woodfiber-plastic products tested

More similar results could be observed for the roughness perpendicular to the sanding direction. Smartdeck had the smoothest surface (508 µin), which was almost as smooth as the surface of the control specimen, maple (503 µin). Fiberon had, with 531 µin, the roughest surface. These results are displayed in Table 4. Belt life varied widely. The Trex material achieved a belt lifetime of only 31 minutes whereas the wood plastic composite product lasted 150 minutes under the exact same circumstances. The lifetime of the belt for the hard maple control specimen was 54 minutes.

Discussion Sanding is one of the most widely employed processes in the industry. Sanding determines the quality of the finished piece and thus has a large impact on the perceived quality of the product. Both material removal rate and surface roughness are the two main parameters to characterize the quality of the process. Belt life, on the other hand, determines the economics of using a particular product for a specific application.wood plastic composite news was found that the density of the individual products correlated with the material removal rates (MRR) measured to some extent. Since the density varied widely, MRR varied, too. However, further research is needed to more specifically quantify this observation. The high variability in MRR for the same material throughout a single test (as can be seen in Figure 7), may also be explained by the varying density profiles throughout the material. Surface roughness measurements differed less than the MRR or the belt life among products.
However, there were measurable differences for the different products. Fiberon, with a roughness of 531 µin had the roughest surface of any of the products tested. This is despite the fact that this product appears to be made with smooth, consistent material and uses very fine ground wood particles. Also, it must be emphasized, that the differences measured were not readily apparent to the eye or touch of a person. The difference in belt life was large. The performance of the Fiberon product was three to four times better than all the other specimens tested, including the hard maple specimen. Very likely, the explanation for this observation will be found in the material composition of the different products. As it appears visually, Fiberon is a very fine, smooth product with few impurities.
As the sanding study showed, there are differences in regard to sanding between the four woodfiber-plastic products tested. As these products become more widely used, these differences will become more important in the selection process for users. Also, the industry that is working in the area of sanding will start looking into better, more efficient ways to achieve high quality sanded surfaces using these new wood plastic composite floor composites. Of particular concern to any of them should be the problem of heat generation and dissipation during sanding in order to avoid changing the profiles and surfaces of the materials sanded.