Particle board is defined as apanel product manufactured from lignocellulosic materials, primarily in theform of discrete particles, combined with a synthetic resin or other suitablebinder and bonded together under heat and pressure. The primary differencebetween particle board and other reconstituted wood products, such as waferboard, oriented strand board, medium density fiber board, and hard board, isthe material or particles used in its production. The major types of particles usedto manufacture particle board include wood shavings, flakes, wafers, chips,sawdust, strands, slivers, and wood wool. The term particle board sometimes isused generically to include wafer board and oriented strand board, which aremanufactured primarily with wood flakes and wafers. However, for the purposesof this report, particle board pertains only to panels manufactured from amixture of wood particles or otherwise from wood particles other than wafersand flakes.
Particle board provide an idealbase for a wide variety of surface treatments. Apart from clear finishes andpaints these include wood veneers, high and low pressure laminates, papers, PVCfilm and fabrics. Particle board is cheaper, denser and more uniform thanconventional wood and plywood and is substituted for them when appearance andstrength are less important than cost. However, particle board can be made moreattractive by painting or the use of wood veneers onto surfaces that will bevisible. Though it is denser than conventional wood, it is the lightest andweakest type of fiberboard, except for insulation board. Medium-density fiberboard and hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard, are stronger anddenser than particle board.
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