Furniture production has experienced another boom in recent years, which is caused by the emergence of various production technologies in this industry. This allows us to implement the most unexpected projects that best meet not only the functional, but also the design requirements of customers.
All large quantity customers pay attention to the ergonomics, environmental friendliness, durability and colorful appearance of the products they fill inner space premises. Furniture is often a continuation of the design concept, and often its accent.
New interior approaches
At the peak of popularity is the eclectic style, which appeared as a result of collecting furniture from different eras and countries. In addition, symbiosis in the functional direction is popular; the traditional combination of functions has reached a fundamentally new level. One element can easily combine the functions of a bed, a sofa, a pouf and even a newspaper table. Moreover, each incarnation will be different in appearance, but not inferior in elegance of design. The ability to change sizes within one product is increasingly welcomed, which is especially important in conditions of limited space.
Many mobile elements are equipped with remote control. In this way, roll-out drawers of tables or cabinets, opening shelves, etc. are activated.
The technologies of radial and radial sliding wardrobes allow you to hide a sleeping area during the day and free up a huge amount of room space. Such solutions are already being specifically requested by buyers, especially residents small apartments, since they allow you to actually increase the effective square footage of the room.
Materials
The requirements for materials used in new technologies in the furniture industry are very clearly defined:
- light weight;
- strength and wear resistance;
- large range of colors;
- affordable price.
Recent trends have identified the following main directions:
- Small and even branded manufacturers willingly replace natural leather with new artificial eco-leather in their best-selling models. The reason for this is the excellent quality and performance characteristics, which are in no way inferior to leather or suede.
- Wooden elements and frames were replaced by equally strong MDF and chipboard. Their huge advantage is an unlimited number of texture and color options. With their help, veneer is imitated close to natural, different types stone, plastic, ceramics, metal, etc.
- Forged elements are increasingly replacing lightweight and cheap aluminum parts.
One of the most requested materials in cabinet furniture manufacturing technology at the moment is tambourate. The advantage of this furniture material is its strength and lightness. It consists of 2 outer plates with cardboard honeycombs inside. Sheets can be either frameless or with external cladding for processing visible ends.
The appearance of furniture made from vestibule is emphatically solid and expensive, it makes it possible to implement a wide range of color range and withstand significant weight loads.
OSB
Another modern material– OSB (oriented strand board). It is made by heat pressing shavings of various types of trees using composite resins, which give OSB strength. Thanks to this, such slabs are moisture resistant, are not subject to deformation when bending, and do not evaporate toxic gases.
Therefore, furniture made from oriented strand boards is successfully used in rooms with high humidity(saunas, baths), in unheated houses (dachas or country houses), as well as in production areas. Such products are not destroyed by significant temperature changes or sub-zero temperatures.
PVC
PVC - foamed polyvinyl chloride - is made using the technology of foaming polyvinyl chloride emulsion. It is used not only for upholstery upholstered furniture, and for car showrooms, seats of railway cars, etc.
The density of foamed polyvinyl chloride can be changed in such a way that its external properties imitate wood or leather.
Its main advantages:
- antistatic;
- moisture-repellent properties;
- easy cleaning and washability;
- color stability;
- absence of harmful fumes;
- excellent level of thermal insulation.
PVC can be used for furniture that will be used in a wide range of temperatures, since it can withstand changes from -50 °C to +70 °C.
Fillers
Upholstered furniture has also been influenced by progress and has undergone significant changes. First of all, innovations affected fillers.
Air
One of the most used fillers for mattresses and poufs is air. Not a single material can compete with it in terms of cheapness and lightness, which makes it a favorite in this area.
To successfully use air fillers, it was necessary to improve the structures themselves, which previously had welded seams. Such seams on thick rubber or PVC quickly came apart even with careful and careful use. The load affected especially quickly when used by people with large weights. If you consider that such structures were practically not repaired, then you can understand how unjustified their acquisition was.
Currently mastered seamless technology, which leveled out all previous shortcomings. Models produced on the modern market have a warranty period of at least 10 years.
Another useful property– the ability to adjust the internal pressure, which allows you to change the rigidity of the product and adjust it in such a way as to meet the individual requirements of each customer.
Sintepooh
Filler in the form of light siliconized fiber made from artificial raw materials is very popular. There are several reasons for this:
- it springs perfectly and restores its original shape after deformation;
- does not interfere with air circulation;
- has low thermal conductivity;
- not afraid of getting wet;
- lightweight and non-toxic.
At the moment it is actively used for filling decorative pillows, backrests and armrests.
Technical processing methods
The list of technologies for manufacturing and processing furniture elements is currently quite extensive and significantly expands the capabilities of manufacturers.
Laser processing
High-precision laser performs edge banding furniture ends. This processing technology increases the density of edge attachment, moisture resistance and improves appearance furniture.
Edge banding machines are expensive equipment, which does not allow their use in small industries. Laser processing increases the cost of products, so it is most often used by manufacturers producing products in a high price category.
Nesting
This technology allows rational and economical cutting of slabs using machining centers. Nesting does possible installation parts into the machine once and perform all specified operations on it, eliminating the need for moving, loading, storing, etc. Processing is carried out by powerful milling with a diameter of up to 16 mm.
Nesting significantly reduces the production time of parts, which allows you to produce more high-quality products and increase production capacity.
Aging of surfaces
Technical innovations make it possible to bring to life current design developments in vintage, country, Provence or ethnic styles. Several methods are used for this:
- patination using chemical compounds;
- brushing;
- texture structuring;
- rough grinding on machines;
- bleaching.
From progress, which provides a lot of opportunities, both manufacturers, for whom the process of making furniture is simplified, and consumers, who have the opportunity to purchase higher quality and durable products that aesthetically and functionally meet all their wishes, benefit.
From this article you will learn:
- What does furniture production technology mean?
- What are the features of cabinet furniture production technology?
- What is the essence of upholstered furniture production technology?
Technological progress, art, culture - all these components of the modern lifestyle influence furniture production technology. The creation of new styles and forms in furniture design has always been inextricably linked with fashion trends in general. Furniture production technology changes depending on the needs and aesthetic preferences of consumers, which form the demand for it. What are the features of the production of upholstered and cabinet furniture, you will learn from this article.
What does furniture production technology mean?
Depending on its operational purpose, furniture can be:
- household, that is, for use in residential premises;
- for public use;
- for placement in administrative and public buildings;
- for completing public and private transport.
Household furniture includes items that are used in the kitchen, living rooms, bathrooms, on terraces, in hallways, in country cottages or at dachas and so on. We all use tables, chairs, sofas, armchairs, chair-beds, mattresses, cabinets, kitchen sets, sofa beds and other furniture products.
In accordance with the functional purpose, all existing furniture is divided into those that are used for:
- sleep;
- rest (sitting);
- storage of things and various household items;
- eating;
- performing any work.
Let's consider the functional purpose using the example of a table, which, depending on the task performed and the furniture production technology used, can be a kitchen, dining, writing, magazine, work, compartment, drawing, surgical, computer, and so on.
The table will fit certain constructive solutions, dimensions and shape, made from certain type materials - all these criteria depend specifically on the functional purpose of any piece of furniture.
Depending on the design and technological features, modern furniture can be:
- collapsible;
- case;
- transformable;
- non-removable;
- built-in;
- mounted;
- sectional;
- wicker;
- bent;
- bent and glued.
Furniture production technology influences its character. Various materials can be used for its manufacture.
Wooden furniture can be:
- bent;
- bent-glued;
- carpentry;
- wicker;
- pressed.
Furniture made of polymer materials can be:
- cast;
- molded;
- glued;
- pressed.
Metal furniture can be:
- cast;
- stamped;
- welded;
- equipped with metal frames.
Such a classification of furniture production technology depends on the requirements that are placed on it. They are functional, constructive, technical, economic and aesthetic.
The first group of requirements affects its functional characteristics, features of design and production, it is with their help that the maximum level of consumer comfort is ensured, as well as the satisfaction of his aesthetic preferences and compliance with generally accepted hygienic, physiological and psychological standards and needs.
As for design requirements, their compliance in the process of designing and manufacturing furniture is necessary so that the finished items not only comply fashion trends, but also had stability, strength during operation, reliability, durability and ease of everyday use.
Technical and economic requirements mean that all manufactured furniture, regardless of its production technology, must comply with the existing requirements of technical regulations and state standards related to its production, including manufacturing features, material consumption standards and unification of components and parts finished products.
Types of furniture production
Modern manufacturers offer us a wide range of models of furniture, which can have different design incarnations, different numbers of elements and parts, and be made using a wide variety of materials and production technologies.
The level of demand for a particular type of furniture is influenced, first of all, by its functional purpose, then by its appearance and level of quality. As for the nature of production, we can talk about individual, as well as serial or mass approaches.
The technology of furniture production with an individual approach implies that interior items are produced with a limited quantity, in accordance with a special order; re-production of products is not provided. Based on this principle, workshops operate, specializing in the production of high-quality furniture and other products according to individual requirements.
Serial technology for furniture production is characterized by the production of large batches and their repeated release in accordance with a predetermined production plan. Most of them work on this principle. modern enterprises engaged in the manufacture of furnishings. In accordance with the number of products in each series, we can talk about small, medium and large serial production of furniture.
As for the mass nature of furniture production technology, we are talking about large batches of products that are not subject to any design changes for a long time. Enterprises of this kind specialize in the mass production of a small list of goods that are in high demand among consumers.
Furniture production technology is influenced by the design features of all types of products. It may vary depending on the individual stages of production, but at the same time corresponds to the general principles that relate to wood processing.
The first stage of the technology for the production of wooden furniture is cutting lumber, the moisture level of which does not exceed 2%, into rough blanks. The next stage involves mechanical processing of the blanks, transforming them into finished parts of the required size.
A similar production technology is used for the manufacture of furniture from pressed wood, bent, bent-glued and laminated wood materials. The last stage of production involves applying a paint coating to the processed workpieces.
Cabinet furniture production technology
Cabinet furniture refers to items that have a box structure and are designed to be placed along the walls. This category is represented by tables, shelving, cabinets, cabinets, walls and other types of furnishings, which contain separate hard parts.
When producing cabinet furniture, the requirements of the following state standards must be met:
- GOST 16371-93 “Furniture. General technical conditions".
- GOST 26800.4-86 “Furniture for administrative premises. Functional dimensions of cabinet compartments."
- GOST 28105-89 “Case furniture and tables. Test methods drawers and half-boxes."
- GOST 13025.1-85 “Household furniture. Functional dimensions of storage compartments."
- GOST 28136-89 “Case wall furniture. Strength testing methods."
- GOST 19882-91 “Cabinet furniture. Test methods for stability, strength and deformability."
Depending on the length of the production process, the production technology of cabinet furniture can be divided into the following options:
- Full technological process involves all stages of production, starting with the production of materials for the body (this can be chipboard, MDF, furniture board) and ending with the assembly of finished products. This option is optimal for mass and serial production, since it significantly reduces the cost of materials, but it is not suitable for small businesses due to high costs.
- The middle cycle involves the production of furniture from finished sheets of chipboard, fiberboard, MDF, that is, in this case we are talking only about cutting materials and assembling finished products.
- The short process consists of the production of cabinet furniture based on already cut to order sheets of chipboard, laminated chipboard, MDF, that is, this option is characterized exclusively by the assembly of finished furniture.
The production technology of any type of cabinet furniture includes five main stages:
- Drawing up a project of the finished product in various planes.
- Uncover necessary materials for details of future furniture.
- Drilling sockets for fasteners.
- Finishing of cut edges (laminated edges, veneer, PVC film are used for this).
- Assembly of the finished product.
The detail of the description of furniture production technology is influenced by production automation and percentage use of manual and mechanized labor. The most advanced (and, therefore, expensive) production involves the use of automated CNC machines. In this case, the operator’s task is only to enter dimensional data into a specialized computer program, designing the desired product and starting the machine.
The furniture production technology in this case is as follows:
1. After the sketch is developed and approved by the customer, using a special program installed on a regular laptop, it is necessary to create a model of the future product.
2. Attach to the machine a plate of the material from which the product is to be made; the machine independently cuts it into individual parts based on cutting cards.
The production of furniture from fiberboard assumes this is the end preparatory work and start assembling parts. If materials such as chipboard or laminated chipboard are used for furniture production, then the sawn edges of the rough blanks must be mechanically processed.
3. Elements of furniture made from chipboard are sent to an edge banding machine, on which, using glue and a pressure press, the sections of the boards are covered using a laminated edge, PVC film, melamine or other edge materials.
4. There are two options for making holes for fasteners, which depend on the configuration of the machine:
- semi-automatic, if we are talking about an additive machine;
- manual, in which holes are made with hammer drills and electric drills, using drawings with additive diagrams.
5. Once the holes are added, the edges of the workpieces are ground (for smoothing, removing edge material in height and length), and then sent for assembly.
6. During test assembly using hand tools, shortcomings and inconsistencies are identified and eliminated. Then the finished products are disassembled (if there is such a need), packaged and sent to finished product warehouses.
Upholstered furniture production technology
The volume of upholstered furniture in the specialized market is approximately 15%. Its production represents a rather attractive niche, in particular, when it comes to small and medium-sized businesses.
We will analyze the technology for the production of upholstered furniture using the example of manufacturing the most popular and at the same time complex in terms of execution product of this group - a sofa. We will consider a sofa bed, which is supposed to have a special transformation mechanism. This distinguishes it from such furnishings as armchairs, chairs, etc.
The structure of all sofas is generally the same, they consist of:
- The frame is the main structural element to which other parts of the sofa are attached. Depend on him strength characteristics during operation, this is the base part to which other components are attached, forming the appearance and imparting softness.
- Elastic elements (they can be represented by soft fillers and spring blocks).
- Transformation mechanism.
- Covers with upholstery fabric.
The production technology for this type of furniture is as follows:
1. Wooden blanks are cut from plywood and boards in the carpentry shop, from which the frame of the future sofa (or other piece of upholstered furniture) is then assembled.
The preparation includes the following steps:
- cutting lumber (plywood) to length using a cross-cutting machine;
- cut plywood to width using a circular saw;
- grinding the resulting part using a four-sided machine, cutting out tenons and eyes on a tenon-cutting machine;
- cutting out internal parts from fiberboard or chipboard sheets, using hand-held power tools for this;
- fastening the transforming mechanism (used in the production of folding sofas);
- assembly of the base frame.
2. Sending finished frames to the upholstery shop for pasting with foam rubber and firing with upholstery material. First of all wooden base pasted over with a special non-woven material- darnite. This is necessary so that during operation of the finished products they do not knock or creak.
3. Further, the furniture production technology involves the installation of elastic (soft) elements - spring blocks that perform orthopedic functions. Their fixation is carried out evenly over the entire surface area of the product and in its central part.
4. This is followed by pasting the perimeter of the blocks with foam rubber, this eliminates the possibility of contact with the rigid frame.
5. The top of the spring block is glued with a dense woven material, which prevents abrasion of the upper layer of gasket material on the spring block.
6. In most cases, spangon, foam rubber or coconut coir are used as cushioning material.
Spangon and foam rubber (secondary foam) are more budget options, but you should keep in mind that two years of active use of the sofa will lead to its sagging and failure.
Coconut coir can be called a tougher and more durable material, capable of lasting about 7-8 years.
7. The next soft element is placed on top of the cushioning material - foam rubber, the height of which is 40 mm, density - 35-42. Foam rubber and upholstery material are laid between each other with padding polyester, which makes the foam rubber breathable.
8. The sewing workshop equipment allows you to work with the most various options finishing - from faux fur to genuine leather. Cutting out in the sewing shop upholstery fabric for future sofas, and then in the upholstery shop it is adjusted to a multi-layer base.
9. The sewing workshop is used for sewing covers for certain elements of upholstered furniture (pillows, backrests, armrests, seats). They are put on a base frame to which a soft filler (foam rubber or padding polyester) is attached.
10. Then control assembly and final design of the product are carried out, after which the finished sofa is packaged using polyethylene and cardboard and sent to finished product warehouses.
Where to buy high-quality and safe paints and varnishes for furniture
JSC Raduga has been operating since 1991 (formerly Tsentrmebelkomplekt, Decor-1). The company was organized to supply raw materials to enterprises that are part of ZAO Centromebel.
Today, the company’s regular business partners are not only Russian manufacturers, but also leading companies from Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Poland, Sweden. Our office is located in the center of Moscow, as well as our own warehouse complex with an exhibition hall of 200 m².
Always in stock at our warehouses located in the near Moscow region big choice raw materials, supplies and components for the production of furniture and carpentry. The assortment includes more than 300 types of varnishes and 400 types of dyes, with an emphasis on the sale of varnishes and dyes with a dry residue.
Based on customer requests, our team produces polyurethane enamels in almost all colors in one or two days. We offer adhesives from five leading European manufacturers, natural veneer and lumber - more than 60 types of ordinary, exotic and exclusive species. Front and fastening fittings are constantly available - more than 4,000 items from manufacturers from Europe: Austria, Poland, Germany, etc.
Every month we process applications from more than 1,800 clients. These include both large furniture factories and private entrepreneurs.
Deliveries of goods are carried out throughout Russia. Our company delivers goods throughout Moscow for free. Products are shipped by road to all regions of Russia.
Our company takes the training of its own specialists seriously. Managers systematically undergo internships in those involved in production finishing materials companies in Germany, Italy, Austria, Finland. Our company employees provide technical assistance to clients.
We invite you to cooperate on mutually beneficial terms! We value our clients and try to find an individual approach to each buyer.
/ fromTo create comfort and a unique atmosphere in a modern apartment or house, today there is everything - the unbridled imagination of architects, designers and constructors, new materials and Hi-tech, allowing you to do unimaginable things with familiar materials.
General trend for furnishings recent years can be considered a desire for maximum functionality. Of course, in showrooms you can purchase traditional wooden furniture, large and space-consuming, made in a wide variety of styles. Tradition always has its place; someone will still want to live “a little in the past.” This has a certain charm. But thought and technology do their job, and as a result we get unusual furniture solutions.
In times of genetic engineering, when it is not difficult for a person to introduce insect genes into a plant, it is worth combining, say, dressing table and a refrigerator. Such models already exist. Small cooling chamber, built into the table serves for cooling face masks, storing cosmetics. The ladies will appreciate it.
Peculiar symbioses in furniture, in general, are news almost a century ago. Let us remember, for example, the notorious Soviet sofa beds. But modern furniture, of course, has come incomparably far from these first solutions.
The current one can be called, to paraphrase, nothing more than “sofa-everything”. Some models combine the elements and functions of a sofa, chest of drawers, shelves, coffee table and can be transformed into a double bed, an armchair or several comfortable poufs for sitting.
By dividing the sofa elements into separate sections, you can use different combinations, thus changing its appearance. The movable components of the sofa can be easily transformed. Each new assembly of this design involves a combination of armrests, backrests and other auxiliary elements for sleeping and sitting, which can rotate and rotate at different angles. For example, the folding back of some transformer models also serves as an additional sleeping place, and a specially lowered armrest easily turns into a comfortable seat with a table.
Innovative technologies in the production of kitchen furniture
Equipped with many new devices, ranging from kitchen cabinets, which open at the touch of a button, to transforming tables equipped with an electric drive and changing size at the request of the owner. Moreover, most of them are produced according to measurements of the customer’s living space, selecting the most convenient and popular options. Special mechanisms serve to retract the door, thereby facilitating its silent and quick closing. Innovative tandem boxes instead of classic shelves will delight customers with no less practicality and functionality, allowing them to place about 50 kg of various utensils. Some types kitchen furniture have built-in cutlery trays, convenient linear dividers, vertical functional dividers, as well as roll-out drawers with a double bottom.
Radius cabinets
IN Lately radius cabinets are relevant. They can be various shapes– radial and semicircular, curved. Such furniture is made to order and fits perfectly into a specific room. It allows you to place a fairly large number of things as efficiently and compactly as possible.
Corner radius wardrobe
Such cabinets do not have any restrictions on their shape. They can follow curves on the floor and ceiling, and also successfully close unnecessary corners. These designs are multifunctional. Here you can build a large number of different shelves and drawers, and on a rack with many hangers you can compactly place both outerwear and everyday clothes. Moreover, in the corner radius cabinets there is space for shoes, books, household appliances and other things.
Radial wardrobe
Radial cabinets – best option For . The round design fits comfortably in any corner, takes up minimal space and enhances the overall interior. This art of design attracts with its beauty, novelty and exclusivity.
At the same time, there is a trend in furniture fashion that is alien to any rationality. Designers who develop so-called shapeless furniture and elaborate, complex models strive, on the one hand, for human comfort, and on the other, to establish the primacy of aesthetics in the interior. That is, the main thing is that it is beautiful and unusual, and how comfortable it is to sit on a chair-carpet or store things in a transparent chest of drawers are secondary issues.
Tags:Today there is a huge variety of types of furniture products. Furniture varies:
- by purpose: household - for the living room, bedroom, nursery and teenage rooms, for offices, kitchens, hallways, dining rooms, for relaxation (soft); hotel; ship; for trains; for aircraft; For public buildings; office; gardening;
- according to the materials from which it is made, and according to the manufacturing methods: solid wood, panel materials, metal, plastic, glass; bent glued, wicker;
- by design: cabinet, built-in, lattice;
- by style, type of finishing materials, etc.
This list does not claim to be an accurate classification of furniture products and does not cover the entire variety, which is constantly being updated with proposals from furniture developers appearing on the market. After all, manufacturers strive not only to satisfy the expressed requirements of customers, but also to fulfill the hidden wishes of consumers. Therefore, not all offers of new types of furniture take root in the market - if innovations do not meet the expectations of buyers, then they will not pay for an unnecessary thing.
The oldest furniture was created during the construction of a home and was immovable (today it would be called built-in). The modern understanding of furniture is associated with the ability to move products around the room when arranging a home. Which, of course, does not exclude options for built-in cabinets, tables, shelves, etc.
A variety of tools have long been used to work with wood: axes, adzes, saws, chisels, lathes, staples, drills, chisels, wood carving tools. Sawmilling was discovered in Rus' in the 17th century. The log and ridge were split into three parts using wedges and a thick middle board and two slabs were obtained. These boards were hewn to the required thickness. Spikes were used to connect furniture parts different designs, dowels, dowels and various adhesives. Panel furniture elements were made by connecting the bars together with transverse bars in the shape of a wedge.
In the same century, furniture decor and carvings on furniture products appeared.
Fastening fittings began to be used by furniture makers only in the 20th century.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, production was individual in nature. After all, even when producing a batch of identical products, the principle of interchangeability, mandatory in mass production, was not applied. Required quality assembly was achieved by adjusting and finalizing parts. During this period, the first specialized machines for carpentry and furniture production were invented. Many of them have essentially retained the design: a circular saw with a carriage, a jointer, band saw and etc.
The appearance of wood panels (a glued structure made of bars with outer layers of plywood) significantly increased the productivity of furniture factories and workshops and the quality of panel parts. The technology of veneering was widely used: gluing the faces and edges of parts made from cheap types of wood, and wood slabs with veneer of more valuable types.
The transition of furniture production to industrial basis contributed to:
- use of metal fastening fittings;
- the emergence of equipment that reduces the share of manual labor;
- the use of plywood and wood boards in structures;
- borrowing from mechanical engineering the principle of interchangeability, that is, compliance with the requirements for the accuracy of manufacturing parts (in the form maximum deviations sizes), allowing you to assemble furniture without preliminary adjustment.
Furniture technologies received the most significant development in the second half of the 20th century. Both the pace and direction of this development were greatly influenced by the emergence of new and improvement of materials used for furniture products.
One can have different attitudes towards chipboard (chipboard) as a material for furniture structures, but its importance for the development of furniture technologies cannot be underestimated. With its advent, manufacturers were able to cut full-size slabs into blanks of the required size, without paying attention to the direction of the fibers.
The problem with drying wood was no longer so acute for manufacturers; all that remained was to ensure the drying of solid wood parts.
This is how furniture technology has changed with the advent of chipboard. Machines for cutting full-size slabs were created, and then lines that performed the entire range of cutting operations, including such an intelligent function as drawing up cutting maps. Designed by special tool for processing chipboard with carbide inserts, soldered plates: saws, cutters, drills; A whole industry has developed for the production and maintenance of wood-cutting tools. The need to increase productivity required increasing processing speed for all operations. To perform many operations, through-type machines began to be introduced. The technology for cladding the layers of panel parts made of chipboard has changed, since the slab as a basis for cladding required a different approach to preparation and modes of the production process. Materials for cladding appeared in the form of films based on resin-impregnated papers; the multi-span presses used gave way to single-span “short-contact” through-type presses, the use of which became possible thanks to the creation of quick-curing adhesives. Such presses were well integrated into cladding lines. Lamination lines appeared. To form holes, they began to use multi-spindle drilling and filler machines of the through-type type, which significantly increased productivity and did not require much time for reconfiguration. The finishing of the edges of the workpieces also acquired a continuous character - this was facilitated by hot melt adhesive, which hardened immediately after cooling. Pass-through machines were created in the 60s of the last century and made it possible to mechanize this labor-intensive operation and significantly increase the productivity of factories.
Enterprises built serial, even large-scale production: pass-through machines, semi-automatic, automatic processing lines, stackers, transfer devices between operations - all this increased the speed and productivity of workers, gave more possibilities to ensure high quality products, but... led to a significant narrowing of the range of products.
The next stage of serious development of furniture technology occurred during the appearance on the market of particle boards lined with films based on resin-impregnated papers. In Russia, such boards are called laminated. It became possible not to think about the operation of facing the surface and about finishing with protective and decorative materials. The technology for the production of furniture panel blanks was reduced to several operations:
- I will cut already lined full-size slabs of pre-selected color and texture (with such cutting, however, the direction of the cladding pattern should be taken into account);
- veneering the edges of workpieces (in this case, the whole complex of related operations for processing the veneered edges was performed - removing overhangs and chamfering, grinding or polishing, if required by the edge material);
- drilling holes for fittings.
To an inexperienced entrepreneur, such technology will seem simple and easy. But that's not true. “Simple” technology was fraught with new problems:
- when cutting laminated boards in the usual way the saw inevitably caused chips in the facing material, which could not be sanded or puttied and covered with a layer of paint;
- on already finished coating the workpieces were scratched during subsequent operations, and finishing, which “corrected” or hid minor problems arising during the production of parts, did not exist;
- the absence of a procedure for applying a protective coating to already lined edges of parts required special attention to removing the overhangs of the facing edge material and forming a chamfer. The fact is that the chamfer now remained without protection during operation, and its thickness decreased, because the material based on impregnated papers is much thinner than veneer.
All these problems required the workers of the furniture enterprise to take a more careful and careful attitude towards the object of processing in all operations - both technological and transport. The first solution to the problem of chipping was the introduction of processing the edges of cut workpieces by milling - a labor-intensive and expensive operation. Then machines with a scoring saw appeared, which, due to the precise adjustment of the relative position of the main and additional saws, made it possible to avoid chipping and additional milling.
More than 30 years have passed since the widespread use of laminated chipboard in furniture production. Technologies have improved, the material itself has changed: many different patterns and textures have appeared, as well as slabs lined with films impregnated with melamine resins, which are more resistant to mechanical stress.
The further development of technology and the design of furniture products was certainly influenced by the appearance of MDF boards. Their dense, homogeneous structure made it possible to cover parts with thin materials without additional preparation of the base, and the ability to evenly absorb paint and varnish materials made it possible to cover surfaces with glossy enamels.
It is worth noting that the requests of furniture makers have led to changes in the production technology of particle boards: now they come from woodworkers already calibrated, polished, with special fine-structured outer layers. But back in the 70-80s of the last century, furniture factories faced the problem of calibrating chipboard blanks, as well as additional puttying of the surfaces (or using an additional layer of facing material, the so-called sublayer) of blanks before covering them with thin films.
Slab material with honeycomb filling, which is gaining more and more popularity today, will also give impetus to new developments in furniture production technologies. Although the largest manufacturers of fastening accessories are making considerable efforts to ensure that furniture makers do not have to change the attachment equipment when switching to new material. They proposed special designs for ties, hinges, etc. for slabs with honeycomb filling.
But the operation of facing the edges of such slabs required the creation of an additional supporting layer of edge material and the milling of a special groove for it. Nevertheless, experts predict the widespread use of this material in the furniture industry due to its undoubted advantage - low specific gravity.
Here is an example of how changes in the quality of facing materials, in particular decorative laminated paper plastic (DBSP), led to changes in furniture manufacturing technology. Back in the 1970s-1980s furniture factories DBSP was used, which lost its decorative properties when heated in a hot press, so it was glued only using a cold method. Modern DBSP can not only have a glossy, matte or special bumpy surface, but are also not afraid of short-term heating, which allows veneering with these materials in the same presses where similar operations are carried out using other films or veneers.
And the ability of DBSP to “post-form” (when heated it can be bent) has made it possible to diversify the design of furniture parts such as countertops and facades. This is how a new operation arose - postforming.
It is worth noting such a widely used facing material as PVC films, which are used to cover furniture surfaces in vacuum presses. This method and this material make it possible to cover a wide variety of relief surfaces quickly and with high quality. And presses of the same group - membrane ones - make it possible to use other facing materials (veneer, various films) for relief surfaces.
On modern stage The concept of furniture production is also changing, which now seeks to satisfy the diverse desires of the consumer.
Factories in heat competition expanding the range of products. But through-type equipment designs, which require a lot of time to reconfigure, are holding back this forward movement.
Modern machining centers of various functionalities solve this problem. These positioning equipment CNC machines are quick to set up and have high productivity and precision. Machining centers, as a rule, are not located along the technological flow; they are formed into independent sections.
The operations performed on such equipment are complex in nature, that is, they are enlarged: with one installation of the workpiece, several simple operations are performed. The process of developing technology and organizing furniture production has come close to producing products according to individual consumer orders, but now on a high-performance automated basis. Advanced furniture companies are already working according to these modern principles.
Irina BATYREVA, Associate Professor, SPbGLTA