Pressed wood, also known as
presswood, is any
engineered wood building and
furniture construction material made from wood shavings and particles,
sawdust or
bonded together with an
adhesive under
heat and
pressure.
This makes it different from
densified wood, which is solid wood that has been compressed to increase its strength and possibly modify other properties.
Pressed wood can also contains strips of . Panels that are laminated from sheets of veneer are usually known as plywood.
Manufacturing process
Preparations of the veneers
The creation of pressed wood begins with the
Wood veneer[ PRESSBOARD AND PRESSED WOOD. Pressboard and pressed wood. (n.d.). https://carolinacabinetwarehouse.com/free-design-&-more/glossary/pressboard-and-pressed-wood#:~:text=The%20major%20difference%20between%20these,which%20are%20thin%20wood%20sheets.] being placed in a
rotary dryer.
[AXA XL Risk Consulting. (2020). PRESSBOARD MANUFACTURING. Hartford, Connecticut .] This dryer is typically heated with steam at around . This process prepares the veneers for the humidifying process in which the veneers are then placed into humidification chambers. These humidification chambers have a precise
moisture content.
Applying adhesive to the veneers
After the veneers have been prepared,
resin adhesive is applied to the top of the veneer and then rolled for equal distribution on top of the veneer.
Next, another veneer with a perpendicular grain pattern is applied on top. This process is then repeated until the desired thickness of the board is met.
Pressing
Once the board is at its desired thickness, the board is placed into a
Machine press, where the board is pressed and heated. This process gives pressed
wood its strength
advantage over other
engineered wood types.
The boards are placed in a press where the press will press down on the boards with roughly of pressure.
Applications of pressed wood
Construction
Presswood is very commonly used in the
construction of houses and other buildings. Because of pressed wood's high strength and versatility, it works very well for structural constructions.
Pallets
Pressed wood is a very common
material used to make wooden
.
[ How are Presswood pallets made ?. My Pallets Online. (n.d.). https://www.mypalletsonline.com/gb/blog/how-are-presswood-pallets-made--n11] This is because of how cheap pressed wood can be and how pallets can easily be constructed out of pressed wood.
Furniture
Because of pressed wood's strength and versatility, it works very well for structural parts of
furniture.
See also
