This study explores the possibilities of utilisation of coniferous bark as a filler in wood–polymer composites (WPCs), its impact on properties such as the modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), thickness swelling (TS) and water absorption (WA) after 2 h and 24 h of immersion in water and the significance of this impact compared to other factors. Six variants of bark–polylactic acid (PLA) WPCs were manufactured, differentiated by their filler content and filler particle size. As a comparison, analogous composites filled with coniferous sawdust were also manufactured. Bark-filled composites were characterised by lower TS and WA after both 2 h and 24 h of immersion, as well as lower water contact angles and surface free energy. The bark filler decreased the composites’ MORs and MOEs, while greater differences were noticed for variants filled with small particles. The type of filler was the second most important factor contributing to variance in this study, with the filler content being the most important one.

INPLASY202570039 Influence of process and material factors on the quality of machine processing of laminated particleboard Keywords: Particleboard; machining; machining quality; laminate breakout; …

Next to solid wood, laminated particleboard is the most widely used wood-based material in the furniture industry. Ensuring the high quality of the laminate surface after machining is of critical importance for furniture manufacturers, particularly prior to the edge banding process, as this process significantly influences the final aesthetic and functional quality of panel elements. The objective of this review article is to gather and evaluate the current state of knowledge regarding the influence of machining process parameters and the physical and mechanical properties of laminated particleboard on machining quality. Particular emphasis is placed on the occurrence of laminate damage, commonly referred to as delamination, a prevalent defect in the furniture manufacturing sector. Both categories of influencing factors—process-related and material-related—are analyzed within the context of the three primary technological processes employed in the woodworking industry, namely drilling, cutting, and milling. The analysis revealed that a persistent research gap concerns the relationship between machining quality and material parameters, particularly in the case of milling—a process of critical importance in the furniture industry.

Melamine-faced particleboards are widely used in interior applications; however, their performance is often limited by the near-surface structure, film adhesion, and edge damage that can be generated during machining and service impacts. Here, model particleboards were produced with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 40% bark content in the face layers and laminated with two melamine films (light and dark décor). Density profiles, mechanical properties (MOR, MOE, internal bond, IB), and laminate adhesion (pull-off) were determined. Edge integrity was evaluated under edge milling, quantified by cumulative tear-out length (ΣL) and the normalized damage index L_i (mm/m) together with tear-out depth, and under edge impact using a 0.5 kg mass dropped from 0.20 m (damage length and indentation depth). All boards were characterized by a typical U-shaped density profile, while increasing bark share reduced surface-layer density differentiation. MOR and MOE decreased significantly only at 40% bark, whereas IB (0.54–0.74 N/mm²) remained unchanged. Bark content significantly affected adhesion (32.76% contribution), whereas film type was not a significant factor. Milling damage depended on laminate: for the dark laminate, bark-containing boards showed much higher L_i (54.82–60.13 mm/m) than the reference (12.26 mm/m); for the light laminate, the lowest L_i occurred at 10% bark (21.24 mm/m). Tear-out depth varied narrowly (≈0.69–1.02 mm), while impact damage length ranged from 6.96 to 8.58 mm.