Wood-based panels

The use of Medium and High Density Fiberboard (MDF/HDF) has grown enormously during the past decade, particularly by furniture manufacturer and do-it-yourself enthusiasts.

MDF/HDF is an engineered, machineable product with great structural integrity. It offers some significant advantages over material like Particle Board (PB), including superior dimensional stability and greater versatility in terms of shaping.

HDF is generally used in the flooring industry, and contains more resin and fiber per cubic meter than MDF. It is often also referred to as MDF.

Typical MDF/HDF applications include:
- Laminate flooring
- Building & construction (wall paneling, flooring, doors etc.)
- Furniture (fitted kitchens, bathroom fitments, bedroom furniture etc.)
- Interior fitments (in offices, hotels, museums etc.)
- House ware (storage boxes, picture frames, toys etc.)

Melamine is used as Melamine-Urea-Formaldehyde (MUF) resin in the moisture-resistant grades of MDF/HDF that are predominantly used as the substrate for flooring panels. The swelling values of these panels have to be very good, and melamine is used to achieve this.

Innovative at work
MDF/HDF was initially conceived as a flat sheet material, but recent innovations mean that curved components and panels can now be manufactured by the processes of thin MDF lamination, chemical pre-treatment or formable MDF.

Loudspeaker manufacturers, for example, prefer MDF/HDF due to its shaping possibilities and the high density of the panel. A very rigid outer casing can be constructed that provides high quality acoustics.