Nowadays, many Chinese firms offer equipment in Russia for particle board factories with a capacity of 10.0 to 100.0 thousand m 3 per year. The cost of this equipment is very attractive, especially against the background of a sharp rise in the price of European equipment due to the depreciation of the ruble.

The paradox of the Chinese market is that along with the most modern lines in China, equipment is produced using the technologies of the 1950s. According to the prospectuses of some companies, one can study the history of the technical progress of chipboard production. But there is a very serious demand for such equipment. So, only the Kunming Panel Machinery Factory since 2009 has produced almost 180 of the simplest six- and one-story lines for the production of 4-8 feet (1220-2440 mm) slabs!

In fig. 1 shows a general view and a diagram of a mini-plant line typical for China for the production of chipboard with a capacity of 10.0 thousand m 3 per year. Lines of this capacity are in the majority in China, and they are mainly used in rural areas for processing waste from logging and woodworking industries located near the board plant. The products of these mini slab factories are consumed locally. Everything is quite logical. Transport costs for the delivery of raw materials and finished board are minimal. The Chinese are careful about wood - everything goes into business, from twigs and twigs, shavings and sawdust to cotton processing waste, bagasse, fire, bamboo.

Figure: 1. General view and diagram of a pallet pressing line with a 5-storey press with a capacity of 10.0 thousand m 3 per year:
1 - forming machine; 2 - loading conveyor; 3 - loading rack; 4 - loading traverse; 5 - hot press; 6 - unloading shelf;
7 - unloading traverse

The design of the press is simplified to the limit. The formed carpet is one-layer. No press for pre-pressing, fan cooler and return conveyor for pallets. This equipment is serviced by 7-10 people. Power consumption - 120-200 kW.

Principle of operation: the forming machine pours the carpet onto a metal pallet, which is rolled along a roller conveyor into a loading rack; after filling the stack, the traverse pushes all pallets with wood chip briquettes into the press, it closes; after a predetermined holding time has elapsed, the press is opened and the pallets with an unedged plate with a traverse are removed from it onto an unloading trolley; separation of boards from pallets, return of pallets and storage of boards are carried out manually. Finished slabs are cut to size on a panel-edger.

In China, more productive lines for pallet pressing were also produced, which are copies of the Soviet lines SP-25.

The first factories for the production of chipboard were ordered by the Chinese in Germany in the late 1980s. Bison has supplied China with single deck steel belt pressing lines with a movable former. And already in 1983, Xinyang Woodworking Machinery Co., Ltd produced a copy of it with a capacity of 30 thousand m 3.

Similar lines are being produced now. In fig. 2 shows a general view and diagram of a line manufactured by Shanghai Machine Tool Works Ltd. It works as follows.

Figure: 2. General view (from the side of the forming machine) and diagram of the pressing line on a steel belt with a movable forming machine and a single-deck hot press: 1 - movable forming machine; 2 - steel tape; 3 - dividing saw; 4 - single-deck press; 5 - receiving conveyor;
6 - fan-shaped cooler; 7 - format saw

A forming machine moving along the rails pours a three-layer carpet onto a moving belt. The cross-cutter saw cuts the continuous carpet into briquettes. When the press closes, the forming machine, having reached the hydraulic stops, begins to pour the carpet in the opposite direction onto the already stationary belt. In the case of poor-quality filling, the defective carpet passes through an open press and, when the conveyor branch is raised, is dumped into the hopper. The finished board is cooled in a fan cooler and then cut to size with a saw.

Figure: 3. General view and diagram of a line of a palletless pressing method for three-layer plates with a belt-roller press for pre-pressing and a multi-storey hot press: 1 - forming machines for outer layers; 2 - inner layer forming machine; 3 - conveyor;
4 - belt-roll pre-compactor; 5 - saw for filing carpet edges; 6 - dividing saw; 7 - folding conveyor; 8 - pusher;
9 - loading rack; 10 - hot press; 11 - unloading shelf; 12 - fan cooler; 13 - longitudinal saw; 14 - cross saw

1 - top tape; 2 - bottom tape; 3 - tension drum of the upper belt;
4 - tension drum of the lower belt; 5 - pressing rollers;
6 - hydraulic cylinder of the main pressing drum;
7 - the leading drum of the upper belt; 8 - drive drum of the lower belt

The most widespread in China are palletless pressing lines with the formation of carpet on a continuous polymer belt. The general view of such a line and its diagram are shown in Fig. 3. This technology, known since the 1970s, has proven itself in China. Most of the Chinese factories are equipped with palletless pressing lines, in fact, of the same design. Only the number of forming machines, the format of the chipboard produced and the number of press floors are varied. The method is simple, as is the operation of equipment well mastered by the Chinese.

Outer and inner layer forming machines roll a uniform, continuous carpet onto a plastic belt conveyor. To prevent the carpet from sticking, the tape is dusted with talcum powder.

Table 1. Characteristics of the belt-roll
press model TH-MCP manufactured by LINYI
Tianhe Woodworking Machinery Co., Ltd

Cold pre-pressing of the carpet to give it transport strength is carried out in a belt roll press. General view and diagram of the belt roll press are shown in Fig. four.

The main drawback of belt roll presses is a small pre-pressing force and a short effect of pressure on the pre-pressed chip carpet - to extend it, Chinese engineers increase the length of the presses and the number of pressing rollers, creating unique designs in their own way.

The characteristics of the press model TH-MCP manufactured by LINYI Tianhe Woodworking Machinery Co., Ltd are shown in table. one.

The edges of the carpet are sawn with longitudinal saws, and the continuous carpet is sawn into briquettes with a dividing saw. In case of uneven filling, the transfer conveyor rises and the defective briquette is dumped into a hopper located in the pit, where it is crushed in the auger.

The briquettes pass through a system of belt conveyors and are loaded one by one onto a stack of pallets made of heat-resistant polymer using a pusher. The shelf rises to the upper position, and from it the pallets with briquettes are loaded into the hot press by the loading traverse. When the traverse moves back, briquettes are laid out from pallets onto plates. Simultaneously with loading, the finished uncut slabs are pushed onto the unloading stack. From each floor of the unloading stack, the plates are fed to the unloading conveyor, from which they are fed to the fan cooler. From the cooler, the slabs are fed to a saw for trimming longitudinal edges, and then to a saw for trimming cross edges.

The main disadvantages of palletless pressing lines based on multi-storey presses are: high consumption of binder to ensure the transport strength of briquettes, rather large allowances for the thickness of the slab and limitation of capacity - not more than 80.0 thousand m 3 per year.

Shanghai Chanho Machinery Co., Ltd and Xinyang Woodworking Machinery Co., Ltd produce pressing lines based on single-deck presses with an annual capacity of 30.0 to 80.0 thousand m 3. In 2005, Xinyang Woodworking Machinery Co., Ltd manufactured the first chipboard production line in China with a capacity of 60.0 thousand m 3 per year based on a large format single-deck press with a pressed plate format of 2440-14630 mm. A general view of a single-deck press and a line diagram are shown in Fig. five.

1 - outer layer forming machines; 2 - inner layer forming machine; 3 - conveyor; 4 - dividing saw; 5 - accelerating conveyor;
6 - one-deck hot press; 7 - receiving hopper of the defective carpet; 8 - fan cooler; 9 - cross saws; 10 - rip saws

The press is equipped with a unique high-precision hydraulic system, which allows to control the position of the upper press plate relative to the lower one at several points, which makes it possible to continuously adjust the thickness of the pressed plate according to the format and thus reduce the grinding allowance.

The productivity of most of the lines manufactured in China varies from 10.0 to 100.0 thousand m3 per year. Almost all equipment, including installations for the preparation of wood chips and shavings, dryers, mixers, main conveyors, are exact or slightly reworked copies of equipment from well-known European companies of different years of production.

The cooperation with well-known European companies Dieffenbacher GmbH, Siempelkamp GmbH, IMAL Srl and others allowed Chinese equipment manufacturers to reach a fundamentally new quality level.

Shanghai Wood-Based Panel Machinery Co., Ltd (SWPM) is one of the largest manufacturers of equipment for the production wood-based panels in Asia. The history of the enterprise goes back over 60 years, and the first hot presses were produced by the plant back in 1958. After the purchase of SWPM shares by Dieffenbacher GmbH in 2009, the joint venture became known as D-SWPM. Chinese specialists gained access to the latest European scientific developments and technologies, which allowed them to master the production of modern continuous press lines of the ContiPlus type in the shortest possible time. The Chinese also took part in the improvement of the manufactured equipment, having received more than 35 patents for various technical solutions.

Until August 2014, D-SWPM sold over 40 ContiPlus continuous lines. Lines for the production of slabs with a width of 1.22 m and a length of 23.9 to 48.8 m are produced. A general view of the continuous press ContiPlus and a diagram of the D-SWPM production line are shown in Fig. 6.

Figure: 6. General view of the continuous press ContiPlus and the diagram of the line produced by D-SWPM: 1 - forming station; 2 - conveyor;
3 - carpet density meter; 4 - prepressor; 5 - system for removing defective carpet; 6 - press; 7 - cross and longitudinal saws;
8 - fan cooler; 9 - stacking system

The capacity of the lines is 150.0-200.0 thousand m 3. The length of the finished slab is 2440-4880 mm, thickness is 6-40 mm. The maximum pressing speed is 1500 mm / s.

In addition to continuous pressing lines, D-SWPM manufactures lines based on multi-deck presses with a productivity of 30.0-80.0 thousand m 3 per year. The width of the finished slabs is 1220 and 1830 mm, the length is 2440-5490 mm.

Along with the equipment for the production of chipboard in China, laminating lines of various capacities are produced. Many enterprises produce the simplest equipment, the quality of which leaves much to be desired. Such lines are made, as a rule, for the domestic market and, in order to reduce the cost, are equipped with insufficiently reliable local-made hydraulic equipment. More complex and expensive lines, manufactured for export, are equipped with Japanese or German-made hydraulics, Japanese electronics.

Many non-automated Chinese-made lamination lines are successfully operated in the Central Asian republics of the former USSR.

Advantages of lines of this type: low cost of equipment, ease of use, inexpensive consumables and components. The cost of Chinese-made press gaskets is significantly lower than the cost of press gaskets manufactured by SESA Srl and Sandvik Surface Solutions GmbH, but also the quality of workmanship and coating of gaskets below. During the operation of the simplest lines with manual loading and unloading by unskilled personnel, there is a high probability of damage to the gaskets due to careless handling during replacement or when abrasive particles hit the surface of the gaskets. Therefore, using inexpensive Chinese spacers is the best option.

Along with the simplest lamination lines, automated equipment is also produced in China. It is exported to Turkey, Iran, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Africa and many other countries.

Table 2. Main technical characteristics of lines
lamination by Suzhou Wude Wood-Based
Panel Machinery Co., Ltd

Table 3. Some Russian enterprises for the production of chipboard,
equipped with equipment manufactured in China

Suzhou Wude Wood-Based Panel Machinery Co., Ltd manufactures a variety of laminating lines - from the simplest, hand-loaded, to quite modern, designed for the simultaneous facing of two panels. The technical characteristics of the lines of Suzhou Wude Wood-Based Panel Machinery Co., Ltd are presented in table. 2, schematic diagrams are shown in Fig. 7.

So is it worth buying Chinese equipment for the production and finishing of slabs? What are its disadvantages and are there advantages other than price?

Russian chipboard manufacturers still have little experience in operating equipment manufactured in China. Information about some of these Russian companies is given in table. 3.

On the lines of these enterprises, chipboard is manufactured in a palletless way.

A line with a capacity of only 20.0 m 3 per year (about 60 m 3 per day) has been installed at the LLC Kazsib plant. The line design has been simplified to the limit. The carpet is formed in one layer. Naturally, it is very problematic to obtain a high-quality furniture board with a fine-structured surface using such equipment and using this technology. Therefore, the company refused to launch the acquired lamination line and limited itself to the production of building slabs.

Figure: 7. Schemes: a - lamination lines with manual paper feed: 1 - roller table; 2 - lifting table; 3 - feeder with vacuum suction cups;
4 - loading mechanism; 5 - press; 6 - unloading mechanism; 7 - lifting table; 8 - roller table; b - automated line:
1 - lifting table; 2 - piece-by-piece feed mechanism; 3 - brush machine; 4 - stacker of the bottom sheet of paper; 5 - belt conveyor;
6 - stacker of the top sheet of paper; 7 - loading cart; 8 - press; 9 - unloading cart; 10 - machine for removing overhangs;
11 - fan cooler; 12 - tilting-stacker with vacuum suction cups; 13 - roller table

The process flow diagram of the chipboard production at the LLC PK MDF plant is shown in Fig. 8.

Figure: 9. Drum screen sorting of soft sawmill waste and
woodworking

The basic technological scheme when working on such equipment is as follows. Firewood and sawmill waste are fed to a receiving table with a transverse chain conveyor, poured onto a belt conveyor, passed through a metal detector and shredded in a drum chipper (size of the loading window 750 x 400 mm, drum diameter 800 mm, drive power 215 kW). Chips are conveyed by a belt conveyor to a drum screen sorting unit to separate the coarse fraction. Conditioned chips are fed to an inclined belt conveyor that can be moved horizontally, which allows several piles of chips to be poured into the warehouse. From the warehouse, the chips are fed into receiving hoppers with screw discharge conveyors, which unload the chips onto belt conveyors, which feed them into the drum chip machines. Soft wood waste (sawdust) is fed by a front-end loader into a receiving hopper, from which it is fed to a drum screen sorting unit for separating coarse fraction, bast, wood chips. Drum sorting is not used in Russia. In China, such sorting installations are common due to their simplicity of construction (the sorting type is shown in Fig. 9).

The screened-out fractions of chips and sawdust go to the fuel storage for the boiler house.

b)

and)

Figure: 10. Rotary-tube dryers of shavings: a - single-rotor (operated at the plant PK "MDF"); b - two-rotor (operated at the SibPromInvest plant)

The raw shavings are fed by a pneumatic conveying system to the hoppers of raw shavings, unloaded by bottom screw conveyors onto belt conveyors and enters the thermal oil rotary-tube chip dryers. Dryers are heated with thermal oil, the temperature of which is 200 o C. The initial moisture content of raw chips is 40-60%, the final moisture is 2-3%.

Dryers of this type have not been previously operated at domestic plants. Rotary-tube dryers were used at the dawn of the industrial production of chipboard - in the early 1960s, when specialized equipment for the production of boards was not yet produced, and equipment was used for other industries: food, chemical, etc. Later, rotary-tube dryers have been almost universally replaced by the more efficient drum or other types of dryers. However, in China, rotary tube dryers are still being manufactured.

The principle of operation of rotary-tube dryers is as follows: a bundle of rotor tubes, heated from the inside with thermal oil, slowly rotates in a stationary body and moves the dried chips through the dryer along its axis. The blades on the periphery of the rotor raise the chips along the perimeter of the housing, and they are poured down through the tube bundle, drying out due to contact with the tubes and convection of hot air.

From dryers dry chips are fed by augers to mechanical sorting... The chip fraction for the inner layer is fed by pneumatic transport into the hopper of dry chips of the inner layer, the fine fraction - into the hopper for dry chips of the outer layers. The coarse fraction after regrinding in a fine grinding mill is fed for re-sorting. From the hopper, the shavings are poured into the weighing hopper, and from there it is dosed into the high-speed mixer of the inner layer. Resinated shavings on a belt conveyor are fed to a screw leveling conveyor for loading the inner layer forming machine.

From the hopper for shavings of the outer layers, the shavings are fed by a belt conveyor to the weighing hopper, and then dosed into the high-speed mixer of the outer layers. The tarred shavings are discharged onto a belt conveyor and then conveyed to the screw leveling conveyors of the loading of the outer layer forming machines, which pour a uniform continuous carpet onto the conveyor belt.

In fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of the outer layer forming machine. Fractionation of shavings and formation of carpet are carried out mechanically, using rotating rollers with a notch.

Compared to the rollers used in the CrownFormer system from Siempelkamp GmbH, as well as in a similar system from IMAL Srl, the Chinese-made rollers have a cut with a simplified geometry. However, the quality of carpet formation they provide is quite satisfactory.

The carpet is cold pressed in a belt roll press. The edges of the carpet are sawn with longitudinal saws, and the continuous carpet is sawn into briquettes with a dividing saw.

In case of uneven filling, the transfer conveyor rises and the defective briquette is dumped into the hopper, where it is crushed in the auger. After grinding, the shavings are fed by pneumatic transport into the raw shavings hoppers.

2 - leveling rake; 3 - bottom weight conveyor;
4 - needle dumping roller; 5 - forming rollers

The briquettes pass through the conveyor system and are loaded one at a time into the loading rack with a pusher. The shelf rises to the upper position and the hot press is loaded from it with a loading crosshead. Simultaneously with loading, the finished uncut slabs are pushed onto the unloading stack.

The press plates are heated with thermal oil. From each floor of the unloading stack, the slabs are fed to the unloading conveyor, from which they are fed to the fan cooler. From the cooler the slabs are directed to the saw for trimming longitudinal edges, and then to the saw for trimming the cross edges. The cut-to-size slabs are fed to a stacker, from which the slabs are transported by a forklift to an intermediate storage warehouse before grinding.

A line of Sanda Machinery Co., Ltd (China) was installed at the grinding and sorting section. The line includes a two-head sizing machine type SM2213 / 2R, a four-head sizing machine type SM2413 / 2R 2C, a system of conveyors and sorting pockets.

The operation of Chinese-made equipment revealed its main drawback - high binder consumption: 130-140 kg / m 3. This negatively affects the cost of production and the competitiveness of the finished product. However, only at such a flow rate, the transport strength of the briquette is ensured, sufficient so that it does not collapse when moving along a conveyor or loading into a press. The majority of Russian factories in the production of plates consume much less binder - 100-110 kg / m 3, and at modern plants using the technology of continuous pressing in belt presses, the consumption is even less - 65-75 kg / m 3.

One of the ways to reduce the consumption of resin can be the use of liquid lignosulfonates in the binder, which increase the stickiness and transport strength of briquettes. Another way is to synthesize highly tacky resins directly at the plant. At OOO PK "MDF" they managed to master the synthesis of resins with high stickiness from urea-formaldehyde concentrate KFK-85.

During the operation of dryers at SibPromInvest LLC, chip fires often occurred. There were cases of pops and explosions of wood dust. Although the pneumatic conveying system for dry chips from dryers was equipped with modern equipment to detect sparks produced by GreCon (Germany), the fire extinguishing system turned out to be ineffective; to eliminate frequent fires, additional hatches had to be made in the pipelines of the pneumatic transport system.

Similar problems were observed at the Kazsib enterprise. In addition, it turned out that when the chips were dried with a moisture content of more than 60%, the productivity of the dryer dropped sharply, so the rotary dryer at this enterprise was replaced by a drum dryer.

Fires and explosions are not uncommon during the operation of drum dryers, but the reasons for the ignition of chips in them are different than in rotary tube dryers.

The main causes of fires in rotary dryers include the adhesion of dust and resinous substances to the inner surface of the dryer and the rotor tube with subsequent ignition, the presence of pockets (deposits) of dust and resinous substances outside the mixing radius with overdried and even charred chips. In addition, the temperature of the pipes in the zone of dry chips is almost the same as in the feed end, and already dried chips with a moisture content of 1-3% are in contact with the rotor pipes, the temperature of which is 220 ° C, and this can lead to ignition of the chips. During the operation of dryers at SibPromInvest, thermal oil leaks were also noted at the welding points of the rotor pipes inside the dryer.

The only way to reduce the number of fires is to regularly clean the dryers and air ducts from wood and wood dust adhering inside.

Figure: 12. General view of the lamination line based on a short-cycle press
type YL1200-3, operated by LLC PK "MDF"

Rotary dryers have a number of advantages. This is a high efficiency, since the coolant circulates in a closed loop and there is no heat loss along with the exhaust gas-air mixture, as in drum dryers. During the operation of rotary dryers, the emissions of drying products into the atmosphere are minimal. There is no direct contact between the drying agent and the chips, and its surface is not contaminated with combustion products. Dryers are heated by thermal oil boilers operating on coal and bark and wood waste, which is economically feasible in non-gasified regions of Russia.

PC "MDF" also operates a lamination line based on a 1200-ton short-cycle press of the YL1200-3 type manufactured by Wuxi City Xunma Hydraulic Pneumatic Co., Ltd (Fig. 12).

The plates are heated with MT-300 thermal oil from a 250 kW electric boiler. Pressing modes do not differ from those adopted on automatic lines. The cycle time is from 18 to 30 s depending on the color and density of the film. Press temperature - 190-200 ° С. The line capacity is 50-70 sheets per hour.

As a conclusion

The following advantages of Chinese-made equipment for chipboard production can be distinguished: low cost, ease of maintenance and operation, high maintainability.

The disadvantages include: high consumption of binder for palletless pressing lines, low productivity of rotary-tube dryers when drying chips with moisture content above 60%; fragility of some units and parts.

In general, Chinese equipment, with a competent approach to completing and choosing a manufacturer, can serve as a completely reasonable alternative to equipment european production for a plant with a capacity of 60.0-100.0 thousand m 3. Mini-factories with an annual capacity of 10.0-20.0 thousand m 3 are too primitive and suitable for the manufacture of only building boards. And from an economic point of view, the acquisition of such factories is impractical.

Alexander FILIPPOVICH, chief technologist,
Victor NEMOKAEV, Commercial Director,
Alexey KIPRIANOV, Ch. power engineer
LLC PK "MDF"

Furniture manufacturing is a very lucrative business, second only to the construction industry. However, this segment is very busy at the moment, so a newcomer will need a lot of strength to effectively enter the market.

If the question arises of how to start a business, it is worth saying that many entrepreneurs refuse to believe that it is much more profitable to produce raw materials for the furniture industry than finished products. At the moment, laminated chipboard (chipboard) is a very popular material that is actively used not only for the manufacture of furniture, but also for various internal works for finishing.

Of course, chipboard is inferior to wood in a number of parameters, but ease of processing and low cost are its main advantages, so this material is in great demand every year.

If you decide to organize the production of laminated chipboard, then you should know about one more advantage of such a solution: at the moment you will have a small number of competitors on the market. The result of this can be called the drawing of a large sales market, since almost all furniture factories are ready to purchase materials for the production of their products.

Chipboard production - competent business organization

Even a child realizes that specialized equipment is required to make something. In this case, it is also needed. Chipboard production cannot be organized without the following tools:

• Special drying machine. It is used to produce laminated paper.
• Press. With its help, chipboard is pressed with such paper.
• Calibrating grinder (it affects the quality of the resulting surface).

So, you need not only the main equipment for laminating chipboard, but also the accompanying one. First of all, we can talk about a device designed for preparing an adhesive base, which is then poured into molds and pressed into plates.

Chipboard base

Chipboard, or chipboard, is a fairly popular construction material, as well as the basis of laminated chipboard used for the production of furniture. Particleboard is actively used in the following areas:

• in the construction of floor coverings;
• in the process of designing a variety of wall panels;
• for the production of furniture, as already indicated;
• as a roof sheathing material.

Such a production may well be called a processing one, since waste from wood enterprises serves as the main raw material for the manufacture of such boards.

Production methods

Chipboards can be manufactured in one of two ways - batch and continuous. The periodic method involves the use of intermittent pressure storey processes, and the continuous one - constructional processes.

Features of the manufacture of chipboard

In this case, the production process can be divided into a number of main stages:

• Preparatory. At this stage, the preparation of raw materials is carried out by crushing wood to obtain chips of the required size. If you purchase ready-made raw materials immediately, then this step can be skipped.

• The second stage involves mixing the chips with a binder, which is traditionally used as glue. It is very important to adhere to strict proportions, since with an excess of glue, you can get a product that has deteriorated technical properties, and therefore such plates will be considered defective.

• Next, the prepared mixture is placed in special molds, which are then pressed in. The influence of factors such as pressure and a sufficiently high temperature allow the material to set to form a single whole.

• Next, the resulting blanks are placed in a special chamber for drying.

• After that comes the stage of trimming the edges of the slabs.

• The final step is sanding the slab.

You can organize production in a warehouse, where you can install not only a line for the production of chipboard, and subsequently laminated chipboard, but also stands on which finished products will be stored.

Necessary equipment

If we consider the option of production, when all operations are carried out at your enterprise, starting with the procurement of the raw materials themselves, then you will need a number of devices and machines.

Preparation of raw materials implies the presence of such devices:

1. equipment for processing logs into chips;
2. drying chambers for chips;
3. planing machine;
4. vibrating sieve.

The material production process involves the involvement of such equipment:

1. an apparatus for mixing shavings and a binder;
2. forms where slabs will be harvested;
3. thermopress;
4. drying or cooler for products ready for further processing.

To implement the final stage, you will need:

• sawing machine, with which you will give the sheet some specific dimensions;
• a machine that grinds the ends;
• devices by means of which coarse and fine grinding is performed.

The manufacture of laminated chipboard will require the involvement of a press in the process, which applies double-sided lamination. You may need transportation devices such as belt or roller ones.

About lamination

Initially, the production and lamination of chipboard panels was a very laborious process that required colossal energy consumption. Almost 30 years ago, completely new types of resins were mastered, with the help of which it was possible to begin using new processes for laminating boards.

During production, it is very important to distribute the load as evenly as possible, which can significantly improve the quality of the board. A product made in this way can withstand a large number of deformations and loads, which is very important.

Options for how to properly laminate paper have been developed for years, but now a solution has been found, and it is very effective. The paper is made in impregnating machines, where it is processed with resin, which makes it possible to obtain from it decorative film, under the press becomes plastic-like.

Chipboard, or chipboard, is a composite sheet material... It is produced from wood waste and non-mineral binders by hot pressing. The composition of chipboard can vary depending on the nuances of technological processes or the desired properties. But in general, chipboard is compressed wood waste, which is clearly expressed by the English translation - "particle board", that is, "a board of particles".

At present, chipboard is one of the most popular materials for furniture production, interior decoration, and construction of structures that do not require increased strength. The irrefutable advantages of such a material are its economy and ease of processing.

The technology of chipboard production practically does not differ from different manufacturers. The difference is only in the quality of the materials used and the cost of the raw materials.

Technological stages of chipboard production

At any enterprise, the production of chipboard consists of several successive stages.

Stage I - preparation of the necessary raw materials

There is a process of mixing different wood materials based on the desired characteristics of the quality of the finished product. It uses wood shavings, wood chips and sawdust.

Stage II - chopping wood components

To obtain the required density of the finished material, the raw material must have maximum homogeneity. Therefore, wood waste is crushed and further crushed to the desired size.

Stage III - drying of raw materials

To increase the effectiveness of the effect of the glue, prepared wood components must be removed from excess moisture. For this, the crushed raw materials are dried.

Stage IV - mixing the components

Prepared, crushed and dried, raw materials are thoroughly mixed with adhesive ingredients. The result is a mass ready for the formation of chipboard boards.

Stage V - formation of chipboard boards

The adhesive is poured into a special walking belt with a predetermined width. Then the mass is pressed to the required thickness. At the same time, a high temperature regime is observed during the entire pressing process.

Stage VI - cutting the finished chipboard

The pressed chipboard sheet is cut into sheets of a given size, and the resulting products undergo additional drying.

Stage VII - surface treatment of chipboard boards

At the final stage, the surface of the manufactured chipboard sheets is processed: the products are laminated or a thin layer of veneer is applied over the sheet and veneered chipboard is obtained. For lamination of finished boards, a special film is used, which covers the sheets. Can be used for additional processing of chipboard and paper or plastic. The cost of additionally processed chipboard sheets is low, but in the end their price is much higher than the cost of chipboard with a simply polished surface.

The main raw material for the manufacture of chipboard boards: wood

Direct raw ingredients for the manufacture of chipboard, technological chips and shavings, are obtained in the process of processing deciduous and coniferous wood, various wood waste from sawmills, woodworking, match and plywood industries.

Technological chips are produced by crushing the feedstock in chippers. At the same time, depending on the desired condition of the finished chips, different types of chipping equipment are used.

Chips have higher quality characteristics. It is used to form the outer layer of three-layer chipboard plates. Such chips are produced on special chip machines, after which the produced thin chips with a long-fiber structure are transferred to a crusher to create the required width.

At the next stage of production, chips and shavings undergo mandatory sorting. If necessary, the components are crushed and sorted additionally.

All sorted chips and shavings are sieved by electromagnetic separators, which allows removing metal particles, if any. Further, the technological raw materials are finally cleaned, that is, washed with water to remove possible dirt and sand impurities, as well as to increase the moisture level to the required indicator. Excess moisture from conditioned raw materials is removed by drying it in rotary, drum, pneumatic or belt dryers.

Dry shavings and technological chips, sorted, cleaned from various impurities and dried, are sent by a conveyor system to special storages - bins. The capacity of the bins is designed to ensure uninterrupted production for at least three work shifts.

Chemical components in chipboard production

In addition to wood raw materials, chemical materials are also necessary in the chipboard manufacturing process. Their purpose is to bond and glue prepared wood particles under the influence of high temperatures and pressure. Urea- and phenol-formaldehyde resins, differing in color, level of toxic fumes and moisture resistance, act as binding materials.

Phenol-formaldehyde resins have a dark brown color, which affects the final color of the finished product, high toxicity and a pungent odor. With their application, pressing times require longer periods. The advantage of using such resins is increased resistance to moisture, water practically does not affect such adhesive joints.

Urea-formaldehyde resins are considered less environmentally harmful, but they have less strength and the adhesive layer is destroyed at a temperature of 60 ° C. Particleboards, which include this type of resin, are used under conditions of a slight drop in humidity.

In addition to adhesive components, reinforcing and water-repellent (hydrophobic) additives are used in the production of chipboard. Their use contributes to the preservation of the shape of the finished products with changes in humidity, since without additional processing the porous structure of wood materials absorbs moisture from the air or when immersed in water.

Hydrophobic viscous substances in molten form are able to close the surface pores of the material, which becomes an obstacle to moisture penetration inside. Such substances are ceresin, paraffin, distillate slack. They are introduced into the wood pulp as alkaline emulsions diluted with hot water. The deposition of hydrophobic substances on wood fibers is carried out by means of aqueous solutions of aluminum sulfate or sulfuric acid.

As a hardening additive, phenol-formaldehyde resin is used, which is also used for gluing. Its presence in the composition increases the strength of the chipboard in the presence of wood in the composition of the slabs hardwood more than 30% or with a fiber content shorter than required.

Equipment for the manufacture of chipboard

At any stage of chipboard production, equipment is required that corresponds to the process being performed, among which the main and additional ones stand out.

Basic equipment

The main equipment for the production of chipboard includes technological equipment installed in the main workshops of the enterprise for the production of chipboard: the preparatory shop, the main shop and the grinding shop.

The pre-production workshop is equipped with a crushing plant and a flaking machine. To equip the main workshop, thermal presses, fan-type coolers, as well as machines for automatic cutting of the edges of the product according to the specified length and width are required. The grinding shop is equipped with grinding machines.

All necessary indicators of width and processing power are determined separately for each batch of products; the final grade of the manufactured chipboard sheets depends on the selected indicators.

Optional equipment

Shale shakers and conveyors - roller, chain, belt or spiral - are considered secondary equipment. When stacking finished sheets in bundles, lifting tables are used. All production workshops equipped with ventilation systems to get rid of process dust, its collection and removal.

Application modern technologies, high-quality equipment and necessary additives in the manufacture of chipboard allows the manufacturer to produce chipboard with increased fire resistance, moisture resistance and high strength. The result is a material whose cost is much lower than other analogues, which makes chipboard so popular in a wide range of buyers.

Chipboard - Chipboard - sheet composite material produced by hot pressing of wood and woodworking waste, mainly shavings, sawdust, with a binder of non-mineral origin. If you need to obtain special properties from Chipboard or due to the peculiarities of the technological process, special additives may be added to the composition, in the amount of 6 - 8% of the mass of the main filler (shavings).

In English, the concept of chipboard sounds like this: particle board, which literally means - Board of Particles.

Chipboard history.

It is believed that the progenitor of chipboard was Ernst Hubbard, who proposed the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a new material previously unknown to science from sawdust and casein glue. Back in 1887, Hubbard made his dreams come true and presented the first prototype of particle board to the public. The inventions of the inventor were to the liking of his colleagues, and already in 1918 another experimental model was created - a slab trimmed with veneer. Nowadays, laminated chipboard is available to everyone. But in the time of M. Beckman, who for the first time dressed the chipboard in veneer, only privileged persons could afford such products.

A significant moment in the history of chipboard occurred in 1926. At this time, the German scientist Freudenberg deduced the formula for the "ideal" chipboard and calculated the optimal ratio between the binder and sawdust. According to his calculations, the wood-shaving "semi-finished product" should have contained from 3 to 10% of a viscous substance. Later, the conclusions of the scientist were somewhat corrected, so today the composition of chipboards includes from 6 to 8% of formaldehyde resins. By the way, resinous compounds began to be used in the production of particleboard only in 1933, 7 years after Freudenberg's fundamental calculations.

Our compatriots also worked, though not at home. In 1935 in France, emigrant Alexei Samsonov made the first slabs of oriented particles (OSB - OSB), laying long veneer strips crosswise. From the same year in the state of Iowa, an experimental plant for the production of plates on phenolic binder Ernst Lötcher began its work.

Much later, a moisture-resistant chipboard was produced, which included paraffin compounds.

Chipboard is currently the most popular material. The main advantages of chipboard are low cost and ease of processing.

Chipboard is made from pressed coarse wood chips with the addition of a thermosetting synthetic resin as a binder.

Any low-value wood, both coniferous and deciduous, is a full-value raw material for chipboard. The use of round wood is reduced by the use of materials such as chips, sawdust and recycled wood. Often all types of raw materials are used in the production of chipboard at the same time, or in mixed forms. The presence of hydrophobic, antiseptic and other additives determines the strength and durability of the material.

Chipboard production, technological process.

(photo from the site: elo.ru)

1. Processing of raw materials.

• receiving or unloading shavings, crushing large raw materials.
• sorting of shavings into fractions.
• cleaning chips from impurities.

At the exit - shavings. (photo from the site: pkko.ru)

To prepare raw materials, industrial grinders or crushers are used, for example, as this hammer crusher DMR-600-10-55 (link to the manufacturer's website)... This is a small crusher, in large industries they use more, but the principle is the same. Video of the crusher.

Various vibrating screens are used for sorting.

The produced raw shavings are stored in bunkers, where they are fed by pneumatic conveying system or mechanical conveyors. Raw shavings are fed from hoppers to dryers.

2. Drying of raw materials.

Drying complexes like this are used to dry the shavings.

(photo from the site: www.equipnet.ru )

It is necessary to dry the shavings to a moisture content of 4-6%, and for the inner layer - up to 2-4%. Therefore, the chips of different layers are dried in separate dryers. In the production of chipboard, as a rule, drum-type convective dryers are used. In the furnace of the dryer, gas or fuel oil is burned, the temperature in it is 900-1000 ° C. at the entrance to the drum. The temperature of the drying agent reaches 450-550 ° C, at the exit it is from 90 to 120 ° C. The drum has a diameter of 2.2 m and a length of 10 m, it is installed with an inclination of 2 - 3 ° towards the entrance of the raw shavings.

3. Resinning.

Resin shavings are produced in continuous mixers, in which a binder is sprayed through a series of nozzles, each connected to a dosing pump. The tarred shavings are moved to another zone by means of a screw shaft, where they are mixed with blades. Example: Mixer DSM-7. Manufacturer of the equipment shown: Vologda Machine-Tool Plant ( www.vsz.ru).

This is the most difficult and responsible one, since the production technology requires covering each chip with a binder. Non-resinous shavings do not stick together, and excessive resin on the shavings leads to overconsumption of the binder and poor quality of the boards. The binder is supplied to the mixer in the form of solutions. Their concentration in the flow of the outer layer is 53-55%, the inner layer is slightly higher (60-61%).

4. Carpet shaping.

Carpet shaping is carried out using molding machines. The machines place the resin shavings into a mold. In this case, the formation can be one- two- and three-layer. Three-layer carpet formation is typical for enterprises using old equipment. When using such equipment, the inner layer is made of coarse shavings, and the outer layer is made of very fine. A three-layer chipboard on the cut has pronounced outer layers.

It is a continuous tape of a certain width and thickness. It is divided into packages, from which they are subsequently formed during hot pressing of the board. Naturally, the uniformity of the carpet filling directly affects the quality of the slabs (equal density, uniform thickness).

5. Pressing.

The pressing and gluing of chipboards is carried out in a thermopress, which is carried out at 180 ° C and a specific pressure of 2.5-3.5 MPa. Pressing time 0.3-0.35 min per 1 mm of plate thickness.

There are two types of pressing - flat and extrusion.

In flat pressing, the press force is directed perpendicular to the plate surface. In this case, the chips are located parallel to the face, which somewhat increases the mechanical strength of the chipboard (although there are opposite opinions).

Multi-storey chipboard pressing line.

In extrusion pressing, the pressure of the press is directed to the edge of the plate, and the chips are located perpendicular to the direction of the face. The mechanical bending strength of the slab is lower in this case. Most of the vertical extrusion presses are obsolete, although there are modern vertical presses for the production of extrusion chipboard with internal channels. Such chipboard is laminated and used for the production of furniture and some joinery ( interior doors etc.) Single-deck or multi-deck press lines are used. Single-deck press lines of low and medium capacity for chipboard, with electronic thickness control and built-in general control system. Multi-storey lines for chipboard, medium and high capacity, with mechanical or electronic thickness control and built-in general control system.

Modern multi-deck presses have hot plate sizes up to 6x3 m and up to 22 working spaces (22 chipboards are pressed simultaneously). The height of the press reaches 8 m.

6. Cooling and cutting of chipboard boards.

The pressed chipboard sheets are trimmed to fit the specified trade format. The sheet can be cut hot, immediately from under the press or after it has cooled. Thus, hot and cold pruning is separated. The most commonly used production line is cold trimming.

The need to cool the chipboard slabs is due to the fact that after being unloaded from the heat press, they, firstly, have a very high temperature, and secondly, a fairly large spread for the same temperature and humidity. The moisture content of the outer layers is about 2-4%, while the inner layers of the chipboard contain about 10-13% moisture at this time. The difference in temperature can be about 80 degrees Celsius (105 outside and up to 180 inside). Such gradients are a source of internal stresses. During further processing of the hot plate, these stresses can lead to its deformation. That is why the stove is allowed to cool in the coolers.

Chipboard cooler fan. (photo from the site: kitexport.ru)

Fan coolers are used to cool chipboards, which is an installation with a large rotating drum, consisting of several dozen cells. When installing a new plate, the drum turns one cell: at the same time, the plate is removed from the other side of the cooler, which has already reached a temperature of about 50 degrees. The productivity of the coolers is about 200 sheets per hour: it takes about 12-15 minutes to cool one 19 mm thick plate to a temperature of 50 degrees. (quote from the site: fanera-bazar.ru)

Trimming of sheets occurs on several special formatting machines .

Then the slabs are moved to an intermediate warehouse, stacked in stacks, where they are kept for at least 5 days.

6.Finishing chipboard, surface and end grinding.

Grinding machines in the production of chipboard are: four-head, six-head, eight-head. The advantage of more heads is the quality of the grinding. The more heads the better the sanding quality, but also the greater the consumption of electricity, the sanding belt.

External view of grinding equipment for chipboard.

After this stage, the board is already ready and suitable for shipment to the consumer, as a chipboard-sanded or sent to the next section, for facing with various decorative coatings.

7. Packing of chipboard boards on pallets.

In accordance with the requirements of the standard, the slabs are sorted and then either cut into blanks for furniture boards, or sent to consumers in full format.

Depending on the criteria for the appearance of the slab (cracks, chips, staining, spots, protrusions and indentations), chipboard slabs are divided into the following grades:

• Chipboard - 1st grade (defects are not acceptable except minimum),
• Chipboard - 2nd grade (large surface defects are acceptable),
• no grade (cardinal surface defects, used in construction).

General, transportation, conveyor.

The conveyor transports the packages, which after passing through the press for pre-pressing become dense briquettes with transport strength. Two fundamentally different types of main conveyors are known in the particle board industry today. They differ in that in one case the packages (and then briquettes) are moved to metal pallets, in another type of main conveyor - on belt conveyors when pressing is palletless. Each main conveyor design has advantages and disadvantages. The pallet method is simpler and more reliable, but the plates are obtained with a greater difference in thickness, the heat energy consumption is greater. The palletless method provides some energy savings, improved board quality.

The technological process of chipboard production provides for strict control when using impregnation binders and therefore this the material can be considered environmentally friendly ... All types of chipboard are subject to mandatory formaldehyde tests.

How is formaldehyde content determined?

A chipboard sample with a surface area of \u200b\u200b1 sq m is placed in a 1 cubic meter chamber and after a certain time a sample of air is taken from the chamber to determine formaldehyde in it. This sample is compared with the norms and a hygienic conclusion is given on the applicability of chipboard for the production of furniture. This method is called "chamber", it is considered the most effective and the bodies of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision issue their conclusions based on this test method.

Supporting information.

• Lamination and laminating of chipboard. Laminated chipboard technology Chinese characters, meaning .

Can be copied with indication of the source and active indexed hyperlink to the site

Almost any business in the field of construction is profitable and with a competent approach to business, regardless of seasonality, quickly pays off. And especially promising here is not even the provision of services to the population, but the direction of the production of high-tech materials that are in demand among consumers. These business ideas include the manufacture of chipboard (chipboard). Production laminated chipboard will be in demand among buyers if you think over the process to the smallest detail and conclude profitable contracts with clients. Chipboard is a practical, relatively inexpensive, environmentally friendly material that has been a leader in the construction niche for many years. It is actively used for pieces of furniture, for roofing and floors, for the construction of interior and room partitions.

Our business valuation:

Initial investments - from 8,000,000 rubles.

The market saturation is medium.

Difficulty starting a business - 7/10.

The production and sale of chipboard panels, despite all the simplicity of technology and the availability of equipment, will be associated with many problems, the main of which is high competition. Surely, in every region there is a woodworking enterprise engaged in the production of chipboards. And therefore, in order not to waste money on the launch of production, it will not hurt to analyze a specific sales market beforehand. There are a lot of potential customers, and a small enterprise will have enough and a couple of wholesale customers to stay afloat.

So, how to open a particleboard production in Russia, which is competitive and profitable?

What assortment to offer to consumers?

Chipboard production as a business will only be profitable when any client who turns to the company finds what he was looking for. Considering this, it is important to organize the production of products of various types, properties and price categories.

Experts identify many classifications of chipboard. The main one is the gradation by the number of layers:

• single layer,
• three-layer,
• multilayer.

By appearance and the quality of the raw materials used, chipboards are divided into grades:

• Grade 1. Material with smooth edges and smooth surface.
• Grade 2. Material with minor violations of the integrity of the structure - scratches, chips.
• Grade 3. The material can be classified as defective products.

In order to offer customers a material suitable for different types of work, it is important to think over the recipes for boards that differ in density:

• low density - up to 550 kg / m 3,
• medium density - 550-750 kg / m 3,
• high density - over 750 kg / m 3.

It is great if the chipboard manufacturing process involves finishing the material with polymer films, veneer, plastic or paper.

It is important to think over the assortment for initial stages starting a business, since many subsequent steps will depend on this - the purchase of raw materials, the purchase of equipment.

Description of the chipboard manufacturing process

Chipboard production flow chart

Even if a small do-it-yourself chipboard production is planned, it is important to study the material release technology in detail. The quality of the finished product will also depend on the quality of the technological stages.

The main advantage of this area is the simplicity of the technology. All stages of the production chain are interconnected, and it will not be difficult to understand them even for a person far from the industrial sphere.

The main raw materials that will be supplied to the workshop are sawdust, small wood waste. The components used are readily available and inexpensive. And to chipboard production became less costly, it would be nice to establish direct supplies of raw materials from local woodworking enterprises. It is quite natural that the closer the supplier is, the cheaper the raw material will be.

It is a common practice when furniture factories hand over industrial waste at a lower cost (or even completely free of charge), and in return receive high-quality chipboard from an entrepreneur at an attractive price. Here is such a barter.

Chipboard production technology is hot pressing. The scheme is as follows:

• The raw material is dosed and mixed with a binder component - thermoactive resin.
• The mixture is poured into special molds.
• Mixed molds are exposed to high pressure and high temperature.
• The resulting slabs are taken out of the molds, if necessary, they are additionally processed - cut, polished, pasted over with decorative materials.

Despite the fact that the production of furniture chipboard is very simple, when organizing a full-fledged workshop, a qualified technologist should be hired, who will strictly control the quality of the input raw materials and all technological modes. You cannot do without control over the production process, because here, as in many other areas, the rule is that the better the product, the more profit it will bring.

Technical equipment of the workshop

Chipboard production line

After the assortment has been thought out and the technology has been studied, you can proceed to the next stage of organizing your business - to buy equipment for the production of chipboard. And this stage is one of the most important, since it is the most costly.

It will be difficult to organize a home business for the production of chipboards, because the financial investments here are quite large - not every novice entrepreneur will be able to start a workshop without attracting outside investments.

The "middle" line for the production of chipboard includes the following machines and devices:

• Mixers with dispensers.
• Forming machines.
• Heat presses.
• Coolers.
• Cutting machine for finished boards.
• Grinding machine.

The indicated equipment implies the use of ready-made components - sawdust and shavings for the production of chipboard. But if it is planned to organize a full-cycle plant (that is, with the crushing of boards and logs), then additional component lines will have to be provided - crushers and a sieve.

The price of equipment for the production of chipboard is quite high, and the final cost of the devices will depend on their capacity, degree of automation and equipment. For example, completely automated line, where all production stages are carried out without human intervention, and with a capacity of up to 150 sheets per shift will cost at least 17,000,000 rubles. But even lines of lower productivity (up to 50 sheets per day) will not be affordable for many entrepreneurs - at least 8,000,000 rubles.

Considering the considerable cost of equipment, it makes sense to think about some savings options:

• Supported equipment costs 2, or even 3 times cheaper than new equipment.
• If you lease a line, you can avoid huge initial investments.
• Chinese machines can cost significantly less than equipment from European brands.

The profitability of the chipboard business

Many entrepreneurs have already proved in practice that a mini chipboard plant with established distribution channels brings its owner consistently high incomes.

The sooner it turns out to establish sales to wholesale customers, the sooner all costs will pay off. At first it will be difficult for a young enterprise to enlist the support of large wholesalers. But even here it is quite possible to achieve success, for example, by slightly lowering prices for supplied products.

Before proceeding with the calculation of the profitability of the enterprise in the business plan, it is necessary to present those items of capital expenditures that will have to be incurred to open the enterprise. According to minimal estimates, launching a small workshop will require a cost of ≈8,000,000 rubles.

This includes the following items of expenses:

• Purchase and on-site installation of equipment.
• Purchase of raw materials.
• Preparation and rental of premises.
• Registration of the company.

And these costs will increase significantly if you buy a machine for the production of chipboard of greater power. But for a start, a line of low productivity is enough.

Speaking about the profitability of the mini-plant, it is hardly possible to indicate exact numbers, because everything here is strictly individual, if we take into account the prices for finished products in each region and the volume of sales. On average, chipboard is sold at a price of 6,500-1,000 rubles / m 3. The cost of the material varies between 4000-6000 rubles.

In the absence of problems with sales, the enterprise can go to zero after 2 years. And these are excellent indicators of profitability.