Research, Review, Advise

Place Research Here: Plywood Research Spreadsheet

We're always on the lookout for new and interesting materials to use for our beehives. Please help us research and recommend materials below. Below are the list of criteria that materials should meet to be considered:

CRITCAL criteria

• Available in 4'x8' sheets (thickness can vary)
• Non-toxic (no toxic glues, famaldahydes, fungasides etc.)
• Cost efficient (under $100 per sheet)
• Sustainably sourced
• CNC routable

IDEAL criteria

• Water resistant or waterproof
• Rot resistant
• Lightweight
• Recycled or upcycled
• Reliably flat (not warped)
• Under $60 per sheet

I'll post two plywoods that are most commonly used in boat building and exhibit some of the criteria listed.

Okoumé
Wood Database Entry
Wikipedia
Example Pricing

Pros

Lightweight
CNC Routable (very flat, consistent thickness)
Non-toxic

Cons

Expensive
Not rot or insect resistant

Meranti (aka Lauan)
Wood Database Entry
Wikipedia
Example Pricing

Pros

Strong
Moderately rot-resistant
CNC Routable (very flat, consistent thickness)

Cons

Phenolic glue wears CNC bits faster
I'm not certain about toxicity
Expensive

Both materials will need to be sealed in order to be durable in an outdoor environment.

Once this list of potential materials grows maybe we could set up a wiki/other database to track usage, sources, and criteria.

Hi,

The CNC shop near me works with a lot of acrylic and brought up the possibility of making the existing designs in acrylic or wood/acrylic combo instead of the CARB 2 plywood. What are your thoughts?

From what I've read acrylic is non-toxic, and weatherproof. It has a tendency to soften in high temperatures though but it doesn't melt unless exposed to very high temps. If it's safe for bees it might be a great idea and requires no painting making it easier for more people to use and set up and clean. Not to mention it would probably look awesome.

Material: Acrylic Glass

Sources:

Poly(methyl methacrylate)

Pros
Able to be cut by laser
Weather proof
Rot proof
Durable
Can come in variety of colors
Material price is affordable
Can be superglued or welded to fuse joints.

Cons
Price some shops may charge to laser cut may be high compared to wooden CNC cuts.
Fossil-fuel used during production (To produce 1 kg (2.2 lb) of PMMA, about 2 kg (4.4 lb) of petroleum is needed.)

Sounds like ti could be a good material to look into, cost may be an issue though?

How does it hold up to abuse is my only concern.
Have you ever used it?

Outside of using thin (0.80 inches thick ) plexi glass to repair a broken window in my garage that's about it.

Acrylic glass comes in different brands and forms. Price and other features depends on the type your purchase. Doing a google search I found some acrylic sheet companies. I guess it all comes down to what type to get. You would need the same size and thickness as the plywood sheets would be.

I'm still looking to find prices for a 4ft x 8ft x 3/4 inches thick acrylic sheets online. Haven't found it yet but I'll keep looking around.

Recycled HDPE Sheets - Reprocessed Plastics, Inc.

(.5) Recycled HDPE Sheet	4x8	80lbs	$129.00(1)	$115.87 (1/2 Pallet) 	$100.70 (Pallet)

Wikihouse 4.0 at the Building Center in London uses SmartPly.

We should investigate this for pros and cons and local availability. I just came across it so I haven't done research yet. Will update post this weekend.

http://gizmodo.com/the-project-to-let-anyone-download-and-print-their-own-1637795903

Plywood Manufacturing - Environmental Protection Agency

Plywood is a building material consisting of veneers (thin wood layers or plies) bonded with an
adhesive. There are two types of plywood: softwood plywood and hardwood plywood. Softwoods
generally correspond to coniferous species. The most commonly used softwoods for manufacturing plywood are firs and pines.

Hardwoods generally correspond to deciduous species. For hardwood plywood, commonly used wood species include oak, poplar, maple, cherry, and larch.

Softwood plywood is manufactured by gluing several layers of dry softwood veneers together
with an adhesive. Softwood plywood is used for wall siding, sheathing, roof decking, concrete
formboards, floors, and containers. Softwood plywood is classified under Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) code 2436, and North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code 321212 for “Softwood Plywood and Veneer”.

Hardwood plywood is made of hardwood veneers bonded with an adhesive. The outer layers
(face and back) surround a core which is usually lumber, veneer, particleboard, or medium density fiberboard. Hardwood plywood may be pressed into panels or plywood components (e.g., curved hardwood plywood, seat backs, chair arms, etc.). Hardwood plywood is used for interior applications such as furniture, cabinets, architectural millwork, paneling, flooring, store fixtures, and doors. Hardwood plywood is classified under SIC code 2435 and NAICS code 321211, for “Hardwood Plywood and Veneer”.

Softwood plywood plants typically produce softwood veneers and softwood plywood on the same
plant site. However, most hardwood plywood and veneer plants either produce hardwood plywood or hardwood veneer. Hardwood veneer plants cut and dry hardwood veneers. Hardwood plywood plants typically purchase hardwood veneers and press the veneers onto a purchased core material.

Hi
I believe the best material (in combination or not with wood) could be cork.
It is one of the first natural choices of bees, when choosing their nest.
It is 100% sustainable and no trees are cut down to bring us the material. It totally addresses the criteria and it is beautiful. The only issue I see now is the cost. As I am in Portugal (worldwide home town of cork related products), I will be investigating, talking with the industry leaders and doing some tests myself to find the best solution from agglomerated cork (technically and economically).
I will get back.

Hi Micdasilva

Thanks for the input on this. I'm working in the Green Fab Lab in Barcelona, would love to mill some Portuguese cork if we can get hold of enough. Also maybe syncing with the Fab Labs down there to get something working. What do you think?

Hi Jonathan,
What do you mean mill some cork? You mean getting the raw material out of the tree to work on? Maybe I can assist you or direct you to the best source.
In the next few days I will have the hands on some agglomerate to test. Txt for the tip on fab lab Lisbon, I will get in touch with them and ask them a hand.
I am also thinking on recycled cork, from wine caps. That would be something nice as well. To mill for instance

Cork can be a fantastic materia for CNC milling. It is soft and malleable enough to be cut into wonderful curvatures. Think a beehive in waveform. With access to this material + fab Lab lisbon + some grasshopper plugins for Rhino then we have whole new hive style to play with. If you grab enough we can make a cork hive for sure.

hi!

I recently came across a new material called Valchromat . We are making some tests with it and so far it's been good. It's coloured, moisture resistant and easy to machine.

Also the company that makes it claims i'ts non-toxic "Formaldehyde emissions are within limits set by European standards for wood-based materials."

Here's a link
http://www.valchromat.pt/vantagens.aspx?menuid=263

The only problem might bee (you see i wrote it wrong on purpose) the price and availability . Perhaps in the future we can see the pricelist coming down.