HK1113913A - Process for the manufacture of a veneer - Google Patents

Description

Process for manufacturing veneer

Technical Field

The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a veneer, to a process for manufacturing a honing stick-shaped wood block for manufacturing said veneer, to a veneer and a stick-shaped wood block itself manufactured by said process, and to an apparatus for carrying out said process. In the process, special adhesives based on polyurethane can be used.

Background

As is known, veneer manufacturing is a production technique for decorative and high quality surface materials made of solid wood. Thus, in conventional veneer manufacture, logs are debarked or "debarked" and then sawn into halves, thirds, quarters or other parts of the logs (so-called "honing plates") and then, usually at elevated temperatures, soaked with water for several days for subsequent cutting into veneers, so-called "slices". Subsequently, veneers with different thicknesses, for example veneers with a thickness of about 0.5mm, are obtained by means of a slicing process, so that, depending on the cutting process, there is a distinction between so-called cut veneers (horizontal or vertical cut), so-called rotary cut veneers (rotary cut) or curved planing (eccentric rotary cut) in the obtained product.

In fig. 15-17, the most extensive spread slicing (spread slicing), horizontal slicing or vertical slicing is schematically shown in perspective view. Figure 15 shows a cut log 10 sliced in the direction of the wood fibres. On the other hand, fig. 16, 17 show slicing transverse to the fiber direction. After the slicing process, a waste board 10, which is also referred to as a "back board" shown in fig. 17, remains. For technical reasons, the back plate cannot be processed to a single plate, since the equipment in the cutting device would result in that the waste material cannot be further processed.

Subsequently, the obtained raw veneer, mostly about 0.45mm to 2.5mm, preferably 0.45mm to 0.8mm in thickness, is dried preferably at a temperature above 100 ℃ for several minutes. If severe wrinkling or "buckling" occurs, the veneer is additionally subjected to a pressing step.

The dried raw veneer is then cut to size and sorted by mass. Because the cutting is carried out to a certain size, the loss rate of the material is up to more than 60 percent.

Each time the cutter makes a stroke and cuts to size, a (saleable) veneer can be formed with a surface area of about 0.6m²。

The problems in the precise but complex and highly wasteful veneer manufacturing process are compounded by the fact that the raw material wood or trees are natural products. Thus, it is generally not predictable whether the logs used in veneer manufacture will result in a final acceptable veneer product. Only a very experienced purchaser of wood can make a reasonable actual prediction of the quality of the final product. The inclusions, tree branches and imperfections in the logs are often not discovered and therefore defects often occur in the original veneer that render the original veneer unsuitable for further processing. All this results in 85% waste of material in the process of making raw stock logs into the final veneer product, which must be accepted in the manufacturing process.

The traditional post-processing process for making a complete surface involves assembling several individual veneer sheets in an assembly plant or "splicing plant" and then finishing the assembled/spliced veneer surfaces. The assembly/splicing of the single sheets is usually achieved by gluing the individual single sheets, and in fact most also by applying heat and pressure simultaneously and using so-called transverse or longitudinal feed splicers. However, it has been confirmed that: gluing thin and sensitive veneer sheets is complicated, since the assembled veneer sheets must have a certain minimum width in order to achieve a proper gluing, and it is not possible to manufacture striped, thin and thread-like veneers. Furthermore, local heating can affect wood properties (e.g. colour) and excess glue must be removed in the glued areas.

The resulting veneer is then applied to a substrate (e.g. particle board) by gluing.

The process steps described above comprise the so-called "european method" or "north american method" for manufacturing veneers.

In another technical process called "asian process", the raw veneer is obtained with a thickness of about 0.1mm to 0.8 mm. After appropriate trimming of the edges (longitudinal direction), the still moist veneer sheet is applied to the substrate by gluing. Typically the substrate is plywood. Subsequently, customers purchase decorative plywood and cut out their desired panel sections. The yield is reduced because the required size does not have to match the size of the plywood panel.

The asian veneer manufacturing method requires a complete process. The water content of the veneer after the planing and honing of the plate/wood block is high (higher than the fiber saturation point). The veneer is left for a period of time with the appearance of mold and spoilage that render the veneer unusable. It is not possible to store or transport it over long distances. Only after the veneer is pressed onto the substrate layer can the product be transported/handled. The value of the substrate is much lower than the value of the veneer itself. Thus, the transportation of veneer products is significantly more economical than the transportation of decorative plywood products. This is particularly important for increased transport costs.

The precision required to produce extremely thin veneers is only possible with typical devices producing less than 45 sheets per minute.

Furthermore, US3,969,558 discloses the gluing of short piece wood strands, which are subsequently sliced. The patent suggests the use of adhesives such as epoxy, phenolic and resorcinol resins for gluing. Said US3,969,558 aims at eliminating the heating/cooking process applicable to traditional veneer manufacturing and suggests to keep the moisture content of the wood permanently at or above the fiber saturation point throughout the process. In addition, the document suggests not to use a heating/cooking process prior to cutting. Therefore, throughout the process, strict attention must be paid that the moisture content of the wood cannot be reduced and is not short-lived. And finally, covering and gluing the veneer with the thickness of 0.1mm to 0.8mm and the water content higher than the saturation point of the wood fiber on the base material.

US3,897,581 discloses the gluing of short strands of wood after slicing, whereby the gluing is carried out by means of a special polyurethane adhesive which cures in the presence of moisture.

US3,977,449 discloses a process for manufacturing a wood veneer having a large area and a well-designed wood pattern suitable for mass production. In the process, the raw wood is sawn or sliced into a plurality of single honing boards having smooth surfaces and which can then be glued together to form a composite honing board. The composite honing board is then planed into a wide wood veneer which is glued to a substrate or veneer by an adhesive. In these processes, all steps are performed while the wood maintains its moisture content at or above the wood fiber saturation point. The moisture content of the obtained veneer is also kept to be equal to or higher than the saturation point of the wood fiber.

In addition to the conventional process of veneering, so-called technical veneers are also known. In the manufacture of said veneer types, it is desirable to achieve a stable quality and precise dimensions in order to better predict the characteristics of the final veneer product.

In this context, for example, after optional pretreatment such as dyeing or baking of the structure, conventionally manufactured veneer strips are glued to one another and the material thus obtained is subsequently re-sliced. Thus, the surface of the veneer may obtain a substantially predetermined surface structure, which may reduce material waste. However, the surface of the veneer thus obtained is not comparable to the surface of a normal veneer, because the resulting end product has artificial aesthetics and does not give the impression of solid wood. Such a process is obviously also quite complex.

Disclosure of Invention

The problem on which the invention is based is to improve the veneer manufacturing process known so far in order to achieve, starting from raw wood raw material, a high yield of high-quality finished veneers with minimal complexity. Thus, on the one hand, the process should be as simple as possible and, on the other hand, it should be helpful for the user (e.g. furniture manufacturer) to further process the veneer obtained. Furthermore, in veneers, the aesthetics of the solid wood used must be maintained. In addition, it is aimed to use standard equipment in the european veneer manufacturing process, in particular a slicer allowing slicing speeds in excess of 90 slices per minute.

Said object is solved by a process for manufacturing a veneer having the features of the independent claim 1 and by an apparatus for carrying out said process according to claim 35. Furthermore, the solution of said object comprises the manufacture of a strip-shaped block of wood for the manufacture of veneers according to independent claim 29 and the block of veneer wood itself according to independent claims 33, 30 or 32.

Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. Accordingly, the entire wording of all claims is incorporated into the specification by reference.

In the process of the invention for manufacturing veneers, the flat wooden sheet is first glued on all sides with glue/adhesive which is also curable on the wet strip-shaped wooden block. -planing said wood block along defined portions into veneers.

According to the invention, the strip-shaped wood block is soaked and/or heat-treated before cutting, whereby the soaking and/or heat-treatment is preferably carried out at an elevated temperature, preferably at a temperature of more than 60 ℃, more preferably at a temperature of more than 70 ℃, in particular at a temperature of 75 to 85 ℃. A temperature of about 80 c is most suitable.

Preferably, the cooking and/or heat treatment is maintained for several days, in particular for more than two days, in particular for 2 to 3 days.

The veneer obtained by cutting (slicing) the strip-shaped wood block is dried so that the moisture content thereof is lower than the saturation point of the wood fiber. The moisture content of the dried veneer is less than 80%, more preferably less than 60%, most preferably less than 40%. In particular, the water content is less than 20%. The water content is more preferably 5-20%.

The fiber saturation point defines the point in the wood drying process (where the wood is most notably free of "free" water but only "bound" water). The "free" water is in the wood cell cavity, while the "bound" water is in the wood cell wall.

The water content was determined according to DIN 52183.

Other determination methods, such as electrical methods (measuring ohmic resistance) or determination by reflection of infrared radiation, can also be used. However, in order to obtain a comparative value, the DIN method described above may be employed as a calibration method.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the veneer manufacturing method comprises steps (i) to (iv):

(i) the plate-shaped flat wood chip is stuck to the strip-shaped wood block by the adhesive,

(ii) the strip-shaped wood blocks are soaked and/or heat-treated,

(iii) cutting the strip-shaped wood block into a single board,

(iv) (iv) drying the veneer obtained in step (iii) until its moisture content is below the fiber saturation point.

In a preferred embodiment, a surface area of preferably 1-4m is obtained in step (iv) during each pass of the slicer used in step (iii)²More preferably 1.5 to 3.5m²The single plate of (2).

In a preferred embodiment, the length of the veneer obtained in step (iv) substantially corresponds to the length of the wood block.

The drying in step (iv) is carried out at an elevated temperature, preferably at a temperature of greater than 40 ℃, more preferably at a temperature of greater than 70 ℃, especially at a temperature of greater than 100 ℃.

It is preferred that the drying is carried out directly after the cutting in step (iii).

In another preferred embodiment, the method further comprises one or more of the following steps (v) - (vii);

(v) (ii) prior to step (i), performing planing on at least one surface of the platy wood chips;

(vi) (iii) prior to step (ii), pressing the strip of wood pieces;

(vii) (vii) stacking the platy strands between step (vi).

The inventors have discovered that: the process of the present invention allows for the production of a variety of veneers having superior quality in an economical manner. Preferably, in the method, a commonly used machine or apparatus is used. By the conditioning step according to the characterizing part of claim 1, the cutting of the veneer is particularly smooth and of high quality (no cracks appear even for veneers of small thickness). Thus, in accordance with the context of the present invention, it is in fact possible, but not mandatory, to maintain the moisture content of the wood permanently at or above the fibre saturation point during the entire process except for step (iv). In this way, the process of the present invention is significantly simplified compared to the prior art, for example compared to the process disclosed in US3,969,558.

Meanwhile, by the method of the present invention, a veneer having excellent quality and economy can be provided. By applying an adhesive (as the starting material) that is also curable in a humid environment, any wood chips can be used without the prior art conditioning process, for example in a drying chamber for conditioning a certain moisture content. By extensive gluing, a stable glue seam of high quality can be formed without affecting the properties of the veneer (e.g. by heating) and without removing excess glue at the glue seam. Furthermore, since no trimming is required, the veneer can be manufactured from the beginning in the required size for the subsequent process treatment, so that waste is minimized. The last point is as follows: the process of the present invention also allows the manufacture of thin, linear veneers of various configurations and striations.

Therefore, the wood chips used as the raw material are generally referred to as wood boards. However, as long as, for example, the length of the wood chips is greater than the thickness thereof, it is not necessary to limit the thickness corresponding to the wood chip specification, for example. The same applies to the strip-shaped wood blocks obtained in carrying out the process. Also, the size of each block is not necessarily limited.

Furthermore, it must be considered that: in the present invention, the veneer is cut rather than sawn or formed in a fiber removal (machining) process. The cutting is also often referred to as "slicing" and involves forming a veneer by a knife, blade, or the like.

For forming different surface patterns according to the invention, the section along which the wood block is cut into veneer can be freely chosen. Here, a rotary cutting or eccentric rotary cutting process (stationary process) can be performed by appropriate section selection. In general, it is preferred to work with a cross cut (particularly perpendicular to the plane defined by the adhesive layer). Alternatively or additionally, according to an embodiment of the invention, the direction of the cross section extends transversely, in particular substantially perpendicularly, to the fibre direction of the wood chips, whereby the cross section is preferably parallel to a plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the wood block.

Fundamentally, any wood chips can be used in the process of the invention. Thus, for example, wood chips glued to each other by different solid wood parts can be used. However, the wood chips are preferably solid wood boards. These boards are usually sawn boards from different wood types that can be sliced, optionally on one or both planar sides. As mentioned above, the thickness or "gauge" of such solid wood panels is not critical to the process of the present invention.

According to one embodiment of the invention, it has proven to be particularly economical for the solid wood board to be a waste board produced by a conventional veneer manufacturing process. The so-called "back sheet" is a sheet of a thickness of a few millimeters, whose wood is mostly of very high quality, but which cannot be further sliced for technical reasons. By means of the process according to the invention, the high-quality material can be used in a simple manner. It is advantageous if the chipped waste is produced centrally from the wood block, since here it is a high quality wood and, given that wood grains are not present in the veneer obtained (which would otherwise greatly reduce the economic value), suitable measures (e.g. chipping/planing) can be taken in further processing.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the strands are sections, preferably at least three sections, derived from the center of the log or "logs" of split logs. Firstly, the use of such untreated log portions has the following advantages: the wood remains substantially untreated and the possibility that material changes in subsequent processes will result in, for example, loss of gloss is reduced. Furthermore, the log sections from the centre of the log have the following properties, namely: in said section, the wood grains are particularly enlarged, which results in that these grains appear more clearly in conventional veneers. In contrast, within the scope of the present invention, the central portion of the log from which the log is split into semicircular segments can be manufactured as a veneer, in which the wood grain is difficult to see or not visible at all, by a suitable process with appropriate profiling.

In this regard, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is more preferable that: the strands are substantially semicircular pieces which are preferably split from the edge area of the logs by splitting the logs into 3 pieces, whereby the substantially semicircular pieces are glued to each other by their planar sides and subsequently cut preferably substantially parallel to the plane defined by the glue layer. Here it is a completely new type of manufacturing process, where first a middle section of the log is obtained and treated in the above-described manner, while, on the other hand, the edge sections of the log are glued to each other to allow as little wasted slicing of said edge sections as possible using standard equipment used for traditional veneer manufacturing.

Preferably in the process of the invention wood chips with a rather high (relative) moisture content of the wood are used. Which facilitates the subsequent slicing process in which the wood to be cut must have a high wood moisture content. Thus, in the process of the invention, wood chips are glued, which wood chips have in particular a relative moisture content of the wood at or above the fiber saturation point. Fiber saturation points vary between 60% and 90% relative wood moisture content depending on wood chip species. In this case, the wood is preferably green, i.e. wood which has not been stored at all or has been stored for only a short time just cut from a tree. Such green wood has an average relative humidity of about 80%.

In other embodiments of the process of the invention, the wood chips used are glued with a very high moisture content of the wood (moist), which can thus also be obtained, for example, by soaking. In this state, it must be assumed that the relative moisture content of the wood is greater than 50%, in particular between 50% and 80%, even greater than 80%.

As mentioned above, in the process of the invention, the wood chips in the form of boards are glued to one another (preferably all over) by means of an adhesive. In this context, it is understood that: the adhesive/glue must form a stable composition that is not volatile between the glued wood pieces. Furthermore, as will be discussed later, the adhesive must be able to withstand the treatment (e.g., soaking treatment) of the wood block obtained by adhesion before cutting and the treatment (e.g., drying treatment) of the veneer obtained after cutting. Finally, in the case of, for example, wood pieces with a high moisture content (moist) which must be glued to one another, the adhesive must ensure a reliable bonding point.

Here, a series of adhesives are known which are able to at least partly fulfill the requirements mentioned and make the glued joint between the wood chips at least satisfactory.

So-called polyurethane adhesives are particularly suitable for use in the process of the invention, and the adhesive may thus be a one-component adhesive or a two-component adhesive. Also particularly preferred is a so-called hot polyurethane adhesive. Single component polyurethane adhesives are known as single products whereby the adhesive is cured to a water insoluble resin by the concentration of its isocyanate groups interacting with the moisture of the wood and/or other polar groups of the wood. Two-component polyurethane adhesives are provided from two different components and are also cured by wood moisture.

For example, commercial one-component polyurethane adhesive products are the adhesive Prefere6000 from the company dynaea, norway, or the adhesive RP2501 from the company Collano AG, switzerland.

Hot polyurethane adhesives (so-called "hot melts"), as supplied by Henkel, germany, can be used in high temperature form and must be processed quickly. Likewise, curing is effected by wood moisture and/or other polar groups in the wood. During the curing process, the hot melt substance changes from a thermoplastic state to a thermoset state. The thermal resistance (resistance) thus obtained is particularly advantageous in the present invention.

The cyanate group-containing one-component polyurethanes are preferably those disclosed in US3,897581, the disclosure of US3,897581 being incorporated herein by reference. It is advantageous to use polyurethanes which are obtained by reacting suitable polyglycols with suitable polyisocyanates. It is preferred to ensure that the isocyanate group content of the resulting polyurethane can be adjusted to the characteristic requirements of the wood piece being glued by applying the polyisocyanate in a stoichiometric surplus (in a stoichiometrically large quantity).

Preferred polyglycols are polyethylene glycol or polypropylene glycol. In particular, the polyglycol is polypropylene glycol.

The polyisocyanate is preferably selected from the group consisting of hexamethylene diisocyanate, xylylene diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, dimethyl diisocyanate, hydrogenated diphenylmethane diisocyanate, hydrogenated toluene diisocyanate, hydrogenated xylylene diisocyanate, and mixtures thereof.

Reaction products of diphenylmethane diisocyanate and/or hydrogenated diphenylmethane diisocyanate with polymeric glycols, in particular with polypropylene glycols, are preferred.

Very good properties can be obtained if a polyurethane adhesive is used which comprises the reaction product of diphenylmethane diisocyanate and a polyglycol, in particular polypropylene glycol.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the diphenylmethane diisocyanate comprises a mixture of diphenylmethane 4, 4 '-diisocyanate and diphenylmethane 2, 4' -diisocyanate.

More preferably, the polyisocyanate in the particularly preferred embodiment optionally includes a modified diphenylmethane diisocyanate, such as hydrogenated diphenylmethane diisocyanate or a homologous isocyanate.

Preferably, the isocyanate content of the polyurethane is within the range of 5% to 25% (by weight based on the total amount of adhesive), more preferably 10% to 20%, especially 13% to 16%.

The aforementioned polyurethane adhesives from the company Dynea or Collano are based on diphenylmethane diisocyanate.

The green or other wood used in the process of the invention and sawn into board-like pieces may have a moisture content of about 80%. In gluing sheet-like pieces with such high water content, the water content incorporated in the wood can adversely affect the adhesive properties of the applied glue/glues due to the short open ageing time of certain types and certain glues. Thus, the glue/glue does not function in the intended way and the gluing of the resulting strip-shaped wood blocks does not show the intended stability. These disadvantages are not acceptable for the manufacture of veneers from strip-like wood blocks. The moisture content of the wood chips to be glued must therefore be less than 50%, preferably significantly less than 50%. Board chips with moisture content below 40% are particularly suitable for the process of the invention due to the short open aging time of certain species and certain gums.

The stick-shaped wood block particularly suitable for the process of the present invention can be manufactured by a process comprising the steps of:

(j) cooling the surface of the glued platy flat wood chips to a temperature below 0 ℃,

(jj) heating the glued surface in order to evaporate water present in said surface area inside the wood,

(jjj) subsequently applying an adhesive to the treated surface,

(jv) gluing the plate-shaped flat wood pieces into strip-shaped wood blocks.

In step (j), the temperature of the surface is preferably lowered to a temperature between 0 ℃ and-10 ℃, preferably between-2 ℃ and-6 ℃, in particular between-2 ℃ and-4 ℃.

The cooling process is preferably carried out in a cooling chamber.

The heating process in step (jj) is effected by radiation, preferably by infrared radiation or UV radiation. However, it may also provide hot wind.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the novel process for manufacturing a veneer comprises steps (viii) and (ix) before step (i):

(viii) cooling the gluing surface of the platy flat wood chips to the temperature below 0 ℃,

(ix) heating the glued surface in order to evaporate water present in the wood in the area of said surface.

For the cutting process into veneers, the resulting strip wood pieces should have a relatively high moisture content. According to the present invention, the stick-shaped wood pieces preferably have a relative wood moisture content of > 30% before cutting. In particular, a relative wood moisture content of > 50% is achieved; the water content of the wood is particularly beneficial to reach 60-80%.

It is clear that the embodiment of the veneer obtained by the process of the invention cannot be changed by merely selecting the profile during the cutting/slicing process.

Furthermore, within the scope of the invention, it is also possible to vary the modification of the veneer differently depending on the type of gluing of the individual wood pieces to each other. Thus, according to one embodiment of the invention, it can be ensured that the plate-like flat wood pieces are glued to each other so that their fibre directions are substantially parallel. By such gluing, it is possible to produce veneers of minimal complexity and of the highest precision, which in the manner of "strip floors" or "slat floors" have the appearance of wood floors and can be used on suitable substrates. It is therefore particularly preferred that the wood chips or at least some of the wood chips are glued to each other by their ends.

Furthermore, in the context of the present invention, it is also possible to use a mixing method in relation to manual gluing of the wood chips. Thus, one embodiment of the invention presents a parquet floor in which plate-shaped flat wood pieces can be glued to each other in a herringbone pattern. In such a herringbone pattern, the fiber directions of some of the wood pieces are parallel to each other, while the fiber directions of other wood pieces are perpendicular to each other, so that a pleasant visual effect can be obtained with minimal complexity.

According to the embodiment of the invention as defined in claim 15, the pieces of different wood can be glued to each other in such a way that veneers or veneer patterns of different shapes are obtained. In this way, it is also possible in particular to form a striped, thin and linear-appearing single-plate pattern, which cannot be produced by conventional techniques and which will be referred to as "industrial inlays".

Furthermore, the process of the invention can also be modified in a preferred manner in order to insert or incorporate materials other than wood into the wood block obtained by gluing the wood pieces. For example, at least one material different from wood may be arranged above or below or between the wood chips. Basically, it may be a thin layer of a material other than wood, such as a metal foil or the like. In particular, however, the material can also be a flat (stronger) sheet of the material, made of a material similar to wood chips but different from wood (which is called "board-like"). Also, the metal foils, sheets, boards other than wood may be bonded to the wood chip composite by means of gluing, and thus the arrangement and order of the wood chips and the sheets of material other than wood may be arbitrarily changed. In this way, a new veneer can be obtained which comprises not only wood, but also composite wood having said material different from wood. As mentioned before, a perfect gluing is usually carried out, i.e. not only a perfect gluing of the wood pieces to each other by means of the adhesive, but also a perfect gluing of material pieces other than wood to each other and to adjacent wood pieces. Here, the same adhesives are often used for wood/wood gluing, for example the polyurethane adhesives already mentioned above.

The aforementioned materials other than wood are preferably metals or metal alloys, with particular emphasis on aluminum or aluminum alloys. On the other hand, it is also possible to prefer any type of plastic as the material other than wood, in particular polyolefins, such as polypropylene or copolymers of polyolefins.

In another preferred embodiment of the process of the invention, colored or dyed adhesives may also be used as adhesives. According to said method, in the manufacture of the veneer of the invention, it is possible to consciously obtain new decorative effects by exploiting the colour of such adhesives. In this way, on the other hand, the color of the adhesive can be matched to the color of the wood chips used and to the color of the non-wood materials used, respectively. Thus, the adhesive layer does not cause trouble unlike the sheet layer. On the other hand, the color of the adhesive can be chosen consciously to contrast with the color of the wood chips used and the color of the non-wood materials used, respectively. Thus, by said contrast, another decorative effect can be consciously obtained in the finished veneer. For this purpose, thicker adhesive layers can also be used, as required for the function of the gluing technique.

According to the invention, it is obviously conceivable that the material used for the material pieces other than wood can also be coloured or dyed, depending on the idea of the colour of the adhesive. Thus, the materials used are not limited to their "natural" color, so that a further decorative effect can be obtained.

As mentioned before, the thickness/gauge of the flat wood pieces used for gluing is in principle not important. The same is true for the thickness/gauge of the pieces of material other than wood for incorporation in the wood composite. Due to the treatment it can be ensured that the flat wood chips or flat pieces of material other than wood have a thickness/gauge of > 5 mm. Within the range thus defined, in particular, a thickness/gauge of between 5mm and 120mm must be provided. This will facilitate the handling with existing machinery in the wood industry. In view of the length and width of the wood chips or pieces of material different from wood, the dimensions of the wood blocks made of wood chips will be explained below (the explanation will be made with particular reference to the wood blocks).

Thus, also the size of the wood pieces obtained in the gluing of wood chips and the like is not important, as long as they can be varied within a reasonably wide range. Also here, the wood block size may be selected to enable its handling (i.e. cutting/slicing in existing machines used in conventional veneer manufacturing).

The length of such stick-shaped wood pieces in the process of the invention is therefore preferably > 1500mm, preferably > 2500 mm. On conventional cutting/planing machines, it is possible to process, without any problem, strips having a length of up to 5200 mm. In particular, the length of the wood block is about 2800 mm. The width of the strip-shaped wood block is preferably > 60mm, more preferably > 120mm, with particular emphasis on a width of about 150 mm. Preferably, the height of such stick-shaped wood pieces is > 200mm, preferably > 500 mm. Strips up to 1000mm in height can be processed. A height of about 600mm is particularly emphasized.

Furthermore, in the process of the present invention, the veneer obtained after cutting/slicing is preferably dried. Preferably, the drying is performed in an environment of elevated temperature, in particular, the temperature varies within 70-100 ℃ depending on the wood species. At elevated temperatures of application, in particular temperatures of > 90 ℃, drying cycles of up to a few minutes are generally sufficient for satisfactory drying of the veneer obtained. Therefore, according to the invention, it is particularly preferred to carry out the drying directly after the cutting process.

The inventors have found that within the scope of the invention the treatment of the individual glued surfaces of the plate-like flat wood pieces is of considerable importance before the gluing process. Due to this background, another embodiment of the present invention provides: the glued surface is shaved before gluing, in particular by using a rotating machining tool. On the other hand, by planing the glued surface, a visually pleasant, inconspicuous glued joint can be obtained, and on the other hand, a compact permanent connection between the individual wood pieces can be obtained.

It is therefore particularly advantageous if the axis of rotation of the rotary working tool is substantially perpendicular to the glued surface to be treated. By the above arrangement, various disadvantages associated with conventional rotary slicers may be avoided. In particular, wrinkles in the glued area can be avoided and the cell structure of the wood can be less destroyed, so that an open cell structure can be obtained which is particularly suitable for receiving the applied glue, so that practically invisible glue seams can be obtained. Furthermore, such tools are also particularly suitable for damp wood. Last but not least, in order to achieve an improved fiber removal that avoids various processes, the axis of rotation of the rotating process tool should be made substantially perpendicular to the tacky surface to be treated, thus enabling high durability of the tool and a flatter surface of the workpiece.

The so-called "open-aging" time of the applied adhesive within the scope of the invention is controlled primarily by its composition or by the treatment temperature. In some cases, for example, where a large stack of chips is formed which is then pressurized, it is desirable to have as long an open aging time as possible. In order to extend the open-time in a simple and effective manner, according to one embodiment of the invention, the glued surfaces of the plate-like flat wood chips are subjected to a pre-drying treatment, in particular at present by means of heat, preferably by irradiation with UV light and infrared radiation light, before gluing. By pre-drying the glued surface, the open-time aging of the glue is extended, since the wood provides less moisture for the glue to cure. The loss of moisture from the surface of the wood is not critical to the next process since the moisture content of the wood is balanced in the shortest time.

In one embodiment, the process of the invention is preferably characterized in that the thickness of the obtained veneer is > 0.25mm, preferably 0.6 mm. The preferred maximum thickness of the veneer is 4 mm. Therefore, veneers having such thicknesses/specifications fall within the range of common veneers obtained from conventional veneer manufacturing processes.

In addition to the previously described process, the present invention includes the aforementioned plate-shaped wood block for veneer manufacture. The wood block is characterized in that the plate-shaped flat wood pieces are glued together by means of a glue, preferably all over. With regard to the preferred embodiments, it is particularly emphasized that plate-like pieces of a material other than wood and/or other types of wood are arranged above or below or between the wood pieces, preferably by gluing (all-round) between each other and with the wood pieces. In particular, as mentioned in the context of the process of the present invention, it is also possible to provide colored or dyed adhesives to obtain additional visual effects. Also, colored or dyed pieces of material other than wood may be used.

In view of the other preferred characteristics of the wood block of the present invention, it will be specifically explained with reference to the corresponding explanations in the foregoing specification.

Finally, the invention also includes the veneer itself obtained from the process of the invention or obtained by cutting along a section plane defined on a strip-shaped block of wood. In view of the nature of the veneer of the invention, it will be specifically explained with reference to the corresponding explanations in the preceding description.

The process of the invention, the wood block obtained by the invention and the veneer obtained by the invention all have a series of special advantages.

For the solution of the invention, the procedure initially described according to the prior art is converted so as to define the surface of the veneer being manufactured before cutting/slicing, and only cutting/slicing is subsequently performed. The assembly/splicing of the finished product is either partially necessary or not necessary at all. It is thus clear that one advantage of this process is that the obtained veneer does not need to be sorted according to its quality, said veneer not having to be trimmed to a usable extent. The veneer pattern and the veneer qualities can be predetermined with any selected cross-section by means of panels having visual properties and qualities and/or additionally by incorporating defined pieces of material other than wood. A variety of further decorative effects can be obtained by using coloured or dyed adhesives and using coloured or dyed pieces of a material other than wood. A wood veneer having a prescribed size can be obtained from the fact that the veneer is cut from a wood block having a prescribed size. Thus, the wood veneer is a veneer generally having predetermined qualities and dimensions; meaning that it is a true technical veneer with an appearance similar to a natural bonded veneer surface.

Thus, the product directly resulting from the process can be measured (purchased) by the single board end user. Further processing (sorting, cutting, assembling/joining and the like) can be omitted altogether or simplified to a considerable extent.

The veneers obtained by the process of the invention can be further converted by the manufacturer of the veneer itself, for example by suitably assembling the veneer sheets onto a substrate layer. This method is particularly advantageous for the production of furniture, since it makes it possible to provide semifinished products to the furniture manufacturer. Obviously, different veneer types (different kinds of wood, shapes of wood and other materials, colored or dyed adhesives) can be produced and can be changed according to the needs of the customer.

By combining a material different from wood with wood, a novel surface shape can be obtained, and thus a completely new material appearance can be obtained, thereby expanding the application range of the wood veneer.

According to another object, the present invention provides an apparatus for the manufacture of veneers, in particular for carrying out the process described above, whereby the apparatus has the features defined in claims 30-37. By means of said apparatus, the process of the invention can be carried out in a particularly simple and rapid manner, obtaining the advantages as previously described. With regard to said advantages, reference may be made directly to the above explanations.

With regard to claim 34, it is additionally stated that the plurality of machining units provided on the rotor of the rotary machining tool has the advantage that: a particularly flat surface of the planing glued surface can be obtained, so that damage of the individual planing units does not directly lead to a deterioration of the process quality. It is particularly suitable in the case of a machining unit having a cutting edge which is substantially parallel to the plane of rotation of the rotating body.

Drawings

Fig. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a stick-shaped wood block according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the stick-shaped wood block shown in fig. 1;

fig. 3 schematically shows a perspective view of a stick-shaped wood block according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the stick-shaped wood block shown in fig. 3;

FIG. 5 schematically shows a perspective view of a stick-shaped wood block according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates another perspective view of the stick of wood shown in FIG. 5;

fig. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the stick-shaped wood block shown in fig. 5 and 6;

fig. 8 schematically shows a perspective view of a stick-shaped wood block according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a sectional view showing the stick-shaped block shown in fig. 8;

FIG. 10 shows a top schematic view of the stick of FIG. 8;

figure 11 shows a top perspective schematic view of a log being split into several pieces;

fig. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing a stick-shaped wood block according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a top schematic view of a veneer manufacturing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

figure 14 presents schematically a perspective view of a planing device which can be preferably used within the scope of the present invention;

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a conventional process in the manufacture of a veneer;

FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a conventional process in the manufacture of a veneer;

FIG. 17 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a conventional process in the manufacture of a veneer;

18.1-18.3 schematically show perspective views of a conventional process in the manufacture of European veneers;

FIGS. 19.1-19.2 show schematic diagrams of an apparatus for carrying out the novel process of veneer manufacture;

Detailed Description

The described features of the invention and others are obtained from the following description of preferred embodiments in connection with the independent claims. Here, the respective features may be implemented individually or in combination with each other.

In the following description, a preferred embodiment of the apparatus 30 for manufacturing a veneer sheet of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 13. The apparatus 30 shown in fig. 13 has a treatment sequence indicated by dashed lines with arrows, so that along the dashed lines suitable feeding means (not shown in the figures) can be provided continuously or in sections. Therefore, it must be considered: within the scope of the present invention, the apparatus 30 need not provide the apparatus shown in fig. 13 in its entirety.

First, the apparatus 30 has a rough-planing device 60, in which the surface of the plate-like wood shavings are rough-planed, for example by means of a planer or the like. The apparatus is connected by means 61 for sorting and means 62 for machining the edges, whereby instead of the sorting means 61 trained personnel can be employed to select from the incoming sheet material workpieces suitable for further processing.

Furthermore, the device 30 has a planer 63 for finishing at least one surface of each plate-like wood shavings. In the present embodiment, the planer 63 is a rotary working tool 63 "which is schematically represented in perspective in fig. 14. As shown in fig. 14, the axis of rotation 63' of the rotating working tool 63 "extends substantially perpendicular to the surface of the wood chips 10 to be worked. Thus, the rotary working tool 63 ″ has a body of revolution with a plurality of cutting edges 63 *, whereby each of said cutting edges has an edge substantially parallel to the plane of rotation of the body of revolution. Within the scope of the invention, for example, the Ledinek-Tec, D-Delmenhorst "rotoles" system may be used as such a rotary working tool, but it goes without saying that the invention is not limited thereto.

The planing machine 63 is connected to a surface drying device 64, which in the present exemplary embodiment can be realized by means of UV radiation, hot air or infrared radiation. The means of UV radiation or infrared radiation are arranged so as to be able to pre-dry the previously shaved surface in the individual chips 10 at the surface.

Furthermore, the apparatus 30 has a sizing device 65 for applying a binder or glue to the shaved, optionally pre-dried, frozen and reheated surface of the individual chips. The glue applicator 65 may be designed in different ways within the scope of the invention, for example, the device may comprise a glue roller or the like. However, it has been confirmed that: it is particularly advantageous if the device 65 for applying glue has a plurality of nozzles (not shown here) for applying glue.

Subsequently, the plant 30 comprises a stacking device 66 for a plurality of wood chips, wherein the plurality of wood chips can be formed into a strand-shaped wood block by means of a binder. Here, for example, it may be a collection table or the like having a falling period. The stacking means 66 are connected by pressing means 67 for the respective strip-shaped wood blocks. The pressurizing means can be operated, for example, hydraulically, pneumatically or alternatively gravitationally, it also being possible, for example, to design it as an endless conveyor or as a linear pressure device.

The pressure means 67 are connected by adjusting means 68 for the impregnation and/or heat treatment of the pressed wood strand. For example, the conditioning device 68 may be a heatable water bath or steam chamber.

Said device 68 is followed by a planing device 69 (honing machine) for smoothing one side of the bar-shaped block in order to be able to mount it correctly on the cutting device 70.

The devices 69 are connected by a cutting device 70 (veneer slicer) for slicing each pressed wood block into veneers. The device 70 for slicing can thus be designed in different ways, for example, it can be used for horizontal or vertical cutting, rotary cutting or eccentric rotary cutting.

The drying device 71 is installed downstream of the slicing device, for example, it has a flow chamber through which hot air passes.

Finally, in fig. 18.1-18.3, the conventional process is compared with the novel process schematically shown in fig. 19.1-19.2.

In the conventional process in fig. 18.1, the logs 50 are debarked by a debarker 58, then cut in half in the longitudinal direction by a band saw 59, the half section is soaked in a water bath device (adjustment 68), and then passed through a planer 69. The split halves of the log are then sliced.

In fig. 19.1-19.2, the board is planed by a planing device 63 (preferably a planer from Rotoles) according to the novel process. The resulting platy flat wood chips 10 are then passed through a device for drying the surface 64 (e.g., UV, hot air, or infrared radiation) and a sizing device 65 that applies the glue 20. The flat chips in the form of plates to which the glue is applied are subsequently stacked in a stacking device 66 and pressed in a pressing device 67 into one or more strip-shaped wood blocks 12. The strip-shaped wood block is then soaked in a conditioning device 68 (e.g., a water bath) to adjust the appropriate moisture content, and then shaved by a planer 69 and cut into veneers 14 by a cutting device 70. After drying in the drying device 71, the veneer manufacturing process of the present invention can be ended.

Alternatively, the manufactured veneer may be trimmed in the longitudinal and/or transverse directions 74, 75 and may be processed through an assembly process 79.

The new method changes the european veneer process so that the subsequent manufacturing steps (edging/trimming and manual intensive assembly/splicing of veneers) become obsolete for all surface patterns that are "lath matched" (e.g. look wood like). Meanwhile, because the veneer is dried to reach the standard moisture content (the moisture content is 8-16%), the surface of the veneer does not need to be used and pressurized immediately as the Asian method does. Drying the veneer to a lower moisture content allows for the transportation and storage of the wood surface prior to its application to a substrate.

Furthermore, in the novel process of the invention, wood with different water contents can be glued together and/or standard wood sold freely on the market as well as wood/honing board just sawn can be used together in the process. It is also possible to mix different species (and materials). Furthermore, the novel process also allows the manufacture of veneers using standard glue while using standard veneer cutting equipment (including soaking/heating and subsequent drying processes) to form glue lines that are not visible. The novel process allows for storable and transportable veneer surface fabrication while providing a product that is customized at a much lower cost than conventional processes.

Other advantages of the novel process are: the veneer pattern and veneer dimensions can be selected and defined prior to slicing. The final wood surface is obtained after passing through the dryer and no further treatment is required prior to application to the substrate.

By incorporating the process steps of the present invention, the novel process overcomes the limitations of the prior art.

The novel process also has significant economic advantages. The total manufacturing cost including the raw material cost is at least 20% lower than the standard process (euro process). Which allows for some cuts that would not be accomplished without the conditioning process. Capital productivity has produced tremendous advances. Each time of slicing by the slicing machine is about 3.0m²Instead of 0.6m as in the conventional process². The product value of each stroke of the slicing machine is 3-5 times higher. The slicing and drying apparatus is by far the most expensive and therefore the most capital intensive equipment in the whole manufacturing chain from forest to assembled furniture can be used in a significantly more efficient manner. The output of one planing machine is 2-3 times that of the traditional process. Since standard wet lumber can be used, products from the highly efficient hardwood industry can be used as raw materials, greatly increasing the potential for useful resources as compared to the use of veneer logs. Furthermore, the invention allows the use of wet wood in short blocks and small sizes, which are not normally used in the wood industry, thus enabling the waste to be turned into high-value decorative products.

The most important advantages are: solid wood surfaces can be manufactured at a cost per square meter that makes them comparable to other alternative surface materials, such as low pressure melamine, high pressure melamine, or other materials. Which is a breakthrough for the surface material industry.

The invention will now be illustrated by means of some examples.

Example 1

The operation of the apparatus of the invention, more particularly the process according to the invention and the first preferred embodiment of the product according to the invention, will now be described with reference to figures 3, 4 and 13.

First, a board 10 just sawn from oak or beech is provided, which has dimensions (length × width × height) of 2400mm × 150mm × 100 mm. At the subsequent application surface, the sheet material is rough planed in a rough planing device 60 and subsequently sorted, for example manually or using a sorting device 61. Then, an edge processing is performed in the corresponding device 62, whereby the subsequent pasted surface is shaved in the shaving device 63.

At this point, the subsequent bonded surface of the board 10 may optionally be pre-dried at the surface in a surface drying apparatus 64 prior to applying the adhesive 20 to the bonded surface in apparatus 65, depending on the desired open aging time required for the adhesive. Thus, Prefere6000, a product of Dynea corporation, can be used as the adhesive. Here, it is a one-component polyurethane adhesive for wood structures with a polyurethane-based adhesive component. In order to form the adhesion, the adhesive is applied all over one of the respective adhesion surfaces in the sheet material. For this purpose, instead of nozzles, spatulas or rollers can be used. The amount of adhesive applied was about 250 grams per square meter of wood surface.

Subsequently, 6 sheets 10 are stacked in a stacking device 66 into strip-shaped wood blocks (the resulting dimensions are length × width × height: 2400mm × 150mm × 600mm), and they are bonded to each other. Then, in the pressing device 67, curing of the adhesive is carried out, whereby, in the present case, about 1N/mm is applied with a pressing time of about 8 hours²The pressure of (a).

Such a stick-shaped wood block 12 obtained from the glued solid wood board 10 has sufficient hardness for the subsequent processing steps.

Next, the glued strip-shaped wood pieces are heated in water at about 80 degrees celsius for about 2.5 days in a conditioning device 68, after which they are sliced into veneers 14 having a thickness of about 0.65 mm. In the present case, the cutting/slicing plane is chosen to be perpendicular to the plane defined by the adhesive layer 20 (in fact, in the longitudinal direction of the block), so that a standard veneer with a width of 600mm and a length of 2400mm can be obtained. Thus, the cutting direction is transverse to the wood fibers.

After slicing, the obtained veneer 14 is dried at a temperature of 140 ℃ for a time of about 60 seconds.

Example 2

A second embodiment of the process of the invention or the product of the invention is described below with reference to figures 1, 2 and 13. Although the second embodiment is in principle the same as the previously described process, in the second embodiment, the manufacture of wood blocks according to the invention is provided with a waste board ("back board") of oak (solid wood) obtained from the manufacture of veneers, having a thickness of 13mm and a moisture content of about 65%, without the need for extended storage periods.

Thus, the individual plaques were trimmed to a fixed value of 2400mm × 150mm in the lateral and forward directions. In summary, according to the present invention, 12 individual panels 10 are provided to achieve a desired height of 156mm of the wood block 12.

After appropriate planing of the panel surface, on one side, the adhesive/glue 20 is applied in strip form by using an apparatus for applying adhesive (LK5PUR apparatus) of the company Lamello AG. The adhesive formulation used was a one-component polyurethane adhesive from the Collano AG company and the treatment time (open-time aging) was about 7 minutes. The adhesive is composed of a reaction product of diphenylmethane diisocyanate and polypropylene glycol. The sizing amount is about 150g/m²。

Immediately after gluing, at 0.8N/mm in a pressing device 67²The formed wood block 12 was pressurized for 6 hours. After a subsequent standing period of about 12 hours, the resulting wood block was re-soaked in a water bath 40 (steam) at about 80 ℃ for 24 hours. Then, the still-hot wood block 12 was sliced into a veneer 14 (in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the adhesion face) having a thickness of 0.65mm with a cutting/slicing apparatus for veneers, whereby the resulting veneer 14 was dried in a drying device at a temperature of 140 ℃ to a corresponding moisture content of wood of about 8%.

The material, technical veneers thus obtained are of suitable quality and can be distinguished significantly from commercially available veneers in view of the aesthetic requirements of veneers with a striped thread-like appearance to have a striped longitudinal structure. They can then be applied to a suitable substrate (e.g., wood panel) using a different bonding process.

For technical reasons, in conventional veneer processing it is not possible to assemble such narrow veneer strips, and therefore the said appearance of the veneer can only be achieved by the process of the invention.

Improvement 1

Starting from freshly sawn beech boards, the process of the first example was carried out, wherein, in summary, 5 beech boards were glued to a wood block of the invention having a height of 500 mm. The fixing means of the plate material is the same as that performed for the plate material 10 in the first embodiment.

After slicing, as a material, a technical veneer is obtained, the appearance of which is similar to the surface of a normal simple assembled/sliced veneer. Such veneers may be used, for example, as door panels or as front panels for furniture.

Improvement 2

A back sheet from conventional veneer manufacture made of walnut and maple is provided, with a thickness of 14mm and is prepared, shaved, optionally cleaned and subsequently glued as described in the second embodiment. In the gluing step, 3 maple boards, 1 beech board, then 3 maple boards, then 1 beech board, and finally 3 maple boards are bonded together in a manner to overlap each other. By gluing the 11 boards, a block of 154mm in height according to the invention can be obtained. The combination wood product of beech and maple is particularly preferred because the resulting composite layers do not peel or split easily because maple and beech have similar drying coefficients.

The process plates obtained according to said improvements, in view of aesthetic problems, are similar to multilayer plates glued from different material layers. For technical reasons it is not possible to glue such narrow veneer strips in conventional veneer processes, and therefore said appearance in veneers can only be achieved by the process of the invention.

Improvement 3

In the modification, the treatment is carried out according to the second embodiment, and therefore, instead of each 6 th layer of oak board, it is conceivable, however, to add a thin layer of aluminum sheet (thickness 0.8mm) into the composite layer and to fix the composite by gluing. In this way, it is conceivable to obtain blocks (wood blocks) having a height in the range of 131 mm. The resulting article may be a technical veneer, in particular by inserting an aluminum sheet, which has an aesthetic strong machine direction orientation (incorporating optical properties within the machine direction orientation). Such improvements have not been implemented.

Example 3

A third embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig. 5 to 7. In the example, starting from a panel 10 made of oak with dimensions (length x width x height) of about 2800mm x 150mm x 60 mm. The oak board is obtained by gluing the shorter oak pieces 10, which have just been sawn from the wet wood, by gluing the edges and ends together with a polyurethane adhesive (Prefere 6000, product of Dynea).

The resulting oak board 10 was trimmed to a final thickness of 50mm on both sides and further processed according to the process of example 1 or 2. According to the present invention, a strip-shaped wooden board 12 having a height of 300mm is provided, and thus 6 such oak boards 10 are glued to each other. Then, as already discussed in example 1 or 2, cutting/slicing was performed.

The resulting material, the technical veneer 14, is similar to the typical flooring structure of parquet flooring made of oak for their surface.

Example 4

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig. 8 to 10. The embodiments are characterized in that: as shown in fig. 8 and 9, the wood boards 10 are glued in a herringbone pattern into a strip-shaped wood board 12. Thus, the adjacent wood boards 10 are respectively glued to each other at their side surfaces, and the respective obverse surfaces of the wood boards 10 are also glued to the side surfaces of the adjacent wood boards 10. Then, it was pressed, sawn and sliced as explained in example 1 or 2.

Example 5

A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig. 11 and 12. In the example, a chip for veneer production is obtained, in which a section II as shown in fig. 11 is separated from the center of the log 50, and thus, in the present example, the log 50 is split into 3 pieces I, II, III. Several of the chips formed from stage II are preferably treated as described in example 1.

In addition, the edge segments I, III of the logs 50 are preferably used for veneer manufacturing. To achieve this, as shown in fig. 12, the edge segments I, III are glued to each other on their respective planing sides and then planed in a manner generally parallel to the plane defined by the adhesive layer. Here, the processing procedure basically corresponds to the processing described in the foregoing first embodiment, except that: the planing is performed substantially parallel to the plane defined by the adhesive layer.

Reference numerals

10 plate-shaped flat wood chip

12 sheet-shaped wood block

14 veneer

20 adhesive

30 apparatus for manufacturing veneer

50 log

58 peeler

59 band saw

60 rough planing device

61 sorting device

62 apparatus for processing edge

63 planing device

63' rotary working tool

63 * cutting edge

63' axis of rotation

64 surface drying device

65 applicator for applying an adhesive (20)

66 stacking device

67 pressure device

68 adjustment device

69 honing plate planing machine

70 cutting device (veneer cutting machine)

71 drying device (veneer dryer)

72 veneer stacking machine

73 trimming the veneer in the longitudinal direction

74 trimming the veneer in the transverse direction

75 combining/strapping device

76 pairs of veneer classes

77 parallel clamp

78 glue applicator for veneers

79 working by assembling/splicing (longitudinal or transverse)

80 quality control and stacking

Cross section A-A

Cross section of B-B

C-C cross section

D-D cross section

I (semi-circular) section

Section II

III (semi-circular) section

Claims (40)

1. A process for manufacturing a veneer, comprising steps (i) to (iv):

(i) gluing the plate-shaped flat wood chips (10) into strip-shaped wood blocks (12) through an adhesive (20),

(ii) -subjecting the strip-shaped wood block (12) to a soaking and/or heat treatment,

(iii) cutting the strip-shaped wood block (12) into a veneer (14),

(iv) (iv) drying the veneer obtained in step (iii) until its moisture content is below the fibre saturation point.

2. The process of claim 1, further comprising one or more of steps (v) to (vii):

(v) prior to step (i): -planing on at least one surface of the plate-like flat wood chips (10),

(vi) prior to step (ii): pressing the strip-shaped wood block (12),

(vii) prior to step (vi): -stacking the platy strands (12).

3. The process of claim 1 or 2, further comprising steps (viii) to (ix) prior to step (i):

(viii) cooling the surface of the glued platy flat wood chips (10) to below 0 ℃,

(ix) heating the surface to be glued in order to evaporate water present in the surface area inside the wood.

4. The process of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: in step (ii), the stick-shaped wood block (12) is immersed for several days, in particular 2-3 days, before cutting, preferably at a temperature of more than 60 ℃, more preferably at about 80 ℃.

5. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the cross-sections (A, B, C, D) are arranged transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the plane defined by the adhesive layer.

6. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the wood chips (10) are at least partly solid wood boards.

7. The process of claim 6, wherein: solid wood boards (10) are waste boards produced in conventional veneer manufacturing, especially from the chippings of the centre of the logs, so-called backsheets.

8. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the strands (10) are separated from the center of the log in a plurality of sections (II), preferably by splitting the log into at least 3 sections (I, II, III).

9. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the strands (10) are substantially a plurality of semi-circular segments (I, III) separated from the edge area of the log (8), preferably by splitting the log into at least 3 segments (I, II, III), wherein the substantially semi-circular segments (i.iii) are glued to each other by their planar sides and are subsequently cut preferably substantially parallel to the plane defined by the glue layer.

10. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the moisture content of the wood chips (10) is greater than 20%, preferably greater than 30%, in particular between 40% and 85%, wherein the wood chips (10) are preferably made of so-called green wood.

11. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the adhesive (20) is a polyurethane adhesive, preferably a so-called hot polyurethane adhesive.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein: the adhesive (20) is a so-called one-component polyurethane adhesive.

13. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the strand-like wood block (12) has a moisture content of wood near or above the fiber saturation point, in particular between 60% and 80%, before cutting.

14. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the plate-like flat wood pieces (10) are glued to each other so that their fibre directions are substantially parallel to each other.

15. The process of claim 14, wherein: the front faces of the plate-shaped flat wood pieces (10) are glued to each other.

16. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the flat wooden pieces (10) in plate form are glued to each other in a herringbone pattern.

17. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: at least one flat, preferably other wood-type, plate-shaped sheet (10) is arranged above, below or between the wood chips (10), wherein the material sheet is preferably glued to adjacent wood chips or material sheets.

18. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: at least one flat, preferably plate-shaped piece of a material different from wood is arranged above or below or between the wood chips (10), wherein the material piece and the adjacent wood chips or material pieces are preferably glued to each other.

19. The process of claim 18, wherein: the material different from wood is a metal or an alloy, preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy or plastic.

20. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the thickness of the flat wood sheet (10) or the flat material sheet of the material different from wood is more than 5mm, and the preferred thickness is 10-120 mm.

21. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the adhesive (20) is a colored adhesive or a dyed adhesive.

22. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the drying of step (iv) is carried out at elevated temperature, preferably at a temperature of greater than 70 ℃.

23. The process of claim 22, wherein: the drying is carried out immediately after the cutting.

24. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: before gluing, the glued surface of the plate-like flat wood pieces (10) is shaved, in particular by using a rotating machining tool.

25. The process of claim 24, wherein: the axis of rotation of the rotating working tool is substantially perpendicular to the gluing surface to be treated.

26. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the thickness of the veneer (14) obtained in step (iv) is > 0.25mm, preferably 0.6 mm.

27. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the length of the veneer (14) obtained in step (iv) substantially corresponds to the length of the wood block (2).

28. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: the surface area of the veneer (14) obtained in step (iv) is preferably 1 to 4m²More preferably 1.5 to 3.5m²。

29. Process for manufacturing a strip-shaped wood block (12), wherein the strip-shaped wood block (12) is used for manufacturing a veneer (14), comprising the following steps (j) to (jv):

(j) cooling the surface of the glued platy flat wood sheet (10) to a temperature below 0 ℃,

(jj) heating the surface to be glued, in order to evaporate water present in said surface area inside the wood,

(jjj) subsequently applying an adhesive to the treated surface,

(jv) gluing the platy flat wood chips into the strip wood blocks.

30. Strip-shaped wood block (12) for manufacturing veneers (14), characterized in that: the plate-shaped flat wood pieces (10) are glued by means of an adhesive (20), wherein preferably plate-shaped material pieces, preferably of a type different from wood and/or other wood, are arranged above, below or between the wood pieces (10).

31. A strip-shaped block of wood (12) for manufacturing veneer (14) according to claim 30, characterized in that: the features of the characterizing portion of claims 1 to 28.

32. A strip-like wood block (12) for manufacturing veneer (14), produced by the process of claim 29.

33. A veneer (14), characterized by: veneer (14) is manufactured by cutting along a defined cross section (a, B, C, D), by a strip-shaped wood block (12) as defined in any one of claims 30 to 32 or by a process as defined in claim 29.

34. The veneer (14) according to claim 33, wherein: the features of the characterizing portion of claims 4 to 28.

35. Apparatus (30) for manufacturing a veneer, in particular for carrying out the process of claims 1 to 28, comprising:

a planing device (63) for planing at least one plane of the plate-shaped flat wood chips (10),

a glue applicator (65) for applying a glue (20) to the planed surface of the plate-like flat wood chips (10),

a stacking device (66) for stacking the plate-shaped flat wood pieces (10) with the adhesive (20) into strip-shaped wood blocks (12),

an adjustment device (68) for the soaking and/or heat treatment of the strip-shaped wood blocks (12),

-cutting means (veneer slicer) (70) for cutting the respective pressed wood blocks into veneers (14),

drying means (veneer dryer) (71) for drying said obtained veneer (14).

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein: the planing device (63) has at least one rotating machining tool (63').

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein: the axis of rotation (63 ') of the rotating machining tool (63') extends substantially perpendicular to the surface to be treated.

38. The apparatus of claim 36 or 37, wherein: the rotary working tool (63 ") has a rotary body with a plurality of cutting elements (63 *), wherein the cutting elements have cutting edges that are substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation (63') of the rotary body.

39. The apparatus of any one of claims 35 to 38, wherein: it also has a drying device (64) for the surface, in particular a heat source such as a UV ray device or an infrared ray device or the like.

40. The apparatus of any one of claims 35 to 39, wherein: the device (65) for applying the adhesive (20) has a plurality of nozzles for applying the adhesive (20).