The construction industry has seen numerous material inventions throughout its history. These materials have revolutionised the way we build and have made construction faster, cheaper, and more efficient. With technological advances, changes in consumer demand, preferences, and the need to meet new building codes and regulations, there is development in new materials and technologies. They will continue to shape the way we build and the materials we use in construction. BWP Plywood is one such material invented to suit the versatile demands of the industry.
As to how much there is elegance in traditional wood and other wooden furniture, there is equal worry and hesitance to the same due to its distortion and warping nature when in constant or occasional exposure to water and dampness. It is due to inexpensive grade materials, ply, and sub-par glue lines that become fragile and prone to termite and borer infestation.
One of the products resolves all of these problems. Boiling Waterproof Plywood, known as BWP grade Plywood in short, or Marine Plywood, is the most premium type of Plywood, capable of enduring long exposure to water and moisture, making it a popular choice for usage in damp conditions. It is also hard-wearing, making it a long-lasting building material.
Some remarkable properties make it a better plywood grade than the rest.
Boiling WaterProof: BWP plywood is treated with special chemicals to make it resistant to boiling water which makes it ideal for use in damp or humid conditions, as it will not warp or swell when exposed to moisture.
Durability: BWP plywood is solid and durable, making it suitable for use in a variety of applications, such as maritime architecture, under-sink cabinets, and other units which are in constant exposure to water. Beyond this, it’s used in flooring, roofing, and furniture making.
Strong bonding: BWP grade plywood uses a quad-press method, generating a warp-free, super-strong bond that ensures the zero-surface core gap.
Manufacturing Process
Log selection and preparation: The raw material for Plywood is the logs sourced from sustainably managed forests. These logs are then cut into smaller pieces and debarked to remove the outer layer of bark.
Peeling: The seasoned debarked logs are passed through a rotary peeler, which cuts thin veneers from the logs using a rotating blade with precision provided by the 3d scan that helps avoid the chucks. The veneers are then sorted based on their quality and thickness.
Drying: The veneers are dried in a belt dryer at a temperature ranging from 100 degrees to 150 degrees, followed by cooling at a higher air speed of 1000-1500 meters per minute to remove excess moisture. This ensures that the veneers are ready for the next stage of the manufacturing process.
Defects Cutting and veneer clipping: Since natural wood generally has knots and cracks, this stage of manufacture deeply inspects such defects and punches those specific spots with a patch. It’s followed by compression to avoid any air gap within the patches.
Glue application: The dried veneers are coated with adhesive, either in a continuous or batch process, with a grammage of 140 to 240 grams per square meter per face. The adhesive used is typically phenol-formaldehyde, which is resistant to boiling water and gives BWP Plywood its water-resistant properties. The veneers are stacked perpendicularly in odd numbers by an automated machine.
Hot Pressing: The coated veneers are placed in a hot press, which applies pressure of 12 kilograms per square centimetre of the area to ensure that the adhesive bonds tight with the veneers. The press also removes excess glue and ensures that the plywood panel is of the desired thickness and size.
Panel sizing: This stage of the process cuts the veneers to the commercial sizes of panels.
Sanding and grading: The panels are then sent through sanding machines for better panel calibration.
Trimming, Edge sealing: The panels are then manicured with special treatments, clipped, and sealed to ensure extreme precision and a thorough finish.
Quality control: After pressing, the panels are thoroughly inspected for defects and sorted according to their quality.
Finishing: The finished panels are then sanded and coated with a finish, such as paint or varnish, to protect the wood and give it the desired appearance.
Packaging and storage: The finished plywood panels are then packaged and stored in a warehouse until they are ready to be shipped to customers.
Potential Factors of BWP Plywood
Precision Press Technology
BWP-grade Plywood is constructed with a quad-press process, creating a warp-free, super-strong bond that provides a zero-surface core gap. The technique starts with a cold-pressing on veneers followed by a hot press on the cold-pressed veneers. This is followed by a cold press with face veneers and a subsequent hot press with face veneers to assure the quality and sustainability of the BWP plywood.
Treatment Process
BWP-grade Plywood is produced using three types of supreme treatments. Each layer is treated with a mixture of several toxicants via VPT (Vacuum Pressure Treatment) (Vacuum Pressure Treatment). This ensures the Plywood has a highly smooth surface and can withstand borers and termites.
Superior Adhesive Strength
BWP grade is specially designed by creating a solid glue shear strength that other grades fail, making it a critical design evolution in creating this grade of Plywood. This grade uses only the supreme adhesive, which ensures the maximum bond between the veneers, eliminating the chance for any bores, termites, or even any moisture or molecule of water to penetrate. This ensures explicitly creating the quality that a specific design function requires.
ISO Certification
Marine Plywood comes with BWP IS 710 guarantees proving its quality and ability to withstand high-pressure saline water conditions. Consequently, BWP Plywood is the industry’s favourite and is the ship- and boat-building industry’s standard option.
All the above factors also make this Plywood a little costlier than other grades.
Application
It is used to meet versatile demands in the interior and marine industry. It is promising, especially where there is constant moisture in contact with the utility of the need. This can include external garden furniture, bathroom interiors, under-sink cabinets, and boat and ship making.
Citation:
Articles
What is BWP plywood and how to identify it? (2022) Austin. Available at: https://www.austinplywood.com/blog/what-is-bwp-plywood-and-how-to-identify-it/ (Accessed: December 23, 2022).
BWP plywood, BWR plywood & MR grade plywood: A comparison (no date) CenturyPly. Available at: https://www.centuryply.com/blog/bwp-plywood-bwr-plywood-&-mr-grade-plywood-a-comparison#:~:text=BWP%20grade%20plywood%20has%20a,years%20up%20to%20a%20lifetime.&text=An%20interior%20grade%20plywood%2C%20it,widely%20used%20for%20furniture%2Dmaking (Accessed: December 23, 2022).
All you need to know about BWP grade plywood: Afyun plywood (2021) Afyun Plywoods. Available at: https://afyun.com/bwp-grade-plywood/#:~:text=The%20process%20starts%20with%20a,sustainability%20of%20the%20BWP%20plywood . (Accessed: December 23, 2022).
Varna group of companies plywood – 5.imimg.com (no date). Available at: https://5.imimg.com/data5/VS/CS/MY-4385427/green-ply-optima-red-plywood.pdf (Accessed: December 23, 2022).
Images
BWP Plywood (no date) Plywoodchina. Available at: https://www.plywoodchina.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/waterproof-plywood.png (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
BWP Plywood manufacturing process (no date) prezi. Available at: https://prezi.com/inhgsnep0gik/plywood-process-flow-chart/ (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
BWP Plywood used in boat making (no date) boatsandwatersports. Available at: https://www.boatsandwatersportswebsite.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2933.jpg (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
BWP Plywood used in under sink cabinets (no date) istockphoto. Available at: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/water-pipes-under-sink-3d-rendering-gm1344879788-423108040?phrase=under%20sink%20cabinet (Accessed: December 23, 2022).
