Wood Particleboard–A Giant in the Making

A brief history is given of the particleboard industry in Western Germany from 1950 to 1955. The production of particleboard in the U.S. in 1955 is estimated to be 80 to 100 million sq. ft. Particleboard is manufactured by two principal methods: 1) extrusion process, and 2) multi-platen process. A third method uses continuously moving steel belt platens. The manufacture of particleboard can be divided into the following major phases: 1) reducing the raw material to particle form—normally with hammermills or flakers: 2) drying; 3) screening; 4) proportioning and mixing the particles with adhesives; 5) forming; and 6) pressing. The general description of the types of equipment used in each of these phases is given. The major use for particleboard at the present time is corestock in the furniture industry. The Timber Engineering Company has made a detailed evaluation of various physical properties of commercially available particleboards, which are listed in this paper.

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