Shape stability of laminated veneer products : How to decrease the negative effects of fibre deviation?

A shortcoming of the laminated bending process is that the products may become distorted after moulding and during use. Annually, significant financial losses have incurred in the furniture and interior design industries as a result of distorted products. In this study, we have examined the influence of deviation of fibre orientation of individual veneers on distortion of a moulded shell to find ways to improve shape stability of laminated veneer products. Ninety cross-laminated shells, consisting of 7 veneers of Birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) with a total thickness of 3.6 mm, were studied. The in-plane dimensions of the veneer were 400x660 mm. All the veneers were straight-grained, but to simulate deviation in fibre orientation some of the individual veneers were oriented 7 degrees relative to the main orientation of the other veneers in the laminate. Distortion was determined directly after moulding and after storage in a changing relative humidity. The results show the well-known fact that deviation of fibre orientation of the veneers in the laminate influences the shape stability of the product. The results from this study, however, also show how the placement of the abnormal veneers in the laminated veneer products influences the degree of distortions. From this basic knowledge some improvements for production of laminated veneer products were suggested