Panels & Furniture Asia November/December 2022

FURNITURE MANUFACTURING
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LASER EDGEBANDING TECHNOLOGY
Currently, laser edgebanding is
the most technically advanced
process in the market and solves the
problem of glue lines with traditional
edgebanding. Laser edgebanding
comes with a functional polymer.
Through laser activation of the
functional layer, the functional layer
of the edgeband penetrates the board
fibres to form a mechanical ‘riveting’ to
achieve seamless banding and strong
joint strength. The whole process
is the jointing between the board
and the edgeband, and it has better
closure performance since there is no
additional glue coating in the middle,
thus improving the joint strength
and water tightness. Furthermore,
it is more environmentally friendly,
seamless, and aesthetic.
Laser edgebanding has high
requirements on the performance
and laser head of the edgebanding
machinery. Nanxing’s NB-Laser10
uses advanced rectangular spot laser
edgebanding technology in China,
which has a stabler energy output,
and more even temperature control
and power density, thus reducing the
risk of coating burn and producing
quality products more stably. In
addition to one laser set, NB-Laser10
is equipped with a pre-melting glue
application unit for EVA glue, and it
can also be installed with a PUR unit
to enable EVA, PUR and laser to be
used in one machine and to switch
quickly. The laser generator, together
with its integral steel beam, servo
tape feeder and presser, servo end
cutting, servo fast corner rounding and
other configurations, can ensure high
edgebanding quality even at speeds up
to 32m/min.
Legend
1 The laser
edgebanding
process
2 Hot air banding
technology
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HOT AIR BANDING TECHNOLOGY
As a low-cost banding solution
alternative to laser banding, hot
air sealing technology, similar to
laser banding in principle, applies
a banding strip with a pre-coated
adhesive layer, and the hot air
system sprays hot air at a high
temperature and pressure onto
the strip through a nozzle, thus
melting the functional layer and
pressing the banding strip to the
surface of the workpiece to achieve
a seamless joint between the strip
and the workpiece. Compared
to EVA adhesives, it has higher
durability and resistance to water
and high temperature, and the hot
air used in hot air systems is easier
to obtain and greener. Nanxing’s hot
air system adopts a high-pressure
hot air conveying control system
from Germany, with short heatingup
time, stable performance, and
speeds of up to 20m/min. It can be
installed on automatic edgebanding
machines with pre-milling and
profiling functions, such as NB7PCGM-
PC and NB7CJ edgebanders.
In terms of the above-mentioned
joining methods between edgebands
and boards, from the edgebanding
effect, laser edgebanding is better
than hot air edgebanding, PUR
edgebanding and pre-melting
gluing edgebanding. However, hot
air banding is less cost-effective
than PUR and EVA edgebanding,
and the latter two still dominate the
market. Besides, with the continuous
advancement of edgebanding
equipment, process and materials,
as well as the same-colour system
matching between hot-melt adhesive
and panels, the gap of edgebanding
effect will become increasingly
smaller. Furniture manufacturers
should also identify product
positioning, and consider product
demand and cost in a comprehensive
manner to select the equipment
and process most suited for their
products. P
Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022 39