Articles, such as pallets, molded from wood flakes and a method of molding such articles.

摘要

An article having non-planar portions, such as a pallet (10) having a substantially flat deck member (12) and a plurality of hollow leg members (16) projecting integrally from the deck member, is molded as a one-piece unit from a loosely-felted, layered mat formed from a mixture of a resinous particle board binder and flake-like wood particles. The wood flakes have an average length of about 1-1/4 to about 6 inches, preferably about 2 to about 3 inches, an average thickness of about 0.005 to about 0.075 inch, preferably about 0.015 to about 0.025 inch, and an average width of 3 inches or less and no greater than the average length. Each layer of wood flakes in the mat lies substantially flat on a plane generally parallel to the major plane thereof and are randomly oriented to each other. The mat is placed between the male (34) and female (36) dies of a mold or press and compressed therein to substantially the desired shape under temperature and pressure conditions sufficient to bond the flakes together.