How many kinds of plates are there? Do you really know?

There exist a considerable variety of board types in the market, which can be classified as solid wood boards, plywood, density boards, particle boards, ecological boards, fireproof boards, and wood-plastic boards, among others.

1. Solid Wood Boards

Solid wood boards are fabricated from intact wood pieces. These boards are robust, durable, and possess natural grain patterns, thus being the prime choice in decoration. Nevertheless, owing to their high cost and demanding construction techniques, they are not extensively utilized in decoration. Solid wood boards are typically categorized based on the actual names of the wood species and lack unified standard specifications. Apart from flooring and door panels, the boards we commonly employ are mostly artificial ones processed by human efforts.

2. Plywood

Plywood, also known as laminated veneer lumber and commonly referred to as fine-core board within the industry, is formed by thermally pressing and adhering three or more layers of veneers or thin sheets, each with a thickness of one millimeter. It is a frequently used material in handcrafted furniture production. Plywood is generally classified into six specifications: 3-millimeter board, 5-millimeter board, 9-millimeter board, 12-millimeter board, 15-millimeter board, and 18-millimeter board (1 millimeter is equivalent to 1 mm). Plywood, composed of three or more layers of veneers, is divided into two types: broadleaf plywood and coniferous plywood.

3. Density Boards

Density boards, also known as fiberboards, are artificial wood panels produced by using wood fibers or other plant fibers as raw materials and applying urea-formaldehyde resin or other applicable adhesives. They are classified into high-density boards, medium-density boards, and low-density boards based on their densities. Due to their soft texture, impact resistance, and ease of reprocessing, density boards are utilized. In foreign countries, density boards are regarded as a favorable material for furniture manufacturing. However, as the national standards for density boards in China are several times lower than international standards, the quality of their application in China awaits improvement.

4. Particle Boards

Particle boards are thin panels produced by using wood chips as the main raw material, supplemented with adhesives and additives, and then compressed. They can be categorized into two types based on the compression method: extruded particle boards and flat-pressed particle boards. The principal advantage of this type of board lies in its extremely low price. Nevertheless, its drawbacks are also prominent: it exhibits extremely poor strength. Generally, it is not suitable for manufacturing large-sized or furniture with mechanical requirements.

5. Ecological Boards

Ecological boards, also known as melamine faced boards, have the full name of melamine impregnated paper veneer decorative artificial boards. They are formed by soaking paper featuring different colors or textures in melamine resin adhesive, drying it to a certain curing degree, and then laying it on the surfaces of particle boards, medium-density fiberboards, or hard fiberboards, followed by hot pressing to create the decorative board.

6. Fireproof Boards

Fireproof boards are fabricated by using siliceous or calcareous materials as the primary raw materials, combined with a certain proportion of fibrous materials, lightweight aggregates, adhesives, and chemical additives, and processed through autoclave technology to produce the decorative boards. It is a novel material that is increasingly utilized, and its application is not merely attributed to its fire-resistant property. The construction of fireproof boards demands high-quality adhesive, and superior-quality fireproof boards are more expensive than decorative panels. According to the definition and classification analysis in the board industry, the thickness of fireproof boards typically ranges from 0.8mm, 1.0mm, to 1.2mm.

7. Wood-Plastic Boards

Wood-plastic boards are high-tech products manufactured by employing hot-melted plastics, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride as adhesives, and wood powder such as wood, agricultural plant straws, and agricultural plant shell powders as fillers, through advanced technological equipment. The tensile strength, bending strength, bending modulus, impact strength, and Vicat softening temperature of their products all meet or surpass international advanced standards.