ATIBT technical data sheet : Gluing tropical woods

In the timber industry, the gluing sector, especially the gluing of tropical timber, is probably the one that has progressed the most since the 1980s. The introduction of new, ever more high-performance adhesives on the market makes it possible to glue all types of wood without restriction, whatever their characteristics, with increased requirements for water resistance and mechanical strength.

These technological advances enable the optimization of the use of tropical woods thanks to the gluing of part of the forest resource and cuttings that are difficult to use: secondary species, poorly shaped or small-diameter logs, wood with major defects, downgraded wood, sawmill waste.

Reconstituted solid wood provides a stable and homogeneous material. The gluing of species with very different aspects offers new perspectives for the further integration of wood in luxury constructions (figure 1). The gluing of wood to other materials is now possible (Fig. 2).

The gluing of tropical woods seems to be limited by constraints linked to the particular characteristics of some species and the need to respect all the proper rules. However, studies carried out notably by CIRAD have shown that gluing wood with strong defects or extreme characteristics gives satisfactory results if the recommended implementation conditions are respected.

The choice of the adhesive will depend on the final use of the glued product, the production system, the required assembly time and the desired pressing time.

To discover the date sheet (FR) : Download data sheet "Collage des bois tropicaux"

To access all the data sheets, see the dedicated page.

(Extract : Carouge O., Gérard J., 2015. Collage des bois. Mémento du forestier tropical, éditions Quae, Versailles, section 10.4.7, p 958-967 http://www.quae.com/fr/r4730-memento-du-forestier-tropical.html )

Photo credit : Ravier SARAL