Forming plywood

formowanie drewna | plywood forming

What does forming plywood involve?

Forming plywood by means of ZEMAT’s high-frequency technology and custom-designed hydraulic presses offers the best and most cost-effective solution for manufacturers making short product runs and requiring an energy-efficient, fast and easy production process.

Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is a structural timber product composed of wood fibres obtained by breaking down hardwood and softwood by means of pulping. The wood fibres are then bonded together with a wax-resin glue and moulded into panels by using heat and pressure.

Plywood is made up of thin layers of wood that are turned along the horizontal axis. The resulting veneer sheets themselves are cut to the desired dimensions, dried, patched, glued together and then press-fired at 140°C (284°F) and 1.9 MPa (280 psi) to form the plywood panel.

The strength and durability of MDF is generally not as strong as that of plywood, therefore it can be easily damaged if handled improperly. Furthermore, MDF does not have the same rigidity as plywood with the potential to bend when used as a shelf without reinforcement.

The cross grain of the plywood improves dimensional stability through reduced expansion and contraction compensation. The strength of the panels is equal in both directions. A further advantage of plywood lies in the fact that extreme cold does not affect its dimensions or strength.

Technology used for forming wood-based materials

At a time of rapid technological development, the furniture industry is continuously searching for new, more efficient ways of forming materials such as plywood or MDF. The quest to satisfy the growing demands of the market leads to innovative methods that achieve better results with lower energy and raw material consumption. One of the directions for the development of the forming of MDF plywood is the refinement of existing methods, such as high-frequency forming or constant heat forming using presses.

Wood processing (plywood, MDF, floor panels, etc.)by means of ZEMAT’s high-frequency technology and custom-designed hydraulic presses offers the best and most cost-effective solution for manufacturers making short product runs and requiring an energy-efficient, fast and easy production process.

By using high-frequency technology, the cost of tooling is several times lower than with traditional wood forming methods. The raw material is then placed in a mould inside the press and, once closed, is exposed to high hydraulic pressure. Subsequently, the HF frequency is switched on to start the heating process. The heating occurs inside the moulded material rather than on the surface of the mould.

What are the benefits of forming plywood through HF technology?

The application of high-frequency technology (HF technology for short) in the processing of wood-based materials offers many advantages. Firstly, the improvement in the quality of the product has been noticeable, as the machines allow precise operations such as gluing the material or forming it into panels. This ensures that the final products have an excellent finish and durability. Secondly, using high-frequency machines leads to increased production efficiency. The speed and precision of these machines means that production processes are considerably shorter than with traditional forming methods. The result is that companies can increase their competitiveness in the market. Last but not least is the energy saving generated from using these machines. As they consume less electricity, businesses can lower their running costs and reduce their environmental impact. This is how high-frequency technology contributes towards the sustainability of the wood processing industry.The implementation of this advanced technology into the woodworking industry has created new opportunities for manufacturers of furniture, wooden structures or decorative elements, among others.

The benefits of choosing our wood forming presses

ZEMAT has extensive experience in the design and manufacture of industrial machinery that relies on high-frequency technology. We can provide many arguments to show that it is worth investing in, among other things, our hydraulic presses, capable of forming and bonding wood-based materials using thermo-active adhesives. We supply high-frequency machines which are state-of-the-art tools adapted to the high demands on efficiency and productivity. They represent a feature adapted to both manually operated and automated production lines.

The high-frequency technology applied on our industrial machines ensures that the materials can be formed and bonded using thermo-active adhesives, thus producing high quality final products. With optimally shortened cycle times, our factory-originated machines boast above-average production efficiency. We have also taken care to ensure that they are not complicated to operate, which is helped by the intuitive control panel interface.