Method for producing engineered wood flooring and product
A method for manufacturing an engineered wood flooring product including providing a flat plywood platform having an original thickness, sanding top and bottom surfaces of the platform to achieve a final thickness less than the original thickness, wherein the amount of material removed from the bottom surface is greater than the top surface to induce center lift in the platform, applying adhesive to the platform, applying a veneer face to the platform, and subjecting the lay-up to a lineal pressing system to ensure bonding.
1. A method for manufacturing an engineered wood flooring product, comprising:
providing a generally flat plywood platform having an original thickness;
sanding a top surface and a bottom surface of the plywood platform to a consistent final thickness that is less than the original thickness of the plywood platform;
wherein an amount of material removed from the bottom surface of the plywood platform during the sanding step is greater than an amount of material removed from the top surface of the plywood platform during the sanding step;
wherein the removal of the material from the bottom surface of the plywood platform and the top surface of the plywood platform induces bowing in the plywood platform such that the top surface of the plywood platform is formed into a convex shape;
applying adhesive to the top surface of the plywood platform;
applying a veneer face to the top surface of the plywood platform; and
bonding the plywood platform to the veneer face by pressing the veneer face onto the plywood platform utilizing a lineal pressing system to form the engineered wood flooring product.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the final thickness of the plywood platform is about 85% to 90% of the original thickness.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the amount of material removed from the bottom surface compared to the amount of material removed from the top surface is about 3:1.
4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
providing a generally balanced plywood sheet; and
simultaneously ripping the plywood sheet into a plurality of plywood platforms each having a predetermined dimension.
5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising applying a transparent cover layer to a top surface of the veneer face.
6. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising subjecting the wood flooring product to an ultra-violet curing process.
7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising sanding the bottom surface of the plywood platform prior to sanding the top surface of the plywood platform.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the lineal pressing system includes a pre-press roller assembly and a lineal roller press, the pre-press roller assembly including driven upper and lower rollers defining a gap therebetween for allowing the adhered platform and veneer face to be fed through under pressure applied at a nip of the rollers, and the lineal roller press including a series of pairs of corresponding upper and lower rollers defining a gap therebetween secured to a common frame in which pressure is applied thereto via at least one pneumatic actuator.
9. A method for manufacturing an engineered wood flooring product, comprising:
providing a generally flat plywood platform having an original thickness;
sanding a top surface and a bottom surface of the plywood platform to a final thickness that is less than the original thickness of the plywood platform;
wherein an amount of material removed from the bottom surface during the sanding step compared to an amount of material removed from the top surface of the plywood platform during the sanding step is in a ratio of about 3:1;
wherein the removal of the material from the bottom surface of the plywood platform and the top surface of the plywood platform induces bowing in the plywood platform such that the top surface of the plywood platform is formed into a convex shape;
applying adhesive to the top surface of the plywood platform; and
applying a veneer face to the top surface of the plywood platform to form the engineered wood flooring product.
10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the final thickness of the plywood platform is about 85% to 95% of the original thickness.
11. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising:
providing a substantially flat plywood sheet; and
simultaneously ripping the plywood sheet into a plurality of plywood platforms each having a predetermined dimension.
12. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising applying a transparent cover layer to a top surface of the veneer face.
13. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising sanding the bottom surface of the plywood platform prior to sanding the top surface of the plywood platform.
14. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising subjecting the adhered plywood platform and veneer face to a lineal pressing system to ensure bonding between the plywood platform and the veneer face.
15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the lineal pressing system includes a pre-press roller assembly and a lineal roller press, the pre-press roller assembly including driven upper and lower rollers defining a gap therebetween for allowing the adhered platform and veneer face to be fed through under pressure applied at a nip of the rollers, and the lineal roller press including a series of pairs of corresponding upper and lower rollers defining a gap therebetween secured to a common frame in which pressure is applied thereto via at least one pneumatic actuator.