Manufacturing and Production

Panel Products: Plywood, Particleboard and Fibreboard

Panel products convert low grade wood into a uniform sheet, and the property a customer relies on, that the sheet behaves the same everywhere, is created entirely by resin distribution and press control. This course covers achieving it. Delegates work through raw material preparation for each product: peeling and drying veneer for plywood, chipping and screening for particleboard, and refining fibre for fibreboard. Resin systems are covered across urea formaldehyde, melamine and phenolic, with their moisture resistance and formaldehyde emission. Blending and resin distribution are addressed, since uneven resin gives weak spots that no press setting fixes. Mat forming and density profile follow. Hot pressing is covered in detail: pressure, temperature, time and the degassing that prevents blows and blisters. Sanding, sizing and thickness tolerance are addressed. Testing follows across internal bond, bending strength, thickness swelling and emission. Overlays and lamination are covered. The course closes on press faults, on resin cost and on formaldehyde compliance.