CHINESE PLYWOOD

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

• Shanghai Yishan Market Research Co.

• China Phoenix Woods International
• E-mail: jho@chinaply.net
www.Chinapwi.com

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Making Plywood

Log Processing Log Conditioning Lathing Veneers Drying Face veneers grading

Core Logs Core Veneers Lathing Core Veneers Drying Core veneers Glue Spreading
Splicing

Grading and Inspection Trimming and Sanding Hot Pressing Cold Pre-pressing Assembly

Packing
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1. Face/back veneers manufacturing:
Imported logs for face veneers are shipped to the veneer mills’ storage yard

On arrival at the mills’ storage yard, logs are sorted and

stored according to species, diameter, length and end-use.
The logs for face veneers are mainly Okoume from Africa,
Meranti from SEA, Birch from Russia, Obeche from Burma,
Red Oak and Maple from North America, and poplar from local
plantation.

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Peeling, Reeling and Clipping

The log emerges from the In China in most The logs are conditioned using
barker after having been cases, plywood face steam or hot water to improve
stripped of its bark. veneer is rotary-cut. peel quality.

At the lathe, a sharp blade peels

the log, now called a block, into a The green veneer is clipped to
continuous sheet of veneer. size.
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Face Veneers Drying

The veneers need to be dried after

peeling. Some are dried by kiln but in
North part of China most of the
veneers are left outside to dry in the air.

The veneers’ moisture content is

around 8-15% after drying.
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Face Veneers’ Grade Selection And Packing

When the veneers are

dry enough, they are
graded and packed, then
sold to plywood mills.

The rotary-cut
veneers are
mainly cut to
4x8 size. The
sliced veneers
are mainly sold
by small
components.

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Slicing
Some species like red oak, cherry and maple, are mainly plain-sliced in China. For the thin veneers (below
0.40mm) they can be laid up to the platform when they are still wet. But for the thick veneers (above 0.5mm
they need to be spliced by machines before using.

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2. Core Veneers – Peeling, Reeling and Clipping
The core veneers are mainly cut to 1250 x 830mm size.
Thickness is normally between 1.2mm to 2.6mm.

In China people use

species like poplar,
paulownia, birch and
sometimes mixed tropicals
for core materials.

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Core veneers drying

Most of the core

veneers are air dried.
Some mills use
machines like hot
pressers to dry them
in winter.

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Core Veneers Grade Selection And Packing

When the core

veneers are dried to 8-
15%, they can be
graded and sold to
plywood mills.

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3. Platforms Manufacturing
The assembly of the plywood prior to pressing entails the jointing of the narrow strips
of veneers, which are taped (not egde-glued in China) so as to make sheets of the
rqeuired size (mainly 4x8).

Glue is applied to the inner

plies or core, which in turn,
are laid between the outer
veneers ready for bonding.
This operatioin accounts for
a large share of the manual
labor employed in the
production process.

The glue can be MR,

Melamine and WBP.
In China the hand roller
spreader is a widely used
method of glue
Application.

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4. Cold Pressing And Platform’s Repairing

When the veneers are laid-up as assembly

platform sheet, they are fed into hydraulic
presses first (no heat) for cold pressing.
After that they will be repaired. The
repairing is to cut the overlaps of the
crossbands, fill in the splits with putty etc..

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5. Curing Hot Pressing And Cooling

Then the platform are subject to

heat and pressure in the hot press
until the glue is cured. The hot
pressing time and temperature
depend on the thickness and glue.
The heating of the platens is
generally by hot water or steam.

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6. Platform Further Repairing And Inspection
After hot pressing the platform will be inspected piece by piece to avoid delamination problem. They
also need to be further repaired. The platform needs to be stored for 3 to 7 days so the moisture can
come out and the formaldehyde emission can be lower.

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7. Platform’s Calibration

The platform will be calibrated first. This is a very importation step.

After calibration the platform is ready for face and back’s lay-up. Usually
before the platform goes through the glue speader it needs to be painted.
This is to avoid telegraphing.

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8. Face/back Laid-up

1. Platform is painted and then 2. Face back lay- up

goes through the glue spreader.

3. Reparing before hot pressing 4. Final Hot Pressing 5. Final polishing

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* Face Reparing Before Hot Pressing

• Before hot pressing the faces need to be

repaired carefully. For P/S face and back it
needs much more work. The repairing is to
cut the overlaps, filling in the splits and open
knots with putty.

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9. P/S Face/back Plywood Manufacturing
The P/S veneers are small strips and they can be laid-up on the platform when they are wet. After hot
pressing the face veneers can be dry because they are very thin (usually below 0.3mm).

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10. Trimming And Grade Selection

Primary finishing, which entails the trimming,

upgrading of the Plywood after pressing, is
undertaken so as to enhance the marketability of
the product.

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* We can UV prefinish the plywood.

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11. Package And Shipments

After been inspected

the plywood can be
shipped out.

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Some Chinese Plywood Quality Problems And Resolutions

Due to: Due to:

1. Poor banding materials 1.High moisture
2. Rough loading and content
unloading etc.. 2. Excessive salt in
the glue etc.
3. Storage problem

Poor Package Moldy Panels

Due to: Due to:

1. Lacking of glue 1. Poor structure
2. Glue is dry when hot 2. High moisture
pressing content etc.
3. Large overlaps
4. Too much putty
5. Wrong pressing time,
temperature or pressure
6. Short core

Delaminations Warpage

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 The Formaldehyde Emission Level
Standard Product(s) Test Method Numerical Value ~E1333 (ppm)
CARB-P1 HWPW E1333 0.08 ppm 0.08
" PB " 0.18 ppm 0.18
" MDF " 0.21 ppm 0.21

CARB-P2 HWPW E1333 0.05 ppm 0.05

" PB " 0.09 ppm 0.09
" MDF " 0.11 ppm 0.11

E1 HWPW EN 717-1 0.12 mg/m3 0.14

" PB " " 0.14
" PB, MDF EN 120 8 mg / 100g 0.10

F*** All JIS A1460 0.5 mg/L 0.07

F**** All JIS A1460 0.3 mg/L 0.04

China HWPW GB 18580-2001 1.5 mg/L 0.14

" PB GB 18580-2001 90 mg/100 g 0.14
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 Thank You!
• China Phoenix Woods International
• E-mail: jho@chinaply.net
• Phone: +86-21-5228-3475, 5228-3476
• Fax:+86-21-5228-3472
• Add: Room 550, 881 West Nanjing Road, Shanghai, 200041, China
• Contact Person: James He
• www.Chinapwi.com

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