Effects of full-size panel width on cutting yield of wood-based composites as upholstery furniture frame stocks

In the competitive market, many furniture manufacturers are improving their process efficiency, eliminating unnecessary costs, and improving quality by using wood-based composite panels in frames. Currently, upholstery furniture frames are made by using over 70% wood-based composite panels, which causes material utilization to be the most important area of improvement. Many furniture manufacturers have realized that increased design and production efficiencies using wood-based panel products as their frame stocks combined with computer numerical control (CNC) technology is beneficial for the manufacturing process. However, manufacturers are continuously looking for alternatives to improve the bottom line of the manufacturing process, which includes optimization of the assumed panel width to maximize the cutting yield. In this case study, the effects of increasing the width of full-size wood-based composite panel products (1219-mm-wide × 2438-mm-long) on the cutting yield of parts for two upholstered frame models were investigated using computer simulation software with an optimization capacity. The results of the simulation indicated that increasing the width of the full-size wood-based composite panel products to 1371 mm and 1524 mm could yield better material cutting yields compared with the 1219-mm-wide panel products.