What is melamine?
It is a hard resin which is commonly used in the construction of wooden materials such as plywood or MDF. When it is in the basic form, it is considered as an organic material. If this is combined with formaldehyde, then it becomes a plastic which is the durable thermosetting. And when the plastic mixes with the paper base, it becomes a laminate which is used to cover on other bases.
Melamine board, the full name is melamine impregnated plastic film paper veneer board.
The paper with different colors or textures will be soaked in melamine resin adhesive, Then dry it to certain solidify degree, paved on the surface of chipboard, moisture-proof board, MDF, plywood, joinery board, multilayer board or other hard fiberboard, After hot pressing, a laminated board was born.
what is the difference between Melamine board Laminate board?
Melamine is a laminate, but not all laminates are melamine. When melamine laminates are manufactured, they’re created by molding a melamine/formaldehyde combo into a durable plastic sheet.
This is done by applying a certain amount of pressure-per-square-inch to the laminate. However, the amount of pressure applied changes the classification of the laminate. Melamine is a low-pressure laminate (LPL) because it is made with a pressure of 300-500 pounds-per-square-inch. High-pressure laminate (HPL), also called Formica, is made with over 1400 pound.
The 10 steps to manufacturing a laminate board:
Step 1 Raw Materials
Decorative plastic laminate sheeting is made of resins that react with aldehydes during the thermosetting process. The resins are laminated onto layers of kraft paper topped with a decorative sheet.
The laminate sheets are made up of three layers:
the bottom layer of brown paper coated with phenolic resin, a second layer of paper decorated with the desired pattern, and a third layer.
Step 2 Impregnating the paper
The process begins by soaking strips of paper in resin.
Decorative plastic laminates can be made in different grades or thicknesses, depending on its intended use. There may be from 7-18 layers of paper combined into the final sheet.
The bottom layers are kraft paper. The paper comes in ribbons of different widths, commonly of three, four, or five feet. The kraft paper is run through a “bathtub” or vat containing phenolic resins.
The paper for the top layer of the sheet is translucent. This is run through a vat of melamine resin. The layer just beneath the top is the decorative layer. This is a sheet of paper printed with the color or design that will show through the clear top layer for the desired surface pattern. This sheet is also run through a melamine vat.
Step 3.Drying
Before resin treatment, the paper was flexible and easy to tear and after it is stiff and brittle bend.
The resin-impregnated sheets are then put into a drying chamber. Next, they are cut and stacked in layers. The clear layer and the decorative layer are on top of the kraft paper.
Step 4.Thermosetting
3 The layers of paper are then loaded onto a flat-bed hydraulic press for final curing.
Thermosetting converts the paper sheets into one single, rigid laminated sheet.
Step 5.Finishing
The sheets are trimmed to required size and sanded, and then cut into the desired size and shape.
Step 6.Assembly
The finished laminate sheet was combined with MDF particle board or plywood etc.
Step 7.Composure dry and hot press
8.Quality Control
9.Packaging and Stacking
