Many customers of cabinet furniture do not initially understand what material it should be made of, and what should be paid special attention to. Some questions can drive into a dead corner – for example, what is better for the kitchen, MDF, or chipboard, what to make a set from so that it lasts for several years and does not lose its former attractiveness?
Experienced furniture makers will always tell you that this kind of furniture in the kitchen is operated in conditions of high humidity, large temperature fluctuations, and regular mechanical and chemical influences. All these factors must be taken into account when designing a headset.
Characteristics of both materials
The natural desire of every person is to choose the optimal, relatively inexpensive furniture offered with decent quality. In this regard, it will not be superfluous to study the characteristics of MDF and chipboard in order to make a more informed and balanced decision.
Particleboard
The advantage of chipboard is its availability. It is made from production waste, including shavings and sawdust.
The binder in it is formaldehyde resins, the composition of which should be paid special attention.
Chipboard is often used for laying roofs, interior partitions, interior design, production of cabinet furniture, laying floors, and many other purposes.
Of course, if you “keep” the material in water, then not a single impregnation and processing will save it from destruction, but it’s completely from accidental drops, splashes, and light wetting.
Chipboard is manufactured in accordance with current environmental standards. The following classes exist today:
- E1 – practically harmless material, with a minimum rate of formaldehyde emission, suitable even for use in a children’s room;
- E2 – the material is less environmentally friendly than the previous version, and it is recommended to use it in non-residential rooms.
Interestingly, the most stringent requirements for the production and characteristics of chipboard are in Japan, so furniture from this country will a priori be guaranteed to be safe, and harmless to health and the environment.
Along with this, it must be added that one should not count on its availability.
MDF
Fiberboard, also known as fiberboard or MDF board, is made from crushed wood shavings. The structure of the material, in comparison with chipboard, is more uniform and denser.
It uses lignin and paraffin as a binder, which is why this “product”, due to the absence of formaldehyde, is considered environmentally friendly, and harmless to human health and the environment.
Chipboard
Chipboard is made in various designs, which allows you to implement almost any ideas with it when designing modern furniture. Separately, it is worth highlighting chipboard.
Unlike conventional chipboard, it is additionally lined with a special paper resin film. Such material can be of different colors and is ideal for details of furniture facades.
The film is usually made from textured paper, for example, imitating a certain type of wood. Due to the additional impregnation with “melamine”, it becomes more rigid but also becomes more fragile.
What is the difference between chipboard and MDF?
Most people who use modern furniture have no idea what the difference is between chipboard, MDF, and regular plywood. But it is necessary to understand that in addition to the visual difference, there are also qualitative indicators of a particular material, which can differ significantly from each other.
Speaking of chipboard, it is an inexpensive, convenient material for the manufacture of cabinet furniture and construction in general. Plates coated with a special decorative film are called chipboard.
