Surely you have come across the following problem: when choosing furniture, it is important for you to know what the “dear closet” you like or, for example, a chair is made of. Furniture sellers will, of course, answer you. But to find out what the advantages and disadvantages of a particular material or processing technology are – it will be more difficult. They are especially reluctant to talk about shortcomings in stores. So that each of our readers is theoretically savvy in the field of materials and technologies of furniture production, we offer this heading.
Chipboard
(chipboard)
Oh, who among us does not know the chipboard! Who did not pull disappointedly: “Well, this is deespe …” But – to the point. Chipboard is made from sawdust and shavings impregnated with a binding agent, namely formaldehyde resins. It is the most common material for cabinet furniture, interior decoration, construction (roofs, partitions, etc.).
Pros: water resistance, strength, ease of processing. Chipboard “holds” nails and screws that hold the structure together well. Another advantage of chipboard is that it has a low price. That is why chipboard is the most widely used material for economy class furniture; most of the office furniture is made from chipboard.
For kitchens and baths, a special type of chipboard is used – with increased moisture resistance.
Minuses: the presence of the very formaldehyde resins that hold wood particles together. The fact is that chipboard releases a certain amount of formaldehyde into the air – not the most useful product, it should be noted. But everything is not so scary. There are two types of chipboard: E1 and E2. E1 is more environmentally friendly, its formaldehyde emission rate is noticeably lower. But E2 is forbidden to be used in the production of children’s furniture: draw conclusions. Particleboards of Austrian and German production are considered the most environmentally friendly..
Chipboard is a very hard material that does not allow fine processing (deep milling, all kinds of curly details).
Chipboard laminated
This is a chipboard lined with a film based on thermosetting polymers (paper-resin films). How is the film made? It looks like plain paper at first. The most famous manufacturer of such paper is Interprint; there is a huge number of shades and textures of paper, so there is no need to complain about the monotonous appearance of laminated chipboard.
After impregnation with melamine resin, the paper becomes tough and brittle; then, by pressing, the film is “tightly” connected to the chipboard surface.
Pros: variety of colors and textures, imitation of the texture of natural wood, resistance to all kinds of mechanical damage, resistance to thermal effects (in other words, to hot coffee pots and pans).
Minus: the same as on chipboard: impossibility of fine processing.
Cunning: Pay attention to what technology was used in the manufacture of chipboard: lamination or lamination. Laminated chipboard looks and costs about the same as laminated chipboard, but it is inferior in durability (the film begins to peel off at the corners and edges).
MDF (MDF)
This is a board made from very fine sawdust. The difference between chips for chipboard and MDF is as between products that have been passed through a meat grinder and products that have been chopped with a mixer. Wood particles are held together by lignin and paraffin, so MDF is a very environmentally friendly material. MDF is rapidly gaining popularity in Europe (if the growth in chipboard production is 2%, then the growth in MDF production is as much as 25%).
Pros: MDF – as mentioned above – is an environmentally friendly material. MDF is soft enough and lends itself to the finest processing, therefore it is the favorite facade material of modern designers. Carved kitchen cabinets, graceful headboards – all this is MDF. MDF has all the advantages of wood, but it costs much less and lasts longer.
Minus: the only one is the unsettled production of MDF in Russia, which means a high price for the material. But we intend to give a decisive battle to this minus. United Panel Group opens MDF production in Russia in six months.
Fiberboard
(fiberboard)
Familiar to all those who at least once moved cabinets from the walls. This is hardboard familiar to all of us. The back walls of most cabinets, the bottoms of drawers, these sheets, rough to the touch, are fiberboard. (In the most expensive furniture, plywood is used instead of fiberboard, but in terms of operational properties it is not much better). Like MDF, fiberboard is obtained from compressed wood dust – but in the case of fiberboard, wood particles are steamed, the board is made by wet pressing. That is why the “wrong side” of fiberboard texture resembles the surface of cottage cheese with a “mesh”, as from wet gauze. And therefore, fiberboard boards are not thick: technology does not allow. Usually one side of the fiberboard remains like this, while the other is covered with a film (laminated or laminated).
A plus: low price with high durability.
Minus: small range of uses. Of course, you cannot make a complete set of furniture from fiberboard, but at the same time, it is practically impossible to replace fiberboard “in your field”.
Thank you for the information United Panel Group and personally Sergey Ivanov and Sergey Korotov
What are the potential pros and cons of different types of furniture materials? From your experience, which materials offer the best durability, aesthetics, and ease of maintenance?