The difference between hot-melt adhesive edge banding and laser edge banding of panel furniture!
Edge sealing is one of the important processes in the production of panel furniture. Which is better or worse, hot melt adhesive edge sealing or laser edge sealing? Many furniture makers have faced such confusion when choosing edge banding schemes. Today, we will answer your questions.
In the process of panel furniture production, edge banding is one of the most important processes. The quality of edge banding directly affects the final effect of panel furniture use. In the process of panel edge sealing, the adhesion of adhesive and edge sealing strip has a great impact on the overall effect of furniture edge sealing.
At present, the most common method in the domestic market is to use the hot melt adhesive process for edge sealing. In addition, laser edge banding technology, as a new type of panel sealing technology emerging in recent years, has gradually entered the furniture edge banding market.
So, what is a laser edge banding machine? What is laser edge banding technology? What are the advantages of laser edge banding? What is the difference between laser edge banding technology and traditional hot-melt adhesive edge banding? What is the future development trend of panel furniture edge banding? This paper will discuss the edge banding technology of panel furniture around the above core issues.
01 What is plate edge banding?
Edge bonding materials (PVC/ABS/PP/PMMA veneer, solid wood strip, HPL, etc.) are bonded to the edge of the plate through the edge bonding machine to achieve the purpose of decoration and protection, which is edge bonding. According to different process equipment, it can be divided into manual edge banding, machining center edge banding, linear edge banding and soft forming edge banding.
What is high-quality edge banding:
① The impeccable appearance quality: the glue line is fine, the color of the glue line is consistent with the board surface and the edge banding band, the board surface is clean and free of residual glue, and the edge banding band is flat and free of bumps;
② Qualified bond strength: peeling force 60-120 N/18 mm, taking into account the material breaking rate;
③ Durable resistance: cold and hot cycle resistance, heat resistance, water resistance, solvent resistance, climate resistance.
Conditions for high-quality edge sealing:
High-quality plates and high-quality edge sealing materials can complete high-quality edge sealing on suitable climate and qualified equipment.
02 Current mainstream edge banding methods and edge banding equipment
Hot melt adhesive edge sealing:
Through professional sol equipment, the hot melt adhesive is melted and evenly coated on the plate, and then the physical or chemical reaction is carried out with the edge banding material to form a certain tensile glue nail inside the plate, so as to realize the perfect combination of the plate and the edge banding belt.
Laser edge banding:
The laser converges the high-energy laser beam onto the laser edge banding belt through a mirror that swings back and forth. The high-energy laser quickly melts the functional layer of the edge banding belt, and then presses the edge banding belt onto the workpiece through the roller mechanism, and then through the processes of cutting, preliminary repair, fine repair, tracking and rounding, so as to achieve the purpose of edge banding. Therefore, laser edge banding requires laser edge banding machine and laser edge banding belt.
In addition to the different gluing methods (laser melting functional layer can be considered as a special gluing method), the other work units are similar.
At present, the edge banding equipment on the market is divided into manual edge banding machine, automatic edge banding machine, linear edge banding machine, bevel edge banding machine, curve edge banding machine, hot melt adhesive edge banding machine, laser edge banding machine, etc. according to different functions.
03 Edge banding market prospect analysis
The edge banding quality is most visible:
With the continuous development of the furniture industry and the continuous improvement of people’s quality of life, consumers have higher expectations for environmental protection and product quality. Consumer demand for furniture has changed from quantitative to qualitative. The decline of traditional civil furniture and the rise of whole-house customized furniture are the inevitable trend of market supply and demand and industrial development.
For consumers, any lofty concept is just a brainstorm. When purchasing furniture, the edge sealing effect of furniture is visible to the naked eye, which is the most intuitive and easiest way to recognize; However, the high-end materials advocated by the merchants are only an abstract term, which is difficult to achieve long-term waves in the hearts of consumers. However, the quality of edge banding can give consumers an intuitive experience for a long time.
New trends in edge banding technology:
Diamond cutting edge banding and six-sided seamless edge banding are new trends in the field of edge banding technology recently. Both of them have raised the edge banding quality to a new level.
So what is diamond cutting edge banding? What is six-sided seamless edge sealing? In short, diamond cutting and edge banding is the synchronous line cutting of edge banding belt during edge banding processing to achieve the purpose of diamond lines, thus achieving the perfect impact of edge banding vision. The six-sided seamless edge banding is another way of laser edge banding: there is no edge banding trace, no glue line, and the edge banding is perfect. In short, these concepts are the elaboration and embodiment of perfect edge banding.
How to adapt to future market demand:
The market has such high expectations for edge banding, so how can tens of thousands of furniture manufacturers in China adapt to the nearly stringent requirements of matching? The answer is to constantly improve the process, equipment and technology.
However, the improvement of process and technology needs to be precipitated, which requires the exploration or learning of various production enterprises for years. What is more challenging is that the improvement of equipment needs a lot of investment, such as laser edge banding machine. In the current market environment of intense competition, who can guarantee that the huge investment will not be wasted?
In the face of such a competitive and uncertain environment, most of the furniture enterprises that have been ups and downs in the wave of China’s rapid development in the past 20 years still adhere to their original intentions and firmly follow their own path. Although the technology of laser edge banding is very cutting-edge, it is bound to face the situation of being too high – at least for a long time in the future – due to the huge equipment investment, high use cost and high after-sales maintenance. We can see the answer from the European and American markets that have been ahead of us for decades.
Traditional hot-melt adhesive edge sealing still dominates:
Here is a set of data:
① The price of laser edge banding machine is 2.8~5.2 million yuan, and the price of laser edge banding belt is from 3 yuan to 5 yuan per meter;
② There are more than 70 laser edge banding machines on the market in China, while there are more than 1 million ordinary edge banding machines, and the laser edge banding machines account for less than 1/10000;
③ In 2020, the total sales of laser edge banding machines will be less than 40 (already astronomical). According to incomplete statistics, the annual sales of ordinary edge banding machines will be no less than 30000, and the sales of laser edge banding machines will account for one thousandth.
These data tell us that laser edge banding is not a wolf. It is just a beautiful tree in a large forest and a spray in the surging river.
To sum up, the traditional hot-melt adhesive edge sealing still occupies an absolute position in the market. With the continuous progress of edge banding technology, equipment accuracy, glue and edge banding materials, traditional hot melt adhesive edge banding will be infinitely close to laser edge banding. Now high-quality PUR edge banding can almost match laser edge banding.
04 Cost comparison of hot melt adhesive and laser edge banding
We have mentioned the huge investment of laser edge banding in equipment. Skipping equipment depreciation, let’s compare the cost of traditional EVA edge banding, PUR edge banding and laser edge banding. Take the most commonly used cabinet floor panel on the market as an example.
The size of the cabinet door panel: 600mm (L) * 400mm (W) * 18mm (H), and the same plate is used for edge sealing;
EVA average price: 15 yuan/kg; Average price of PUR: 65 yuan/kg; ABS edge banding belt for ordinary door panel is 1.5 yuan/meter; The average price of laser edge banding is 4 yuan/meter
Edge banding type
cost accounting
total
Laser edge banding
2 meters * 4 yuan/meter=8 yuan
8 yuan
EVA edge sealing
Glue: 2 m * 0.018 m * 0.25 kg/m2 * 15 yuan=0.135 yuan
Side band: 2 meters * 1.5 yuan/meter=3 yuan
3.135 yuan
PUR edge sealing
Glue: 2 m * 0.018 m * 0.15 kg/m2 * 65 yuan=0.35 yuan
Side band: 2 meters * 1.5 yuan/meter=3 yuan
3.335 yuan
Note: The average amount of EVA coating is 250g/㎡, and the average amount of PUR coating is 150g/㎡
Because the sales of door panels are priced per square meter, the costs of the three methods are:
Edge banding type
Cost per square meter
Laser edge banding
1/(0.4 * 0.6) * 8 ≈ 33 yuan/m2
EVA edge sealing
1/(0.4 * 0.6) * 3.135 ≈ 13.06 yuan/m2
PUR edge sealing
1/(0.4 * 0.6) * 3.335 ≈ 13.896 yuan/m2
As mentioned above, the cost of laser edge bonding is much higher than that of hot melt adhesive. If combined with high equipment depreciation, high equipment maintenance and relatively harsh service conditions, most furniture manufacturers will be deterred.
Here, some people may say that with the introduction of domestic laser edge banding machines and domestic laser edge banding belts into the market, the cost of laser edge banding will drop significantly. Unfortunately, it takes time to explore and precipitate. Moreover, as mentioned above, the ordinary hot melt adhesive and ordinary edge banding technology are undoubtedly improving. And the progress in this field will be faster than the research and development of domestic laser edge banding machine and domestic laser edge banding belt.
05 Performance comparison of hot melt adhesive edge banding and laser edge banding
We will analyze the performance differences of hot melt adhesive edge banding, PUR edge banding and laser edge banding in detail through three tables.
EVA hot melt adhesive edge sealing
Reaction principle
Thermoplasticity, physical reaction, reversible
equipment
Ordinary edge banding machine
equipment investment
low
working temperature
180 – 210 ℃ (open type)
Sideband price
0.5 – 1.8 yuan/meter
Glue price
10-30 yuan/kg
Glue amount
200-300g/㎡
Edge sealing quality
difference
strength
Low (60-100N)
VOC emissions
100-200g/L
tolerance
The glue line is thick (0.1-0.2mm), with poor water resistance, weather resistance, heat resistance, solvent resistance, yellowing resistance for 1-2 years, and easy to mold;
energy consumption
high
Maintenance costs
low
PUR hot melt adhesive edge sealing
Reaction principle
Reactive polyurethane, cross-linking chemical reaction, irreversible
equipment
PUR sol system+ordinary edge banding machine
equipment investment
Lower
working temperature
130 – 150 ℃ (semi open type)
Sideband price
0.5 – 1.8 yuan/meter
Glue price
55-75 yuan/kg
Glue amount
70-150g/㎡
Edge sealing quality
higher
strength
High (>140N, final)
VOC emissions
<100g/L
tolerance
The glue line is very thin (0.03-0.05mm), with the best water resistance, weather resistance, heat resistance and solvent resistance. It is resistant to yellowing for 5-10 years and is not easy to grow mold
energy consumption
moderate
Maintenance costs
in
Laser edge banding
Reaction principle
Thermoplasticity, physical reaction, reversible
equipment
Laser generator+high configuration edge banding machine
equipment investment
Very high
working temperature
500 – 800 ℃ (sealed)
Sideband price
Small batch>4 yuan/meter (imported brands)
Glue price
0
Glue amount
0
Edge sealing quality
highest
strength
Medium (100-130N)
VOC emissions
No relevant data
tolerance
There is no glue line at the initial stage. After a period of time, the glue line is prominent. It has good water resistance, weather resistance, heat resistance and solvent resistance. It is resistant to yellowing for 5-10 years and is not easy to grow mold
energy consumption
low
Maintenance costs
high
What is the difference between hot melt adhesive edge sealing and laser edge sealing? These accounts should be clear!
▲ Henkel hot melt adhesive and laser edge sealing
Tensile force comparison (EVA>laser edge banding)
06 Challenges and solutions of traditional hot-melt adhesives
In the face of the challenges brought by laser edge banding technology in the edge banding market, the majority of hot melt adhesive edge banding enterprises that occupy the absolute leading position in the market should have a clear understanding: find the market positioning suitable for their own factories, and do not blindly follow the trend and belittle themselves.
Relying on the continuous innovation of hot melt adhesive technology, the continuous innovation of edge banding technology, and the continuous introduction of new edge banding materials, we can fully cultivate our own field and compete with the laser edge banding which represents the advanced productivity. The future is still very bright. In the Chinese market with a huge population base, the demand has a pyramid structure, and the majority of ordinary consumers still adhere to the basic principle of cost-effective.
What is the difference between hot melt adhesive edge sealing and laser edge sealing? These accounts should be clear!
We can’t hesitate, continuous innovation is the ultimate way out. It is not so much that laser edge banding brings a crisis to the hot melt adhesive edge banding, but rather that laser edge banding gives a warning to the hot melt adhesive edge banding and clearly guides the future development direction: perfect edge banding.
For traditional hot-melt adhesive producers, achieving the best possible edge sealing is both a challenge and an opportunity. To achieve seamless edge sealing, the hot-melt adhesive manufacturer is required to continuously improve the glue formula, continuously reduce the amount of glue applied, and continuously reduce the glue line on the premise of ensuring sufficient strength and good durability. At the same time, the glue and the edge band should be the same color as far as possible. In addition, the aging resistance, yellowing resistance and mildew resistance of the glue should also be innovated and followed up.
It is particularly emphasized here that the market prospect of PUR hot melt adhesive is very bright, and will increasingly seize the market share of EVA hot melt adhesive.
07 Write at the end
Our generation of furniture practitioners are fortunate to have experienced 30 years of changes in China’s furniture industry. Experienced the grinding of small workshops, perceived the bud of industrial production, experienced the pain of industrial transformation, experienced the anti-dumping investigation of China’s furniture industry in Europe and the United States, and witnessed the waves of the market and the survival of the fittest.
Now, we are participating in the rolling wave of digital production in the furniture industry. In the 30 years of development of China’s furniture industry, we have experienced both failure and success in the history of furniture production.
Laser edge banding and hot melt adhesive edge banding will have their own various segments and markets, or go hand in hand, or both, but they have a common goal and direction: to achieve the perfect edge banding of furniture. Let’s witness the blooming of a hundred flowers and the contention of a hundred schools of thought in the edge banding market.
