Industries

Wood-based materials industry

During the production of wood particle boards, wood is broken down into chips or fibres, cleaned, dried and then mixed with a binding agent. The glued chips, strands or fibres are spread into mats of a corresponding structure and then pre-compacted. Heat and pressure are then applied to the mats as they are compressed into boards in the main press. The main press operates at a temperature significantly in excess of 230° C and at a specific pressure of 2.5 MPa. Heat in the press activates the glue and causes it to set. After the board cool down, they are trimmed, cut and sized. After that, they can either be coated or processed and machined in other ways. The production of wood-based materials is highly mechanised.

Overview of all industries

Insulating materials for heated presses must keep pace with ever-increasing requirements. In general, the following properties are of decisive importance for insulating materials in heated presses:

Long-term thermal stability
Low setting behaviour (compressive strain) under operating conditions
Resistance to static and dynamic compressive load (load change) – resistance to chemicals and oil

As a particular consequence of the very high specific compressive loads sometimes applied (up to approx. 90N/mm²), glass-fabric or glass-fibre reinforcements in combination with fillers and resins are generally used. However, inorganic composite materials are also used in the case of low specific pressures.

Applications in the area of wood-based materials processing are generally relatively simple 2D components made from standard materials. For some press insulators, a flexible compensation inlay to counteract inaccuracies in the mechanical structure is requested in addition to the insulation boards.

Latest Applications

Thermal insulation

Insulation is used wherever the manufacturing process requires or generates process heat.