Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam

The sustainability of the Asian wooden furniture industry

This paper attempts to analyze the sustainability of the Asian wooden furniture industry. Despite booming exports, the furniture industry is besieged with stagnating productivity. The growth attributed to rising exports of low-value, contract furniture is not sustainable in the long-term as other cheaper manufacturers emerge. Industry liberalization coupled with the use of skilled workers, and not industrial policy, are the strategic elements for sustainability.ZusammenfassungIn diesem Manuskript wird versucht, die Nachhaltigkeit der asiatischen Holzmöbel-Industrie zu analysieren. Trotz boomender Exporte ist die Möbelindustrie durch stagnierende Produktivität in Bedrängnis geraten. Das Wachstum ist einem Anstieg geringwertiger Exporte zu verdanken. Vertragsmobiliar ist auf lange Sicht nicht erhältlich, da andere billigere Hersteller auftauchen. Die strategischen Elemente zur Nachhaltigkeit der Holzmöbel-Industrie sind industrielle Liberalisierung, gekoppelt mit der Einstellung erfahrener Arbeiter und keinesfalls die Anwendung industrieller Taktiken.

Conservation gains through HCVF assessments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania

This paper analyses the conservation gains through High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) assessments in two South-East European countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania). These are based on the review of the Draft Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) National Standards and HCVF Manuals and the results of the certification process of seven forest management units in the two countries. The review indicates that the application of Principle 9 (High Conservation Value Forests) and Criterion 6.4 of the FSC in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania was influenced by the size and nature of tenure (i.e., public or non-public land), rather than geographic location per se. The study also revealed that the assessment of HCVF has, for the first time, raised the question of conservation of cultural, historical and religious values as well as the sustainable management of those forests relevant for the basic needs of communities. These are values not currently covered at the present by the national conservation legislation in either of these two countries. Findings of this study in both countries demonstrates that there are certain conservation gains as a result of the HCVF assessment, especially related to ecosystem services, prevention of soil erosion and conservation of threatened, endangered and endemic species.

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement: the Ghanaian and Malaysian experience

SUMMARY This paper looks at how the Voluntary Partnership Agreement is working by using the Ghanaian and Malaysian experiences on this process. The difference in the forest management system in both Ghana and Malaysia, in itself poses some challenges to the implementation of the VPA. Further, the multi-stake holder approach used in Ghana, and the inter-governmental approach used in Malaysia presents different scenarios that may influence the implementation of the VPA. It is important to realize that measures that properly address circumvention and illegal imports from non-partner countries are of crucial importance for Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) to be a success. Therefore, the only way for Ghana and Malaysia to see VPA as a success is to be assisted in every way to build capacity among the law enforcement agencies.

A matter of design in the South East Asian wooden furniture industry

South East Asia has emerged as a large furniture-exporting region in the world. Wood is the predominant furniture raw material used in the region, although other raw materials are also available. As a large contract-manufacturing base, the South East Asian furniture industry has not developed its original design and innovative capabilities, which has hampered its effort to produce greater value added furniture. New industrial policies and education schemes to diversify the furniture making raw materials are required to enhance the innovative capacity within the industry, if the regional furniture industry is to successfully shift to higher value added furniture manufacturing.ZusammenfassungIn Südostasien ist eine große Region für Möbelexporte entstanden. Holz ist das vorherrschende Material für die Möbelherstellung, wenn auch andere Rohstoffe zur Verfügung stehen. Die Möbelindustrie in Südostasien, die auf großräumigen Kontrakten beruht, hat noch nicht ihren eigenen Stil und ihre innovativen Möglichkeiten entwickelt. Dies hat seine Bemühungen zur Herstellung höherwertiger Möbel behindert. Neue Industriestrategien und Schulungspläne zur Nutzung vielseitiger Rohmaterialien sind erforderlich, um die Innovation in dieser Industriebranche zu erhöhen, wenn das Ziel einer höherwertigen Möbelproduktion erreicht werden soll.

The abrasive sanding of Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis): an industrial perspective

Hevea brasiliensis) as a raw material for high-volume furniture production, information on its sanding properties is relatively sparse. This study was carried out to provide some fundamental understanding of the sanding properties of the material, from an industrial perspective. The results suggest that the sanding process is suitable for low to moderate stock removal, for it ensures optimal process economics. Further, silicone carbide abrasive belts perform better than aluminum oxide abrasive belts for the sanding of Rubberwood. A simple method was used to estimate the economic belt life, which will help derive effective belt change schedules in order to enhance the productivity of the process.

Optimal Surface Roughness for High-Quality Finish on Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis)

In an effort to establish a reference value for optimal surface roughness for high quality finish on Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis), a series of experiments were carried out using samples sanded with different grit sizes and applied with a clear lacquer. The results show that the surface roughness produced by the grit size 240 provided the highest surface finish quality, both in terms of coating film adhesion and sheen. This finding will have far reaching implications on Rubberwood furniture manufacturing practices as it enables the manufacturers to adopt a standard for surface roughness to ensure the highest quality finish. ZusammenfassungUm eine Bezugsgrösse für die optimale Oberflächenrauhigkeit von Gummibaumholz (Hevea brasiliensis) zur Erzeugung hochwertiger Oberflächen festlegen zu können, wurden Versuche durchgeführt. Dabei wurden die Proben unter Verwendung verschiedener Körnungen geschliffen und mit Klarlack lackiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die mit einer Körnung von 240 erlangte Oberflächenrauhigkeit bezüglich Farbschichthaftung und Glanz die beste Oberfläche lieferte. Diese Ergebnisse sind für die Gummibaumholz verarbeitende Möbelindustrie von grosser praktischer Bedeutung, weil sie die Standardisierung von Oberflächenrauhigkeit zur Erzeugung hochwertiger Oberflächen liefern können.

Fatigue: it’s relevance to furniture

This paper sets out to present the importance of incorporating fatigue related information into the product engineering of furniture constructions. Contrary to commonly accepted thinking, structural failures in furniture very often result from fatigue associated with its repeated use. Hence, performance testing of furniture is needed not only to determine the ultimate static strength of the furniture but also its fatigue strength.ZusammenfassungDiese Arbeit weist auf die Bedeutung der Ermüdingserscheinungen hin, die bei der Möbelherstellung stärker berücksichtigt werden sollten. Entgegen der allgemein akzeptierten Ansicht wird das Versagen von Möbelkonstruktionen oft durch Ermüdung bei länger wiederholter Benutzung verursacht. Daher ist es nötig, nicht nur die statische Festigkeit zu prüfen sondern auch die Ermüdungsgrenze.

An investigation into the tool wearing characteristics of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) laminated veneer lumber

Peripheral machining of Rubberwood LVL and solid Rubberwood were carried out on a computer numerical control router, using cemented tungsten carbide cutters. The cutter wear rate and power consumption showed similar patterns of increment. Rubberwood LVL was found to be four times as abrasive as solid Rubberwood, and a combination of wear mechanisms were involved in contrast, to abrasion which was the predominant mechanism when machining solid Rubberwood. The use of a simple wear model based on the Taylor’s tool life equation has enabled the total tool wear to be quantified. This information can be expanded into useful production data for the Rubberwood based high-volume Furniture manufacturing industry.ZusammenfassungFurnierschichtholz und Massivholz vonHevea brasiliensis wurden mit einer numerisch gesteuerten Oberfräse bearbeitet. Die Schneidwerkzeuge bestanden aus Wolframcarbid. Werkzeugabnützung und Energieverbrauch zeigten jeweils ähnliche Charakteristik. Furnierschichtholz war jedoch viermal aggressiver als Massivholz. Zudem liegt über das Abschleifen hinaus eine Kombination von Abnützungsmechanismen vor, von denen der Abriebverschleiß beim Bearbeiten von Massivholz überwiegt. Mit Hilfe eines einfachen Modells auf der Grundlage der Taylor-Gleichung konnte der gesamt Werkzeugverschleiß quantifiziert werden. Diese Informationen können weitergeführt werden zur Verwendung bei der Großproduktion von Möbeln ausHevea brasiliensis.

Effect of heat treatment on the machining and other properties of rubberwood

In this study, the effects of heat treatment on the static strength, dimensional stability and machinability of Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis), subjected to heat treatment of varying temperatures and durations, were examined. It was found that the density, static strengths and dimensional stability of Rubberwood reduced with increasing temperature regimes. On the other hand, the machinability of the material was improved with heat treatment, although dust emission was significantly higher.