November 19, 2020 Furniture Manufacturing Industry – A Sneak Peek

Modern furniture manufacturing industry plays a big part in the economies of Europe, U.S., and most other regions.

Manufacturing is the process of production of articles for sale or use, with the help of labor, tools, machines, and biological or chemical formulation. The furniture manufacturing industry is the sector that deals with the designing, fabrication, processing, and preparation of furniture and related articles, such as cabinets, fixtures, window blinds, etc. Since early ages, handicrafts and woodwork have played a major part in the lives of human beings, and now the Modern furniture manufacturing industry plays a big part in the economies of Europe, U.S., and most other regions. Today we will discuss a bit about the Furniture Manufacturing Industry.

Materials Used in Furniture Manufacturing:

Modern furniture construction is no more limited to the availability of wood, rather it has been extended to reliable man-made alternates, such as plywood, hardboard, laminated board, etc. Nowadays it is not uncommon to find wrought iron bed or sofa set designs, instead of the traditional wooden works. Along with being environmentally friendly, these alternates are free from a lot of drawbacks that natural woods have, like shrinking or swelling and eventually rotting away due to absorbing moisture from its atmosphere.

Modern Industry Layout:

Modern industries nowadays are set in a mass production line, where there are main conversion shops where the raw material is cut to usable sizes, a kilning section for moisture content, planning and jointing shop where all dowelling and dovetailing is done, veneers are attached according to their widths in the veneer department, assembly shops, joints are leveled in a sanding shop, finishing shop does the staining and spray polishing, etc., and lastly, a fitters’ shop where hinges are attached to doors, handles are put on, etc. Every finished product has to be checked by a quality examiner who checks for any defects in the items before they are passed to stock or to the packers’ department.

The Production Process:

The first step in the process of production of furniture is the sketching of a basic outline of what the final product should look like, with practical constructional details, proportions, as well as decorative designs. Next comes the selection of a suitable material. Then it goes to the machine shop, where it is sawed to size, planed, molded, or grooved as to the requirements. Pieces which have intricate designs are first roughly carved, then a hand carver finishes the job by machine sanding. The last step is of assembling the finished parts, where the door frames are put together, drawers glued up, etc., followed by spray polishing and staining.

Transport and Storage in the Industry:

The space that a furniture piece requires after its production is disproportionately larger than the space required by its raw materials. Hence, transport and storage, especially if the furniture has to go for shipping abroad, requires a lot of effort. Consequently, “knockdown” furniture types are most prevalent nowadays. That is, the pieces of the furniture, for example, with the modern TV stand designs, its parts can be dissembled for easier transport, and reassembled with the help of screws and a bit of instruction easily, once it has reached its destination.

Furniture has been an integral part of human life for a very long time and one cannot simply imagine his/her life without its presence. Often we tend to overlook the long and interesting process that goes behind the manufacturing process of the product that we are using today. Hopefully, you enjoyed learning about the process today!

Subscribe to Industry Today