Medium Density Fibreboard

Step 1: Collecting/ Preparing Wood Chips
Most of the time wood chips are collected from nearby sawmills, the furniture industry, manufacturers, or the plywood industry. The wood chips that fall from the manufacturing process are recycled and brought into the MDF industry.

Some manufacturers also make their own composite materials. Logs are sourced and cut to desirable sizes for on-site preparation. Then, the small pieces are sent to the wood chipper.

Step 2: Refining
Wood chips are cleaned if necessary. Then, they are sent to a steam-pressurized digester for refining. After steam pressure, the chips soften a lot, which is ideal for making pulp. Then, they are sent to a revolving disk, which turns them into a smaller fiber pulp, which is the main composition of MDF.

Step 3: Drying
The drying process of MDF involves a single or multiple-stage tube dryer. The wet composites are sent to the tube dryer. In a multiple-stage dryer, there are generally two stages: primary and secondary tube dryers. These two dryers are separated by an emission point. The heat provided to tube dryers is fueled by propane and natural gas.

Step 4: Blending
For blending, the urea-formaldehyde resin is mostly used. In addition, MR glue, melamine glue, and isocyanate resins are also used. Some manufacturers use an additional blender, where fibers are dried first and then blended with powerful resin. Again, some industries use a reverse method, where they blend the resin and fibers first, then go to the dryer chamber.

Step 5: Mat forming
The blended pulp is transferred to a forming machine, where it constantly moves. This gives the pulp a mat-like shape. Before hot pressing, the newly formed mat is repressed to give it structure.

Step 6: Pressing
After mat formation, the mats are sent to hot pressing. Hot pressing increases the durability of MDF boards. It also helps combine the glue, resin, and composites to bind strongly and form an even board. As a result, the MDF has a smooth finish.

Step 7: Finishing
The last step is to finish the board by cutting it to preferable sizes. Then, the MDFs are sanded and, in special cases, painted or laminated. Finally, after finishing, the MDFs are ready for shipment.