Are you looking for the cost-effective wood composite to apply on your workplace or home furniture? You may be confusing about what is the distinction among MDF, particle board, and plywood when searching at products on the website. That is what we will present you in this article to keep you from getting lost in selecting wood board.

1. Particle board

Particleboard refers to the cutting of various branches and buds, small diameter wood, fast-growing wood, wood chips, etc. into certain standard fragments, through drying, mixing with rubber, hardener, waterproofing agent, etc., and limiting it under certain temperature and pressure. Sometimes a man-made board whose section resembles a honeycomb shape.

Pros:

Low cost

Smooth surface

Stable physical properties

Cons:

Cannot support heavy loads

Have risk of expand and discolor

2. Medium Density Fiberboard(MDF)

MDF is medium density fiberboard is made of wood fiber or different plant fibers, fabricated from timber fiber, carried out with artificial resin, and pressed beneath heating and pressurizing conditions. Both softwood and hardwood are used to manufacture MDF. It’s denser than plywood and widely used in domestic furniture due to uniform structure, stable performance.

Pros:

Low cost

Smooth surface

Stronger than Particle Board

Easy to cut

Cons:

Non-damproof

Heavy-weight

3. Plywood

Plywood are made by hot pressing of three or more layers of solid wood veneer or sheet glue with a thickness of about one millimeter. The common ones are three plywood, five plywood, and nine plywood. Plywood contains a large amount of glue, so edge sealing should be done during construction to reduce pollution. Plywood is mainly used for the bottom panel of decorative panels and the back panel of panel furniture. There is a difference between the front and the back of the multi-layer board. When selecting the plywood, the wood grain should be clear, and the front surface should be smooth and not rough.

Pros：

With different thickness

Water-resistant

Strong material

Holds screws well

Cons：

Difficult to cut

High cost

Do you know what the best wood solution is? When assembling cabinets, you can use the following three wood composites: Most people choose plywood for their cabinet frames because they hold screws well and resist paint and stains well. Multi-layer plywood makes the cabinet light yet strong and durable. On the other hand, the shelving unit can be made of MDF to save money. As you can see, many projects can use any type of manufactured wood, but be aware of weight, material strength, clean cut, and possible water damage.