What is the difference between hot melt adhesive edge sealing and laser edge sealing?

In the production process of board furniture, edge sealing is one of the most important processes. The quality of edge sealing directly affects the final effect of board furniture. During the board edge sealing process, the adhesion between the adhesive and the edge banding strip has a great influence on the overall effect of the furniture edge banding.

At present, the most common method in the domestic market is to use hot melt adhesive technology for edge sealing. In addition, laser edge sealing technology, as a new type of board sealing technology that has emerged in recent years, has gradually entered the furniture edge sealing market.

So, what is a laser edge banding machine? What is laser edge banding technology? What are the advantages of laser edge banding? What is the difference between laser edge sealing technology and traditional hot melt adhesive edge sealing? What is the future development trend of panel furniture edge sealing? This article will discuss the edge sealing technology of board furniture around the above core issues.

What is board edge sealing?

The edge banding material (PVC / ABS / PP / PMMA veneer, solid wood strips, HPL, etc.) is bonded to the edge of the board through an edge banding machine to achieve the purpose of decoration and protection. This is edge banding. According to different process equipment, it is divided into manual edge banding, machining center edge banding, linear edge banding and soft forming edge banding.

What is high-quality edge sealing:

Impeccable appearance quality：

The glue line is thin, the color of the glue line is consistent with the board surface and the edge banding, the board surface is clean, there is no residual glue, and the edge banding is smooth and uneven;

Qualified bond strength:

Peeling force 60-120 N/18mm, material breakage rate needs to be taken into consideration;

Long lasting patience:

Resistance to hot and cold cycles, heat resistance, water resistance, solvent resistance, and weather resistance.

The current mainstream edge banding methods and edge banding equipment

Hot melt adhesive edge sealing:

Through professional sol equipment, the hot melt adhesive is melted and evenly applied on the board, and then reacts physically or chemically with the edge banding material to form certain tensile glue nails inside the board, thereby achieving the perfect combination of the board and the edge banding.

laser edge sealing:

The laser condenses the high-energy laser beam onto the laser edge-banding tape through a mirror that swings back and forth. The high-energy laser quickly melts the functional layer of the edge-banding tape, and then presses the edge tape against the workpiece through the pressing wheel mechanism. Then through the processes of truncation, preliminary repair, fine repair, tracking and rounding, etc., the purpose of edge sealing is achieved. Therefore, laser edge banding requires a laser edge banding machine and laser edge banding tape.

Laser edge sealing and hot melt adhesive edge sealing are similar except for the different glue application methods (laser melting of the functional layer is temporarily regarded as a special glue application method).

At present, the edge banding equipment on the market is divided into manual edge banding machines, automatic edge banding machines, linear edge banding machines, bevel edge banding machines, curved edge banding machines, hot melt adhesive edge banding machines, laser edge banding machines, etc. according to different functions.

Analysis of edge banding market prospects

The quality of edge sealing is most intuitively visible

With the continuous development of the furniture industry and the continuous improvement of people’s quality of life, consumers have higher expectations for environmental protection and product quality. Consumer demand for furniture has changed from quantitative to qualitative changes. The decline of traditional civilian furniture and the rise of whole-house customized furniture are the inevitable trends of market supply and demand and industrial development. The concept of haute couture has gradually become popular among people, and the booming development of haute couture industry is unstoppable.

For consumers, any lofty concept is just a brainstorm. In practice, when purchasing furniture, the edge sealing effect of the furniture can be seen with the naked eye. This is the most intuitive and easiest way to recognize it; while the high-end materials advocated by merchants are just an abstract term, which is difficult to realize in the hearts of consumers. Long-lasting waves, but the quality of edge sealing can give consumers an intuitive experience for a long time.

New trends in edge banding technology

Diamond cutting edge banding and six-sided seamless edge banding are new trends in the field of edge banding technology recently. Both of them have raised the quality of edge banding to a whole new level.

So what is diamond cutting edge? What is six-sided seamless edge sealing? Simply put, diamond cutting edge banding is to perform synchronous line cutting on the edge band during edge banding processing to achieve the purpose of diamond lines, thereby achieving the perfect visual impact of the edge banding. Six-sided seamless edge sealing is another term for laser edge sealing: there are no traces of edge sealing, no glue lines, and the edge sealing is perfect. In short, these concepts are the elaboration and embodiment of perfect edge sealing..

How to adapt to future market needs

The market has such high expectations for edge sealing. So, how should the tens of thousands of furniture manufacturers in China adapt to match this almost demanding requirement? The answer is to continuously improve processes, improve equipment, and improve technology.

However, the improvement of technology and technology requires precipitation, and requires various production companies to explore or learn from each other over the years. What’s even more challenging is that the improvement of equipment requires a lot of investment, such as laser edge banding machines. In the current fiercely competitive market environment, who can guarantee that huge investments will not be wasted?

Faced with such an environment full of competition and an uncertain future, the vast majority of furniture companies that have risen and fallen in the wave of China’s rapid development in the past 20 years still adhere to their original intentions and follow their own path steadily. Although the technology of laser edge banding is very cutting-edge, the huge equipment investment, high usage costs and expensive after-sales maintenance and other barriers are destined to face a situation of highbrow and low-key – at least for a long time in the future. We can see the answer from the European and American markets, which have developed decades ahead of us.

Cost comparison of hot melt adhesive and laser edge banding

Above we have mentioned the huge investment in equipment for laser edge banding. Ignoring equipment depreciation, let’s compare the costs of traditional EVA edge banding, PUR edge banding and laser edge banding. Take the most commonly used cabinet door panels on the market as an example.

Cabinet door panel size: 600mm (L) * 400mm (W) ** 18mm (H), and the edges are all made of the same board;

The average price of EVA: 15 yuan/kg; the average price of PUR: 65 yuan/kg; the average price of ABS edge banding for ordinary door panels is 1.5 yuan/meter; the average price of laser edge banding is 4 yuan/meter.

Note: The average glue coating amount of EVA is 250g/㎡, and the glue coating amount of PUR is 150g/㎡ on average.

Because the sales of door panels are priced per square meter, converted into one square meter, the costs of the three methods are:

As above, the cost of laser edge banding is much higher than that of hot melt adhesive. If coupled with high equipment depreciation, high equipment maintenance, and more stringent usage conditions, it will prohibit the vast majority of furniture manufacturers from doing so.

Here, some people may say: as domestic laser edge banding machines and domestic laser edge banding tapes enter the market, the cost of laser edge banding will drop significantly. But unfortunately, this requires time to explore and settle. Furthermore, as mentioned before, ordinary hot melt adhesive and ordinary edge banding tape, ordinary edge banding technology are undoubtedly making continuous progress. Moreover, progress in this field will be faster than the research and development of domestic laser edge banding machines and domestic laser edge banding tapes.

Performance comparison between hot melt adhesive edge sealing and laser edge sealing

We will use three tables to analyze in detail the performance differences between EVA hot melt adhesive edge sealing, PUR hot melt adhesive edge sealing, and laser edge sealing.

EVA hot melt adhesive edge sealing

PUR hot melt adhesive edge sealing

laser edge sealing

Challenges and solutions for traditional hot melt adhesives

Faced with the challenges brought by laser edge banding technology in the edge banding market, the vast number of hot melt adhesive edge banding companies that occupy the absolute leading position in the market should have a clear understanding: find the market positioning that suits their own factories, do not blindly follow the trend, and do not belittle oneself. .

Relying on the constantly innovative hot melt adhesive technology, the constantly innovative edge banding technology, and the continuous innovation of edge banding materials, we can fully cultivate our own field and compete with laser edge banding, which represents advanced productivity. The future is still very bright. In the Chinese market with a huge population base, demand has a pyramid structure, and the majority of ordinary consumers still adhere to the basic principle that cost-effectiveness is king.

We cannot hesitate and continue to innovate is the ultimate solution. Rather than saying that laser edge sealing brings a crisis to hot melt adhesive edge sealing, it is better to say that laser edge sealing gives hot melt adhesive edge sealing a warning and clearly guides the future development direction: perfect edge sealing.

For traditional hot melt adhesive manufacturers, achieving the perfect edge sealing is both a challenge and an opportunity. To achieve traceless edge sealing, hot melt adhesive manufacturers are required to continuously improve the glue formula, continuously reduce the amount of glue applied, and continuously reduce the glue line while ensuring sufficient strength and good durability. At the same time, the glue and the edge band must be of the same color as possible. Moreover, the glue’s resistance to aging, yellowing, and mildew must also be innovated and followed up simultaneously.

It is particularly emphasized here that the market prospect of PUR hot melt adhesive is very bright, and it will increasingly seize the market share of EVA hot melt adhesive.