently cut to size. Cutting logs for plywood manufacturing requires equipment, skilled workers, and attention to detail that ensures the quality and consistency of the finished product.
Step-4: Peeling the Logs
The next step is the peeling process. The debarking technique involves leaving behind markings that are removed using an enormous rotary lathe. The log rotates on the device in opposition to a long blade cutter.
The only difference between cutting and sharpening a pencil is that the blade is parallel to the log when cutting. The lengthy veneer sheet that emerges from the peeling lathe can either be machined immediately, kept in long trays at various levels, or coiled onto rolls.
Step-5: Grading and Sizing
In this case, the wood is sized to a standard 4' x 8' square. The optimal thickness for plywood is between 1/4" and 3¼', however, once the sheets are pressed and glued together, the actual thickness of the finished product is established.
As the sheets emerge from the peeler, they are immediately scanned. Following scanning, it is stacked for transfer to drying ovens.
Step-6: Glue Application
The process of putting up and glueing the pieces together starts once the necessary parts of the veneer are put together for a specific plywood run. Either a human being or a machine could perform this semi-automatically.
The rear veneer is set flat and runs through a glue spreader, which coats the upper surface with glue.
In the simplest scenario use three-ply sheets.
Step-7: Pressing
The moisture content of the veneers also impacts the pressing degree of the plywood and the pressing degree of the plywood as well; a higher moisture content results in a higher pressing degree of the plywood. More moisture is obtained from the plywood pack when the veneer is thinner, increasing the density of the plywood.
Only in the early stages of its application can pressing strengthen plywood. Later, the veneer regains its original thickness, and the density of the plywood slightly declines at various temperatures and relative air humidity.
Pressing is done in two ways.
-
Cold Press:
After the glue has been applied, cold pressing takes place to prepare the veneers for hot pressing. This helps to flatten the veneers and ensures that the glue is applied uniformly across the veneers. It is used to ensure that resin penetrates for a solid bond.
-
Hot Press
The boards are then compressed, and heated pressure is applied to them for a considerable time by the hot press. This establishes and maintains the necessary contact between the veneers and the adhesive. Additionally, the glue line's strain and the adhesive layer's thickness are reduced.
Step-8: Sanding, Trimming and Finishing
The board is hot pressed, stabilized, and allowed to cool before being processed further. The boards are then typically sanded using a large industrial sander after any excess veneer is cut off to ensure the board has square edges.
All dents and other faults introduced during handling, such as those brought about by woodworking machines, are removed.
Step-9: Quality control
It is necessary to evaluate the quality of the finished product, but it would only be effective to identify a significant production issue after the completion of the process. Due to this, mills conduct numerous tests at various stages of the production process, such as measuring moisture content, formaldehyde emissions, durability, etc., to manage their output.
Also Read: Business Ideas in Mumbai - 6 Amazing Small Business Ideas in Mumbai
Conclusion
In conclusion, plywood is a widely used and versatile building material that offers strength, stability, and versatility. It is an economical choice for many construction and furniture applications and is available in a variety of thicknesses, sizes, and grades.
When selecting plywood, it is important to consider its intended use and choose a product that meets the necessary strength and performance requirements. Some factors to consider include the thickness and grade of the plywood, the type of veneer used, and the quality of the adhesive.
Follow Khatabook for the latest updates, news blogs, and articles related to micro, small, and medium businesses (MSMEs), business tips, income tax, GST, salary, and accounting.
