Cutting Repeatability of an Extruded Wood Plastic Composite in a Post-Production Process

Abstract

Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) as one of the promising materials in manufacturing industries are facing rapid market growth. WPCs are a mixture of thermoplastic or thermosetting plastics and wood fibers. The extruded profiles of WPCs are widely used in different market sectors. A promising novel post-production process to utilize WPC materials may lead to even greater market potential in the future by creating products with more complex geometries. In this production process, cutting and forming as the key elements need to be not only stable but also repeatable. This article evaluates the cutting repeatability of extrusion-based WPC material, including 45% wood fiber, 50% thermoplastic, and 5% other additives press-formed in a post-production process. In the studied process, extrusion was selected as the fabrication method in the production of WPC sheets and the press-forming method was selected for the post-production process. In the first stage of experiments, the preliminary cutting process was conducted using a hydraulic press to find the suitable temperature range and other production parameters needed in successful production. The statistical process control chart method was used in the second stage of the evaluation process. The test results clearly demonstrate that the selected process has an acceptable cutting repeatability with respect to the effect of temperature in the cutting process.