Lighter Weight Greener MDF
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For the green crowd, concerns about life cycle analysis of lumber and wood products has been added to the list of important sustainability credentials. LCA, as it is abbreviated, includes familiar chain of custody certifications on lumber, like FSC and SFI, but it goes a step beyond to include the carbon footprint of shipping the raw lumber and finished product, energy required in sawmills or boardmills, and impact on the environment to retire the wood product when its useful life is over.

Under such measures, Arauco says its Trupan Ultralight MDF (medium density fiberboard) is ideal for furniture and fixtures buyers concerned about environmental impacts of products over their entire life.

 
Arauco says its Truplan Ultralight MDF cuts, finishes
and stains consistently, and reduces tool wear on CNCs.

Arauco says Trupan Ultralight MDF is made from 100 percent fresh pine fiber from sustainably managed Brazilian plantation forests, so woodworkers can tell clients that plantation-grown fiber is an abundant, renewable resource, and its use relieves harvest pressure on the world’s native forests.

Arauco also says Trupan Ultralight MDF is manufactured using forest-biomass-fuel-generated electricity, giving it extra green bona fides. Forest biomass power has a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels.

Trupan Ultralight MDF is also CARB-compliant (California Air Resource Board) and produced without added urea-formaldehyde, so it gives off minimal harmful gasses when used for indoor projects, furnishings or cabinetry.

Arauco notes that since Trupan Ultralight MDF weighs less than competitive brands of MDF (Trupan Ultralight has an average density of 32 lbs. per cubic foot, 30 percent less than conventional MDF panels), it requires less energy to ship. That cuts the environmental impact (and cost) on its way to and from the woodshop.

Arauco says Trupan Ultralight MDF’s lighter weight also translates into ease of handling and reduced wear on fabrication tools. Sourced from a uniform plantation-grown fresh pine fiber, the MDF has a consistent physical mechanical performance in CNC production where precision replication of components is the goal. Auruco says the panels also feature a consistent density profile, allowing more uniform machining into the core. Trupan Ultralight MDF also features uniform, light coloration from panel to panel, so staining and cladding result in a predictable appearance.

Trupan Ultralight MDF features a smooth surface, so it works as a lamination substrate, and in doors, display fixtures, furniture, mouldings, and picture frames. Trupan Ultralight MDF is available in a wide range of melamine laminate colors. Both 48-inch and 60-inch-wide panels are available in 8 foot to 16 foot lengths, and from 12mm to 50mm thick.

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