MATERIALS

WOOD

TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
María Dolores García Fernández
I.E.S. ALJANADIC
From Simple English Wikipedia.
Drawing from Oxford UP
The primary material types used are woods, metals, plastics, ceramics and composites.
Each of these has its own characteristic working properties such as strength,
malleability, conductivity, hardiness and durability.

Types of materials
You need to be familiar with the different properties of ferrous and non-ferrous
metals; softwood and hardwood timbers; and thermoplastics and thermoset plastics.

When working with resistant materials you need to be able to choose the best material
for a job. Wood, metal and plastics are the most common materials used, followed by
composites and ceramics.

The main classification of materials is given in the chart below. You need to know these
terms and their definitions.

Material classification diagram

Plastics
Plasics are divided into thermoset plastics and thermoplastics. The main difference
between the two is that thermoplastics can be heated and shaped many times, while
thermoset plastics can only be heated and shaped once.

Composite materials
Composite materials are formed by combining and joining of two or more materials - a
reinforcing material and a bonding agent such as glue. MDF is an example of composite
materials. Remember: alloys are not composite materials.

Metals
Metals can be either ferrous or non-ferrous. Ferrous metals contain iron while non-
ferrous metals do not.

Both ferrous and non-ferrous metals are divided into pure metals and alloys. A pure
metal is an element - eg iron, copper, gold - unalloyed (not mixed) with another
substance. An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements (eg, iron and carbon) to make
another metal with particular properties (eg steel).

Ceramics
Ceramics are made from clay, sand and feldspar. These materials are ground to a fine
powder, mixed together and fired at high temperatures (700 - 2000°C) in the production
process.

Timbers
Timbers are divided into hardwood timbers and softwood timbers. Hardwood timbers
get their name because of their cellular structure when seen under a microscope - not
because they are hard to cut. Softwoods do not have this same hard cellular structure.

Working properties
Different materials exhibit different working properties. Listed below are the key
properties which determine how materials behave. You need to know what each of
these terms mean.

Conductivity
The ability of a material to conduct heat or electrical energy.

Strength
The ability of a material to withstand a force without breaking or bending.

Elasticity
The ability of a material to bend and then to return to its orginal shape and size.

Plasticity
The ability of a material to permanently change in shape.

Malleability
The ability of a material to permanently deform in all directions without cracking.
Other terms you should know
• Ductility is the ability of a material to deform, usually by stretching along its
length.
• Hardness is the ability of a material to resist wear, scratching and indentation.
• Toughness is the ability of a material to withstand sudden shocks without
breaking.
• Durability is the ability of a material to withstand wear, especially as a result of
weathering.
• Fusibility is the ability of a material to change into a liquid or molten state when
heated to its melting point.

Timbers
There are two types of timber: softwood and hardwood.

Softwood timbers usually come from coniferous trees - that is, evergreen, needle-
leaved, cone-bearing trees such as fir and pine. They do not have the hard cell structure
that gives hardwood trees their name.

Hardwood timbers come from broad-leaved, deciduous trees, and are more important
in Design and Technology than softwood timbers. The main hardwood timbers are,
beech, cherry, mahogany, oak and teak.

Artificial wood planks

It can defined as wood products manufactured by glueing together wood particles (
wood chips ) or fibres

Plywood
Fibreboard or chipboard
 Fibreboard is made of a mixture of glue and
Plywood is a type of composite wood wood fibres.It much cheaper than natural wood
made from thin sheets of because it is made from wood chips. Fibre
wood.Alternative layers are glued board is mainly used in the furniture industry.
together so they have their grain For pieces that will be visible, a layer of wood is
at right angles to each other for often glued onto fibreboard to give it the
greater strength appearance of conventional wood ( See image
above ).

Wood:

Wood is a solid material derived from

woody plants.

A place that has many trees in it that

are close together is called forest.

Wood is very easy to cut, but it is very

strong. After a tree falls, the wood can
be cut into long and straight pieces
called lumber.

Wood is used for:

Construction of buildings (walls, floor,

doors,…)
Furniture (chairs, tables, wardrobes)

Musical instruments (violin, piano, guitar,

cello..)

Making fires.

When someone builds something with wood, they usually paint it. Paint protects
wood and makes it more beautiful.

There are different kinds of wood. There is a relationship between the property
of the wood and the property of the tree
Fir tree Mahogany tree Cherry tree

Poplar Beech tree Pine tree

Oak tree

Tree growth.

A tree increases its diameter by formation, we can see the growth ring.

You can see the growth ring in a cross-section

Heart
Growth
rings

Sapwood

Bark

Heartwood

Cambium
New sapwood is created during each growing season, after 2 o 3 years this
wood becomes part of the heartwood.

Bark: Protective tissue of trees and other woody plants

Cambium: Plant tissue that produces phloem and xylem cells
Phloem: Cells that transport organic nutrients
Xylem: Cells that transport water and mineral nutrients
Sapwood: Newly formed, wood between the heartwood and cambium
Heartwood: Dead central portion of wood in a tree.
Heart: The centre
Knot: Is a particular type of imperfection. A knot is a portion of a side branch.
HOW DO YOU GET THE WOOD?
 Wood

We need some steps

to use it

To cut down a tree

To transport it

To cut it

To let it dry

.
Classification:
Hard (poplar tree, beech tree, oak tree, mahogany tree, cherry
tree)
Soft (fir tree, pine tree)
It is said that hard wood comes from deciduous trees.
 It is said that soft wood comes from evergreen trees. But this is
not always the case.

Products made of wood:

Chipboard
Cardboard
Paper

When working with wood you need:

To measure and mark it
To hold it
To cut and to drill it
To file it
To join the different pieces
To finish your work up
Wood activities
1- Label the cross-section diagram below

2- Complete the crossword

 3-Complete the wordsearch
Name ____________________ Date _____________________

Find the wood trees

R L E T E P N R E G T E T H E I F P R I O E I O R
T G E E H L O I P C N N H R N R A B H R B A R I T
E Y R E L T C P R G E E E A R E O A B C R R P E C
T O P E E R F T E A B S P I E E E R S T P E R R L
E E P E E E O I K E E P I Y T E E N S T T R T T P
G E R A E E E A E E N N R T O R S E E E E R E N B
Y P E T A E M C P R E C O Y I Y L S E R C R L T E
E R I S T R H I C E E I T P R A H B O O R E E R H
A T O H T T N E T H E T R O P A O A E H R N E E H
R E T R R E G E E P R R O T I E Y A T E T M N E E
R R A E T R E A R A R E T P C O E E R H R L S R L
T C E R E R O R R A N Y E Y E E R O E I E T T T N
K E E R T T T N A N E H O O N O E F R E T R K R P
R E R R B A A B A A B A R T H A S E T H B E C A R
T R C H E I I K E C P O E T R E G N N A E H F R O
Y C A R S E E E R S E C T P E O E O E A E N E F R
R R I E E E R E E F G L R R O R R P H R I T B L E
E O A B R E G R E L R T R R E E R E R A K E E L B
R E N A C R E E T M O H T O T P T Y E E M T Y L R
Y O T R O C R R T T H P S P E F T I E A C R K P O
L R T L L T R A K P E T R O T R R E O P E E O E C
A A R E R E A R K R S R T C E I A E E R Y P A R I
R I T I T R R N E N E C E E E T N B E E L T N L N
F E F R E I P C E I N T N E C E E C A A E I R B R
R F T N P P T T A A E R R E O R H E R N E T R E N

PINETREE POPLAR OAKTREE FIRTREE

CHERRYTREE BEECHTREE MAHOGANYTREE

3- Draw and label the processes you must take to get wood
4- How do you know if a tree is a deciduous tree or an
evergreen tree?