One of the most important quality issues of film faced plywood is the core type. It decides basically how many times the marine board can be used in the concrete formwork.
The worldwide plywood industry uses hardwood birch or softwood pine to make the base of the phenolic plyboard. Due to the climate difference, Chinese plywood manufacturers use hardwood or poplar to produce the shuttering panel.
This article will make some short explanations on different plywood core in China.
Core Types List:
1. Finger Joint Core
Finger joint core is recycled formwork plywood laminated with a few layers of new poplar veneers. Its surface is rough. But have the cheapest prices. Finger joint core marine plywood can only be used 2 times. 1 time for each face.
If you are looking for cheap price formwork plywood, finger joint core brown film faced plywood would be your best choice.
2. Poplar Core
Poplar is the most widely spread plantation in mainland China. It is the main material to produce plywood, chipboard, OSB board in China. The film faced plywood in China usually comes in 12mm, 15mm and 18mm. The density of the poplar core is normally 530 kgs/m3 around. Poplar ply with high pressure can reach at most 550 kgs/m3.
3. COMBI Core
It is a mix of veneers by plywood manufacturers. It combines with the advantages of hardwood and poplar. A good choice for those requires good quality and reasonable prices. COMBI plywood core veneers are poplar and hardwood mixed layer by layer.
4. Hardwood Core
Hardwood is a general range for wood material. It can be birch, eucalyptus, MLH hardwood etc. It has better strength than poplar and you need to pay a higher price to buy this type of phenolic faced panel. The density is 600-700 kgs depending on the wood species. Chinese hardwood is normally eucalyptus plywood.
MLH is short for Mixed Light Hardwood.
Comparision on Different Cores
| Core Types | Reuse Times in Formwork | Price Level |
|---|---|---|
| Finger Joint Core | 2 | A |
| Poplar Core | 5-10 | AA |
| Combi Core | 10-15 | AAA |
| Hardwood Core | 10-20 | AAAA |
Finger Joint Core and Poplar Core occupy 80% of our total plywood sales.