Decorative laminate
Decorative laminates are laminated products primarily used as furniture surface materials or wall paneling. It can be manufactured as either high- or low-pressure laminate, with the two processes not much different from each other except for the pressure applied in the pressing process.
According to McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction, high-pressure laminates consists of laminates "molded and cured at pressures not lower than 1,000 lb per sq in. (70 kg per sq cm) and more commonly in the range of 1,200 to 2,000 lb per sq in. (84 to 140 kg per sq cm).
HPL is made of resin impregnated cellulose layers, which are consolidated under heat and high pressure. The various layers are described below:
Trade names include Formica, Arborite, Micarta, Consoweld, Alpikord and Duropal.
After the papers are impregnated with the resins, the three layers of paper/resin are placed into a press which simultaneously applies heat (120 °C) and pressure (5 MPa). The pressing operation allows the thermoset resins to flow into the paper, then subsequently cure into a consolidated sheet with a density greater than 1,35 g/cm³. During the press cycle, the decorative surface can also be cured while in contact with a textured surface to create one of many different surface finishes.
HPL consists of more than 60 to 70% paper, with the remaining 30 to 40% a combination of phenol-formaldehyde resin for the core layers and melamine-formaldehyde resin for the surface layer. Both resins belong to a class of thermosetting resins which crosslink during the press cycle creating irreversible chemical bonds that produce a nonreactive, stable material with characteristics different and superior to those of the component parts.
HPL can be produced using both continuous und discontinuous (batch) manufacturing processes. HPL are supplied in sheet form in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and surface finishes.
Low Pressure laminate is defined as "a plastic laminate molded and cured at pressures in general of 400 pounds per square inch (approximately 27 atmospheres or 2.8 x 106 pascals).
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