Reducing fuzziness in abrasive sanding of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis)

Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) is the predominant wood raw material for the furniture industry in South East Asia. However, the prevalence of surface fuzziness after the abrasive sanding process contributes towards the low processing yield. In an effort to reduce the manifestation of surface fuzziness, a series of experiments was carried out in the laboratory using a cross-head wide-belt sander. The results showed that the sanding grit 120 on the cross-head, followed by sanding grits 150 and 180 produced the best surface quality

Characterizing surface defects in machine-planning of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis)

Despite its extensive application in the furniture manufacturing industry throughout the South East Asian region, the machine-planing characteristics of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) are not completely understood. In an effort to optimize the process, a series of experiments were undertaken using a Weinig 22A Unimat moulder (cutter-head rpm of 6000, cutter Ø 120 mm) to produce machined rubberwood surfaces with differing pitch lengths ranging from 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm, by altering the feed speed. The results showed that surfaces with a pitch length of cutter marks of 1.2 mm or more and a high knife rake angle were more prone to manifest machining defects, such as torn grain. This study shows that for machine planing of rubberwood the recommended cutter marks pitch length of 1.2 mm, achieved with a knife rake angle of 20°, will ensure the highest resultant surface quality and processing yield

A review of cemented tungsten carbide tool wear during wood cutting processes

The aim of this review is to provide a complete state of the art review of the wear of cemented tungsten carbide tools during wood cutting processes. It examines the properties of cemented tungsten carbides and its wear mechanisms, under the influence of different working conditions. Further, it also elaborates the techniques that could be used to determine tool wear and also discusses the implications of tool wear

Bending and fatigue strength of mortise and tenon furniture joints made from oil palm lumber.

The bending and fatigue strengths of rectangular mortise and tenon furniture joints made from oil palm lumber and solid Rubberwood were compared. The results showed that the ultimate bending moment of the oil palm lumber joints were half of the strength value of Rubberwood joints. The results showed that for both materials the allowable design stresses for rectangular mortise and tenon joints could be set at 20% of its bending strength

The Malaysian furniture industry: unravelling its growth and challenges to innovation

This book provides an overview of the furniture industry in Malaysia, followed by a discussion of its industrial structure, production characteristics, product types, design attributes, key actors of the industry, incentive schemes, health and safety issues, trade scenario and a detailed economic analysis its performance and how it measures up in the wake of growing competition from other emerging furniture producing nations, especially China and Vietnam. Although the furniture manufacturing sub-sector is the star-performer within the Malaysian wood products industry, contributing almost one-third of total export earnings and total employment in the wood products industry, it is dogged by weak value-adding, design and innovative dynamisms due to the structural features of the industry. Weak investments in human capital and innovation activities are undermining its ambitions of becoming a net exporter of high value-added, branded furniture

Fatigue strength and design stress of oil palm wood for furniture application.

Oil palm wood (OPW) and oil palm empty fruit bunches based particleboard (OPEFBP) furniture components were tested on edge in order to determine their resistance to fatigue. Tests were carried out at selected stress levels that corresponded to specific percentages of the material's ultimate strength (modulus of rupture - MOR). Generally, the materials fatigue life decreased as the levels of stress increased, and the allowable design stresses for the OPW and OPEFBP furniture components could be set at 40% of their respective MOR. The study also showed that OPW does not perform as well as solid Rubberwood in cyclic loading, but the OPEFBP showed similar fatigue performance to the conventional Rubberwood-based particleboard

Optimization of finger-jointing in rubberwood processing

The study evaluated the finger-jointing configuration of furniture-grade Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) lumber. It was found that fingers of 15 mm in length using PVAc adhesive produced optimum results in terms of bending strength and process economics. Furthermore, finger jointing contributes to yield improvement in Rubberwood processing and will continue to be widely used in the Rubberwood furniture manufacturing industry

Green manufacturing practices among wooden furniture manufacturers in Malaysia

The adoption of green manufacturing practices by the Malaysian wooden furniture industry is limited as is shown by a questionnaire-based survey of wooden furniture manufacturers. The lack of price premium for green furniture products and the high cost involved in adopting such practices have been identified as the major restraints. Currently most green manufacturing practices are related to the use of environmental-friendly materials

The Malaysian furniture industry: charting its growth potential

The Malaysian furniture industry has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the mid-1980s. From a cottage-based industry, the industry has been transformed into a multi-billion ringgit export oriented industry, which outshines all other sub-sectors within the larger Malaysian timber industry. Through a series of Industrial Master Plans (IMPs), the government has played a pivotal role in incentivizing the industrial transformation process, through the provision of a steady industrial policy framework, with a strong focus on greater value-added products. In this context, it is thus not surprising that the Malaysian furniture industry has emerged as an important socioeconomic sector, providing employment to almost 80,000, while generating foreign exchange earnings in excess of US$ 2 billion in 2015. However, the rapid growth of the furniture industry has been fuelled by incremental capital inputs rather than through actual productivity gains. Therefore, increasing demand for factor inputs (especially raw materials and workforce) is apparent, despite the push towards a greater degree of automation and high technology machinery application. Analysis of the productivity data of the furniture industry, based on the Annual Manufacturing Survey, has shown that the trend of increasing factor inputs has been driving industrial growth, while other indicators such as labour productivity and capital productivity have remained stagnant, if not showing a decreasing trend. In fact, the research published by the author has revealed that the extent of value-addition and innovation within the Malaysian furniture industry has been on the decline over the years. Hence, the furniture industry in Malaysia remains as a large and well established contract furniture manufacturing hub, operating within the low-wage economy category. The shift from the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) strategy towards original design manufacturing (ODM) and original brand manufacturing (OBM) is not apparent within the industry. Innovations sourced from buyers and suppliers are often inclined more towards cost reductions and the focus is more on finding alternative raw materials rather than applying new processes or implementing a new design scheme. Therefore, in order to make the shift towards the manufacture of higher value-added, fashion-oriented furniture, several issues with regard to the factor inputs, policy directions, technology inputs and human capital development must be addressed, as research has revealed. This calls for a paradigm shift among the various stakeholders to ensure the sustainable and equitable growth of the furniture industry in the future. This lecture is aimed at reviewing the performance of the Malaysian furniture industry in terms of its growth and productivity perspectives. The review is based on the multi research work carried out by the author and his collaborators at the Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, with the aim of identifying, enhancing and strengthening the Malaysian furniture industry’s performance into the future, in an increasingly competitive global environment

Load-bearing characteristics of heat-treated rubberwood furniture components and joints

The load bearing characteristics of heat-treated rubberwood furniture components and joints were studied. It was found that heat-treated samples had significantly lower fatigue strength compared to the conventionally kiln-dried rubberwood samples, which were used as control specimens. Inevitably, the recommended allowable design stresses for heat-treated rubberwood furniture components and joints could be set at 40 and 25 % of the respective bending strengths, in order to ensure its compliance with furniture performance standards. These figures are much lower than the allowable design stresses for conventionally kiln dried components, reflecting the need for a lower safety margin when working with heat-treated materials