10 new materials or alternatives to traditional timber,will them change the future of the home furnishing industry?

10 new materials or alternatives to traditional timber,will them change the future of the home furnishing industry?

China is a country with very little forestry resources, and there are fewer and fewer large-diameter natural woods that can be used for furniture production. With the country’s restrictions on the development of forest resources and the gradual increase in environmental awareness in foreign wood exporting areas, it is necessary and urgent to find available new furniture materials.

Take the Milan Furniture Fair, a global furniture design highland, as an example. In addition to its strong artistry, its furniture design also has innovations in material application, which is the biggest gap between Chinese furniture makers. Material innovation is a direct reflection of technological innovation.

1. Wood plastic composite materials

Wood-plastic composite materials refer to the use of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, etc., wood powder, rice husk, straw and other waste plant fibers mixed into new wood materials, and then produced through extrusion, injection molding and other plastic processing techniques. Out of the plate or profile.

Advantages of Wood plastic composite materials

Non-toxic and harmless wood-plastic composite material combines the advantages of wood and plastic. It has a wide range of raw material sources, good mechanical properties, and the product is green, environmentally friendly, economical and practical. It has the characteristics of moisture-proof, mildew-proof, anti-corrosion, acid-proof and alkali-proof.

Application of wood-plastic composite materials in furniture

(1) Furniture: paving boards, guardrails, pavilions, plank roads, etc. for garden landscapes, park chairs, dining tables, trash cans, flower boxes, etc. for outdoor entertainment venues;

(2) Indoor furniture: as some bathroom furniture, cabinet furniture, tables and stools furniture and flooring, doors and windows, decorative strips, wardrobes and other furniture.

2. Reorganized Bamboo

Restructured bamboo is a new bamboo material that reorganizes bamboo and strengthens it. That is, the bamboo is processed into long strips, bamboo filaments or crushed into bamboo filaments, dried, soaked in glue, and then dried to the required The moisture content is then laid in the mold and thermally cured by high temperature and high pressure to form a profile.

Advantages of restructured bamboo

It has the advantages of excellent material properties, excellent texture, beautiful grain and color, convenient processing, sustainable supply, green environmental protection and high material utilization rate.

Application of restructured bamboo in furniture:

(1) The furniture produced using recombinant bamboo has the appearance of zebra wood furniture, and some has a teak-like effect, and is favored by domestic and foreign customers.

(2) Use recombinant bamboo to replace mahogany to make furniture with traditional Chinese style. These furniture are very similar to mahogany in terms of material texture, touch, color, texture, etc.

3. Oriented strand board

Oriented strand board refers to a new type of particle board made of strip-shaped shavings for the surface layer and fine shavings for the core layer. The surface shavings are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the board and are glued and pressed.

Advantages of oriented strand board

The physical and mechanical properties are far better than ordinary particleboard, close to or even better than plywood. It has the advantages of uniform strength and good dimensional stability. It is an ideal substitute for structural plywood, and its average selling price is only half of that of plywood with the same performance.

Application of oriented strand board in furniture:

(1) Forced components used in furniture

(2) Can be used as cabinet side panels, shelves, table and chair panels, etc.

(3) Used as structural panels for kitchen furniture, lining panels, interior panels, heat insulation panels, sound-absorbing panels, ceilings, and wall panels for house construction.

4. Straw artificial board

Straw artificial panels are made of various straws (corn straw, wheat straw, cotton straw, rice straw) as raw materials, integrating physical, chemical, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and other technical principles, using high-pressure, molding machinery and equipment, and will be milled The final straw fiber is mixed with resin and press-molded in a metal mold to prepare various high-quality low-density, medium-density and high-density fiber products.

Advantages of straw artificial panels

It is small in size, high in strength, environmentally friendly, formaldehyde-free, has good rigidity and seismic resistance, and also has good thermal insulation, sound insulation and fire protection properties.

Application of straw artificial panels in furniture:

Straw artificial panels can produce kitchen furniture, office furniture, children’s furniture, bedroom furniture and other series of products through processes such as veneer, cutting, processing and assembly.

5. Transparent wood

Although wood has many uses, can you imagine that one day it could even replace glass? A team led by Hu Liangbing, a Chinese scientist at the University of Maryland, recently developed a transparent wood and believes that it can be used in many fields such as furniture and building materials in the future.

This research result was recently published in the American magazine “Advanced Materials”. Associate Professor Hu Liangbing and others first removed the colored lignin components in the wood, and then filled the light refractive index matching material epoxy resin to make the wood optically transparent. Test results show that the total light transmittance can reach 90%.

Transparent wood is a new material that combines beauty and practicality, so its application prospects are relatively promising. It is stronger than original wood, more environmentally friendly than glass and plastic, and has some unique optical properties that these commonly used transparent materials do not have.

6. 3D bent wood technology

3D bent wood technology originated from Europe. It uses high-temperature pressing methods to deform the softened wood, bend it into shape, and perform a long-term drying process in the deformed state to restore and enhance the original rigidity and toughness of the wood to meet the designer’s needs. The perfect arc you want.

It is reported that a 3D curved wooden chair needs to be produced by skilled woodworkers through 20 processes. The production cycle ranges from 5 days to 30 days. The entire process is completed by robots and manual operations.

7. PU foam material

The texture, color, texture and processing performance are close to those of teak, maple, oak, ash, rue and other high-grade woods;

It is superior to wood in terms of strength, moisture-proof, insect-proof, flame retardant, sound insulation, texture, anti-deformation, anti-aging and many other properties. It can be processed and produced like wood and can be cut and drilled.

PU material also has the characteristics of low density, light weight, not fragile, stable structure, not easy to deform, good texture, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and has a particularly long service life.

Produce various carvings with complex craftsmanship, precise dimensions, clear patterns and clear textures.

8. Corn plastic

Using corn and other crops as the main raw materials, new polymer materials are produced and polymerized through modern biotechnology to produce lactic acid. They are called the “fourth new material” after inorganic materials and polymer materials. It does not have the problem of resource depletion; it will not produce toxic substances to pollute the environment and will not harm the human body.

Consumers are paying more and more attention to the environmental protection and design sense of furniture. If furniture manufacturers and designers broaden their minds on the use of new materials, boldly use new materials, enhance the artistry of furniture design, and enhance its sense of science and technology, it will definitely be able to Being greatly welcomed by the new generation of consumers, it can also open up a new road that has not been traveled before, thus easily getting rid of the quagmire of price war with old products.

9. Technology wood

New wooden decorative materials with the color, texture, texture and other characteristics of natural precious tree species or other artistic patterns.

The growth cycle is short, and its popularity will play a protective role in rare tree species. The regularity of texture and color allows the material to be fully utilized. The texture and durability of specially treated technical wood are better than ordinary wood.

Technical wood can also be made into various furniture with both wood texture and brilliant colors according to needs, giving designers maximum design freedom.

10. Natural fiber composite materials

——A new type of material made of natural fiber and resin matrix. It can be processed repeatedly, with low energy consumption and little wear during processing. It has the characteristics of quick moisture absorption, antibacterial, corrosion resistance, friction resistance and low temperature resistance. Rich in resources, most of them are waste and low in price, which not only reduces environmental pressure but also increases economic benefits.

Consumers are paying more and more attention to the environmental protection and design sense of furniture. If furniture manufacturers and designers broaden their minds on the use of new materials, boldly use new materials, enhance the artistry of furniture design, and enhance its sense of science and technology, it will definitely be able to Being greatly welcomed by the new generation of consumers, it can also open up a new road that has not been traveled before, thus easily getting rid of the quagmire of price war with old products.