Wood - Manufactured board

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Manufactured Boards

1. Chipboard

2. Conti Board

3. Plywood

4. MDF

Various types of manufacture board are available and all usually come in thickness' of 4 mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12 mm, 15 mm, 18 mm, 24 mm.

A large sheet will be 8 feet x 4 feet which will be the size you get from a builders merchant. DIY stores will usually supply smaller sizes as well.

chipboard

Chipboard is similar to MDF but made from actual wood chips and is used widely by kitchen manufactures who cover it with a laminate.

It is also used widely for low cost flooring. You can buy flooring packs in different sizes which come tongue and grooved and allows each section to slot together with the next before screwing or nailing down.

If used for shelving, it's fairly weak so needs to be well supported. It doesn't paint very well and the edges are quite rough. Rarely used these days for shelving, though it is very cheap.

Conti Board

Conti board is laminated chipboard commonly available in white but other colours and finishes are available. Used widely in kitchen carcasses. You can usually buy it in 6 feet lengths of various widths. Can be use for shelving but will need plenty of support. It is generally inexpensive.

Case study for further reading - Eams steam bent plywood chair.

Plywood

Plywood is made from thin laminates of wood glued together with each layer at a right angle to the grain of the other. It is very strong but also quite flexible, especially if you get thinner sheets.

It's used widely in the building industry as it's so strong. Used for things like boxing in, sub floors prior to tiling, and general construction.
It's tougher to work with and the edges tend to splinter when sawn. It doesn't paint very well due to the wood texture.
It's quite expensive, especially if you buy the most expensive, marine ply, which is very good quality and relatively water-proof.

MDF laminated with veneer to make an expensive look.

MDF

MDF (medium density fiberboard) is very popular these days. It's made from powdered wood which is bonding with glue and compressed to form the sheets.

It is used widely for interior projects especially cupboards and shelving.
It's quite soft and very easy to work with.
It cuts and sands very easily and you can get a good paint finish on it.
It's not particularly strong when cut in thin strips for shelving so will need support if you want long lengths.
It gets very dusty when sanding it so you'll need to wear a dust mask.
It absorbs moisture and will swell up if it gets wet. Avoid using outside or in areas likely to get damp.
You can cover MDF with a wood veneer like cherry, oak, etc. These are quite expensive but do make the MDF more attractive.

Sterling board

Sterling Board can be thought of as somewhere between chipboard and Plywood. It is made of compressed fragments of wood which are bigger than those found in chipboard but it lacks the laminates or exterior veneers (and the higher cost) of Plywood. It is increasingly used for flooring in sheds and lofts as well as in building due to its high load bearing strength.

Flexi ply

FlexiPly is a relatively modern development of Plywood and consists of two outer layers of wood which are scored to allow them to flex without splitting. The two layers sandwich a thin layer of silicon which allows the whole sheet to flex without damage.

Flexiply can either be fixed to a curved or shaped frame where it will follow the contour of the frame or it can be laminated (two or more layers of FlexiPly) with glue in between the layers. If wrapped around a former and left to dry the FlexiPly will keep the shape of the former when removed.

It is much more expensive than traditional Plywood.

Flexible MDF

Flexible MDF works in a similar way to FlexiPly but the boards are kerfed (grooved) allowing the material to collapse into the grooves when flexed and allows the MDF to be curved while retaining a nice smooth and consistent surface on the outside.

Note that FlexiPly has the same surface on both sides while Flexi MDF will have only

one smooth side.

Aero Ply

Aero ply is a modern plywood which was developed for the aircraft industry as its name implies. It is very thin yet very strong and flexible and is still used in glider and airplane construction. It can also be laser cut for use in jewelry or other more delicate applications.

Maplex

Maplex is a relatively new material designed to replace MDF since, although it is made from wood fibres, it does not contain potentially toxic resins.

It is made from 100% pressed wood fibres with no binding agents and has similar working properties to MDF.

It is also completely recyclable.

Veneers

Veneers are thin slices of natural wood but are often put on manufactured boards to make them look more expensive. They are ‘peeled’ off the trunk of a tree much like you peel toilet paper off a roll! They are also used to make laminated plywood for products like skateboards.

Hexaboard

Hexaboard is an exterior quality birch plywood with a hard phenolic resin laminated surface.

This hard-wearing surface has been embossed with a hexagonal pattern making it safer to walk on making it particularly suitable for flooring in commercial vehicles and aircraft etc.

Test your understanding

What wood is the most suitable for this chair and why?

Reveal answer

Plywood as it can be made into complex shapes when formed

What wood is the most suitable for sub-flooring and why?

Reveal Answer

Chipboard as it is cheap but flat and easy to lay for sub-flooring.

What wood is the most suitable for an unpainted filing box and why?

Reveal Answer

MDF as it is flat, comes in large sheets and easy to paint

Stock forms of timber

Wood can be obtained in a variety of forms from the raw material (the tree itself) to various shapes and sizes of processed timber.

However, a single piece of wood can be no bigger than the tree it comes from unless it is engineered or laminated.

Common forms include planks, beams, square and rectangular section, dowel and various manufactured boards which are usually available in sizes up to 8’ x 4’ (sometimes even larger). Wood can also come in mouldings or profiles.

Planks beams square & rectangle section

Dowel

Manufactured boards

Mouldings or Profiles

Ecological and social footprint

You should have a knowledge and understanding of the ecological and social footprint left by designers, including:

The effect of deforestation, mining, drilling and farming on social communities and on the environment.
Mileage of product from raw material source, distribution, user location and final disposal.
The effect of carbon being produced during the manufacture of products.
The six R’s and their relevance to this material group.
Safe working conditions.
Reducing oceanic/atmospheric pollution and
Reducing the detrimental (negative) impact on others any other current or topical concern relating to the material group studied and their effect directly or indirectly on the environment.

Facts about trees

A collection of trees is called a forest and forests cover 30% of the earth.

There are around 3 trillion trees with most in tropical countries. That’s around 400 trees for every person...

...BUT...12,000 years ago there were twice as many trees and we are cutting down millions of trees every day.

Trees convert carbon dioxide (our bad breath) into oxygen which all humans and most animals need to survive.

They provide materials for building.

Pulp from wood is used to make paper and card.

They provide food for humans and animals; nuts and fruit.

Trees provide shelter for humans and habitats for animals and birds.

The wood can also be burnt for fuel.

Replanting two trees for every one that we cut down will help to replace the dwindling tree population on the earth.

Using alternative materials may reduce deforestation but may cause other ecological problems such as use of fossil fuels, mining for ores etc.

Trees are a sustainable and renewable source of energy and materials.

Sustainable means we can keep supplies of a material going by recycling, repairing or reusing them.

Wood is sustainable but it is also renewable because we can grow more.

In contrast, metal and polymers (other than bioplastics) are not renewable as their sources (ores and oil) are finite (running out) and you cannot make more. Other than recycling metal and plastic….when they run out they are gone forever!!

In order to make sure we have enough wood we have a system of replanting which means that for every tree we cut down we plant two more. We have been doing this for around 50 years now but we are nowhere near replacing all the trees we cut down over thousands of years.

Summary

Solid timber can be classed as either hardwood or softwood but these woods can be processed and combined to make manufactured boards.
Wood is a natural material and therefore timber (wood in its natural state) is prone to changes in shape and size but manufactured boards are more stable and available in larger sheets.
Wood is a sustainable material as we can grow more as long as we manage forests correctly. Due to its organic nature every piece of wood, like humans, is unique in its size, grain and colour.
Plywood is made from real layers of woods stuck together. This is called laminating.
Manufactured boards can be covered in very thin layers of more expensive wood. These are called veneers.

Prep

Prep 4 L4.pdf

Q5 from AQA PROD1 2016

Revision notes

For timber and woods, you should be familiar with the classification, properties and stock forms available for each material.

You should be able to refer to the physical and mechanical properties of woods and why those properties make them suitable for a particular application.

We will also look at the workshop tests undertaken to identify the mechanical properties of timbers and woods (L15)

In a later unit we will look at how timber can be enhanced and finished in the production of products and components. (L??)

In your exam answers you will be expected to make reference to the physical and mechanical properties of woods where appropriate.

Make your own chart which puts timbers into categories with key properties and common applications.

There are seven categories of materials covered in the syllabus, but you should also be familiar with textiles, glass and ceramics making a total of ten categories. These last three will only be for reference in case an exam question requires reference to them for comparison.

Where possible, these categories have been broken down into three to help you remember more easily. Use this fact to help you identify materials and their uses.

Ensure that you can name one common application for each specific material and never answer a question with a generic term such as ‘wood’ or ‘metal’.

Check your knowledge of these materials at the end of the relevant unit.

*note to Mrs Douglas - replace this with live buttons

L3-4-Woods.ppsx

L3 - L4 powerpoint

This powerpoint summarises all the content from L3 - L4 should you wish to review it.

Go to 1.2 Performance Characteristics >

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