Wood Plastic Composite Panel Surface Texture Replication

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Solution Overview

Problem

Wood plastic composite panels fail to replicate the appearance and texture of natural lumber due to their high gloss and oil-like tactile sensation, making it difficult to achieve a luxury appearance and texture similar to cut-open natural lumber surfaces, while existing methods are complex and costly.

Innovation Solution

A method involving extruding and cooling a resin complex with uniformly dispersed wood fibers, followed by an embossing process to form a wood pattern and a brushing process to create linear micro concavo-convex parts, allowing for surface treatment during the extrusion process without post-processing, thus simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If wood plastic composite panel is manufactured by extrusion with synthetic resin as matrix, then the panel can be produced efficiently, but the surface has high gloss and oil-like tactile sensation that does not replicate natural lumber appearance and texture

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemanufacturing efficiencyVSAvoidsurface appearance quality
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The invention applies surface treatment processes (embossing and brushing) immediately after extrusion while the panel is still in a warm, pliable state. This preliminary action allows the surface to be treated before the panel cools and hardens, enabling better replication of natural lumber texture without requiring separate post-processing steps, thus maintaining manufacturing efficiency while improving surface quality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the surface parameters of the panel by applying embossing patterns and brushing treatments that modify the surface topology. These parameter changes transform the smooth, high-gloss extruded surface into a textured surface with micro-concavo-convex structures that replicate the appearance and tactile sensation of natural lumber

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If conventional surface treatment methods are applied to wood plastic composite panel, then the manufacturing process becomes complicated and requires multiple steps, but the surface appearance can be improved

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface appearance qualityVSAvoidmanufacturing process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges the embossing and brushing surface treatment processes into a single integrated operation that occurs immediately after extrusion. By combining these treatments into one sequential process applied to the warm panel, the invention simplifies the overall manufacturing process while achieving both embossed patterns and linear micro-concavo-convex textures that replicate natural lumber appearance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention allows the panel itself to serve the surface treatment function by utilizing its own warmth and pliability from the extrusion process. The panel's residual heat enables the embossing and brushing treatments to be applied directly without requiring external heating equipment or complex multi-step processes, thus simplifying the manufacturing system

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The method effectively replicates the appearance and texture of natural lumber on wood plastic composite panels, enhancing their luxury appearance and tactile sensation while minimizing manufacturing costs by integrating surface treatment into the extrusion process.

Implementation Method 1

a panel manufacturing process of extruding and cooling a resin complex, such that wood fiber is uniformly dispersed into a synthetic resin matrix, to manufacture the resin complex into the form of a panel

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectExtrusion: Extrusion

Implementation Method 2

an embossing process of forming a wood pattern corresponding to the cut-open surface of a natural lumber on the surface of the panel to a predetermined depth after the process (a) is completed

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeating: Heating

Implementation Method 3

forming a wood pattern corresponding to the cut-open surface of a natural lumber on the surface of the panel by applying temperature and pressure

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPressure Increase: Pressure Increase

Implementation Method 4

a brushing process of forming linear micro concavo-convex parts by removing a part of a synthetic resin layer on the surface of the panel to a predetermined depth after the process (b) is completed

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAbrasion: Abrasion

Data Source

PatentEP1954490B1In-line process for preparing wood plastic composite panel with the appearance and texture similar to natural lumbers and apparatus therefor
Publication Date: 2014.01.15 LG CHEM LTD
  • EP1954490B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP1954490B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP1954490B1 patent drawingFigure 4~6

AI summary

Disclosed herein are a method of manufacturing a wood plastic composite panel, including a panel manufacturing process of extruding and cooling a resin complex, such that wood fiber is uniformly dispersed into a synthetic resin matrix, to manufacture the resin complex into the form of a panel, an embossing process of forming a wood pattern corresponding to the cut-open surface of a natural lumber on the surface of the panel to a predetermined depth, and a brushing process of removing some of a synthetic resin layer from the surface of the panel to form linear micro concavo-convex parts to a predetermined depth, and an apparatus for manufacturing a wood plastic composite panel that is capable of efficiently performing the same. The method of manufacturing a wood plastic composite panel according to the present invention has the effect of directly realizing a wood pattern, which has the appearance and the texture similar to the open-cut surface of a natural lumber, on the surface of the wood plastic composite panel, and, at the same time, maximizing the advantage of the material comprising the wood fiber and the synthetic resin.