The project ran between June 2022 and December 2023.
The objective of this project was to drive innovation in the wood industry by integrating bio-based panels and reducing reliance on synthetic adhesives. This initiative aimed to join thin wood or bamboo strips by welding.
Wood welding machines typically handle thick pieces. To fully utilize wood welding, progress is needed in two key areas: (1) advancing the machine for a broader range of wood materials (Plywood, LVL, etc.), (2) expanding to bio-based materials like bamboo.
The hypothesis aimed to create bio-based panels using thin bamboo/wood veneers. This work focused on producing pine and bamboo LVLs for items like pacifiers, serving as an illustrative example product.
The machine tools were modified and successfully welded bamboo strips (LVLs, Figure 1 in attachment). Welding thin pine strips was also possible (Figure 12). Bamboo LVLs showed better water resistance and shear strength than Pine LVLs. Ten bamboo veneers, refined based on the test results presented in Table 1, were used for production of ten pacifiers. Their water resistance and strength surpassed expectations, proving to be notably satisfactory and even outperforming the glued alternatives.
Participants
Luleå University of Technology (LTU), Green & Company and TinyMark AB.
Budget
The project’s total budget was 1 MSEK.