Laminating
Franklin Adhesives & Polymers offers a complete line of high-quality glues for all types of laminating applications, including hot press lamination. Our traditional line of water-based glues has set the industry standard for hot and cold pressing of plywood, veneers and laminates. Our research teams have compiled extensive research on hot press and cold press techniques and use this data to create the highest quality products. We offer commercial wood adhesives designed specifically for skateboards, plywood and non-wood substrates. Concerned about passing CARB phase 2 requirements? Recently, we’ve introduced “no-added formaldehyde (NAF)” and “formaldehyde-free” products to our line. To determine an appropriate product option for your application, please refer to our product selector.
Cold press laminating is desirable when large numbers of like-sized materials need to be glued. The materials used can vary widely. Cold press laminating normally falls into one of three categories: panel-on-frame, veneer/solid core laminating or high-pressure laminate gluing. To obtain best results in using our adhesives in cold press lamination applications, please follow the below guidelines.
Spread
Generally, 35-50 pounds of adhesive per 1,000 square feet of glue line is adequate. Lower adhesive spreads require better stock tolerances and shorter assembly times. Commonly, a mechanical glue spreader is used to apply a uniform spread to the gluing surfaces.
Assembly time
Assembly time can vary greatly depending on the adhesive used, glue spread, porosity and moisture content of stock, environmental conditions, etc. A small bead of adhesive squeeze-out around the perimeter of the bottom panel in the stack is desirable. Generally accepted assembly times range from five to 20 minutes.
Tolerances
Gluing stock should be uniform in thickness. Variation in thickness should not exceed ±.005 inches. Sanding to thickness should be performed using higher than 50 grit abrasives.
Pressure
Pressure is dependent upon the species or material to be glued. Direct contact of the gluing surfaces is required to obtain maximum strength. Suggested pressures for various substrates are: high-pressure laminates, 30-80 psi; solid core stock, 100-150 psi; all-veneer constructions, 100-250 psi.
Press time
Press time is dependent on the adhesive used, gluing stock type, moisture content of the stock and environmental conditions. Typical press times range from 30 minutes to two hours in a cold press. Press times should be determined under plant conditions.
Minimum temperature
Curing temperatures should be higher than the minimum use temperature of the adhesive. This includes the temperature of the stock to be glued as well as the air and adhesive temperatures.
Additional information on cold press lamination can be found in the full version of our Lamination Gluing Guide or by contacting our technical support team. For more information about gluing equipment, please refer to our resources link.
Hot press laminating offers the versatility of pressing many different shaped panels without extensive equipment changes. Hot press gluing generally consists of either all-veneer constructions or solid or composite-core veneer constructions.
To achieve best results using our adhesives in hot press lamination applications, please follow the below guidelines.
Spread
Generally, 30-50 pounds of adhesive per 1,000 square feet of glue surface is adequate. Lower spread rates require closer stock tolerances and shorter assembly times. Commonly, a mechanical glue spreader is used to apply a uniform spread to the gluing surfaces.
Assembly time
Assembly time can vary greatly depending on the adhesive used, glue spread, porosity and moisture content of the stock, environmental conditions, etc. A small bead of glue squeeze-out around the perimeter of the panel is desirable. Generally accepted assembly times range from five to 20 minutes.
Tolerances
Gluing stock should be uniform in thickness. Variation in thickness should not exceed ±.005 inches. Sanding to thickness should be performed using higher than 50 grit abrasives.
Pressure
Pressure is dependent on the species or material to be glued. Direct contact of the gluing surfaces is required to obtain maximum strength. Suggested pressures for various substrates are: high pressure laminates 30-80 psi; solid core stock 100-150 psi; all veneered constructions 100-250 psi.
Press time
Press time should be determined under plant conditions. Times will vary according to platen temperature and distance to the deepest glue line. See below for suggested hot press cycles using lumber or particleboard core.
Additional information on hot press lamination can be found in the full version of our Lamination Gluing Guide or by contacting our technical support team. For more information about gluing equipment, please refer to our resources link.
LAMINATING PRODUCTS
Advantage 405 - Highly water-resistant and surpassed both the ASTM D-5572 wet-use finger joint and ASTM D-5751 wet-use edge glue standard
Advantage EP-925 - A low foaming adhesive recommended for applications requiring exceptional water, heat, and solvent resistance
Doorbond 200 - A moderately fast-setting, water and heat resistant, one-component flush door adhesive. It has been designed for hot or cold pressing of flush and architectural doors and formulated to prevent bleed-through.
Laminating 6W - Excellent choice for cold-press laminating of fancy face veneers to particleboard, medium density fiberboard or other core stock.
Laminating 50 - Designed to bond HPL to particleboard and fiberboard, with high green strength and tensile strength.
Laminating 460 - Formulated to minimize the reaction to borate in fire-rated particleboard and fiberboard, and has excellent water resistance as a one- or two-part system.
Multibond MX-90 – Water resistant adhesive designed for use in hot press laminating.
Multibond SK-8 - Highly water resistant adhesive for the manufacture of skateboards in cold and hot press operations.
Multibond 2000 – Produces a water-resistant bond recommended for hot or cold press, radio frequency, edge and face and assembly gluing applications.
Multibond 2015 - Ideal for hot or cold press veneering and performs well for edge and face gluing in radio frequency applications.
Multibond 3215 - Recommended for hot and cold pressing of veneers and high-pressure laminates to various cores. It also offers excellent bleed-through protection with porous veneers.