In furniture manufacturing, honeycomb composite materials are used in the form of honeycomb composite boards. Honeycomb composite boards are composite boards by gluing, pressing and bonding the thin wood-based panels with honeycomb paper core. As an interlayer material, the paper honeycomb core material only account for 1% to about 5% of the solid material, 1 ton of paper honeycomb composite material, may substitute for 30 ~ 50 m3 of wood.
Honeycomb composite material’s widely application in the furniture manufacturing industry, will not only reduce the amount of wood used, but also will improve the defects of artificial wood. Use 20 mm thickness of panels as an example, if you use a 2.5mm MDF panels to make honeycomb composite panels, the materials used and the weight is only 1/4 of the solid MDF; composite panel cost only 1/2 of the solid sheet, and the composite board has the advantages of light weight, not easy to deformation, and easy to transport. Thus in Europe, more than 80% of the doors are honeycomb composite doors; most furniture plates with more than 20mm thickness are honeycomb panels.
A New Favorite of Furniture Manufacturing —— New Lightweight Frameless Honeycomb Panels
Initially, the application of honeycomb paper in furniture industry in China is using frame honeycomb board, firstly make frame according to the dimensions of the parts, secondly fill in the honeycomb paper core that has been stretched and has established, then cover the high-density fiber board on it and finally make honeycomb composite board by cold pressing. On Hanover Exhibition, Germany in May 2005, however, a new manufacturing method of honeycomb composite board has been introduced, which completely changed the traditional practices of the past and the way of furniture production. This is based on the German IMA’s years of research achievements, they display the achievements for the first time - lightweight frameless honeycomb panel edge banding machine, it makes a new edge banding technology of lightweight frameless honeycomb panels possible with low-cost and high efficient. This has pioneered new ideas, methods, and prospects in the use of paper honeycomb material in furniture manufacturing, which makes the manufacturing of honeycomb paper furniture industrialization and automation.
The new lightweight frameless honeycomb board’s manufacturing process is an industrial production process. It uses the manufacturing process of large plate (4 '× 8', 1220mm × 2440mm), which means to make large honeycomb panels without framework firstly. Specifically, the process is as follows: After dispensing two 4 '× 8' and 3mm thick of MDFs, put the 4 '× 8' stretched honeycomb paper in the middle. Then send this 4 '× 8' three layer panels into a hot press for hot pressing. After hot pressing, saw it with electronic saws to the required size. This lightweight frameless honeycomb panels has no frames around four sides. Band the edge with support trim and decorative side bar through the frame honeycomb board edge banding machine, then all kinds of furniture plates are made.
New lightweight frameless honeycomb panel has many advantages compared with framework honeycomb board technology. Manufacturing process of framework board is complex and relies heavily on labor. And due to the impact of the framework accuracy, framework board’s quality is not stable enough, and this process is difficult to form industrial production with scale mass production. New manufacturing process of frameless board can have mass production and mechanized production; furniture panels of different specifications can be produced. And such honeycomb panel has the same performances on compressive strength and resistance to crushing with particleboard of the same thickness.
The following Figure 3-1.6 can reflect the manufacturing process and its structural characteristics of the new lightweight honeycomb panels.
The arising and popularity of this new lightweight frameless honeycomb panel in Europe will also have an impact on the Chinese furniture industry. For the required furniture components of different thickness in the furniture manufacturing, we can make lightweight frameless honeycomb board plate of different thickness through the selection of a different thickness of honeycomb paper, and then cut it into slabs with various dimensions through cutting. Finally, these frameless honeycomb panels will be processed by frameless honeycomb board edge banding machine, and you can get all kinds of furniture components. This process not only greatly reduced the weight of the thick plate furniture components, at the same time greatly simplified the process, greatly reduce the manufacturing cost of the components of thick plate furniture. It can be predicted that Chinese furniture industry will also have more and more new lightweight frameless honeycomb panels. This will have a revolutionary impact on traditional furniture production.
Individual furniture companies in Shenzhen and Guangzhou have begun to try to use this frameless honeycomb panel to manufacture panel furniture. However, as the special edge banding machine and dedicated metal connectors are still relatively expensive currently, the promotion and popularization of this new technology has been stagnated. But with the equipment manufacturing technology becoming more sophisticated and the competition between specialized equipment manufacturers, the price will decline quickly, this revolutionary new technology will have rapid promotion and application, and panel furniture in China will also open a new phase in environmental protection.
