ardboard Manufacturing

From basic storage boxes to multi-colored card stock, cardboard isavailable

in an array of sizes and forms. A term for heavier paper-based products,
cardboard can range in manufacturing method as well as aesthetic, and as a
result can be found in vastly different applications. Because cardboard doesnt
refer to a specific material but rather a category of materials, it is helpful to
consider it in terms of three separate groups: paperboard, corrugated
fiberboard, and card stock.
Paperboard
Paperboard is typically 0.010 inches in thickness or less, and is essentially a
thicker form of standard paper. The manufacturing process begins
withpulping, the separation of wood (hardwood and sapwood) into
individual fibers, as accomplished by mechanical methods or chemical
treatment.
Mechanical pulping typically involves grinding the wood down using
silicon carbide or aluminum oxide to break down the wood and separate
fibers.Chemical pulping introduces a chemical component to the wood at
high heat, which breaks down the fibers that bind cellulose together. There are
approximately thirteen different kinds of mechanical and chemical pulping
used in the U.S.

To make paperboard, bleached or unbleached kraft
processes andsemichecmical processes are the two types of pulping
typically applied.Kraft processes achieve pulping by using a mixture of sodium
hydroxide and sodium sulfate to separate the fibers that link cellulose. If the
process is bleached, additional chemicals, such as surfactants and defoamers,
are added to improve the efficiency and quality of the process. Other
chemicals used during bleaching can literally bleach the dark pigment of the
pulp, making it more desirable for certain applications.
Semichemical processes pre-treat wood with chemicals, such as sodium
carbonate or sodium sulfate, then refine the wood using a mechanical process.
The process is less intense than typical chemical processing because it doesnt
completely break down the fiber that binds cellulose, and can take place at
lower temperatures and under less extreme conditions.

Once pulping has reduced wood to wood fibers, the resulting dilute pulp is
spread out along a moving belt. Water is removed from the mixture by natural
evaporation and a vacuum, and the fibers are then pressed for consolidation
and to remove any excess moisture. After pressing, the pulp is stream-heated
using rollers, and additional resin or starch is added as needed. A series of
rollers called a calendar stack is then used to smooth and finish the final
paperboard.
Corrugated Fiberboard
Corrugated fiberboard is what one typicallyrefers to
when using the term cardboard, and is often used
to make various types ofcorrugated boxes .
Corrugated fiberboard is comprised of several layers
of paperboard, typically two outer layers and an
inner corrugated layer. However, the internal
corrugated layer is typically made of a different kind
of pulp, resulting in a thinner kind of paperboard
that isnt suitable to be used in most paperboard
applications but is perfect for corrugating, as it can
easily assume a rippled form.

Corrugated fiberboard is manufactured using corrugators, machines that
enable the material to be processed without warping and can run at high-
speeds. The corrugated layer, called the medium, assumes a rippled or fluted
pattern as it is heated, wetted, and formed by wheels. An adhesive, typically
starch-based, is then used to join the medium to one of two outer paperboard
layers.

The two outer layers of paperboard, called linerboards, are humidified so
that joining the layers is easier during formation. Once the final corrugated
fiberboard has been created, they component undergoes drying and pressing
by hot plates.
Card Stock
The thinnest type of cardboard, card stock is till thicker than most traditional
writing paper but still has the ability to bend. As a result of its flexibility, it is
often used in post-cards, for catalog covers, and in some soft-cover books.
Many kinds of business cards are also manufactured from card stock, because
it is strong enough to resist the basic wear and tear that would destroy
traditional paper. Card stock thickness is typically discussed in terms
ofpound weight, which is determined by the weight of 500, 20 inch by 26
inch sheets of a given type of card stock. The basic manufacturing process for
cardstock is the same as for paperboard.
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