Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork
Encyclopedia
Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork is millwork
made of a specially formulated polyurethane
polymer
. The standard density is similar to white pine. It can be cut, sawn, shaped, routed, nail
ed, staple
d, and screw
ed just like wood. Profiles exist for a variety of uses, indoors and out. Advantages over wood include a surface which will not crack, flake, or blister and a product which is resistant to water, mold
, mildew
, and insects.
is created from two components which generate heat when combined. One component contains water and the other component reacts with water. The oxygen of the water fuels the exothermic
reaction, leaving hydrogen
bubbles which causes the compound to foam. Given no compression, the foam rises to fill the space allowed. Based on the mixture and the specific makeup of the two chemicals, it is possible to estimate exactly how much foam is required to fill a given space. More importantly, it is possible to determine the exact amount of mixture required to fill a defined space and achieve a specific packing ratio.
Tremendous compression is required to obtain packing equal to the density of white pine. In addition, fake wood needs a wood look and feel on the surface. This means the finished product must easily slide out of the mold that provides its shape. It also means the mold must be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the expanding foam. This combination of requirements creates a complex problem that is solved by a variety of techniques.
Silicone
rubber is used to create negative space
molds from original millwork created by expert woodworkers. The forms are polished, painted with a release agent surrounded by a box made of angled aluminum and filled with the liquid silicone rubber compound. The rubber is generally around one inch thick. Once the rubber hardens the form is removed from the standard, which is shelved for future use. At this time, the form provides a negative space with the exact dimensional and surface characteristics of the woodwork to be produced, plus a small tolerance for expected shrinkage.
The rubber form and form box pass along a bed of rollers to a paint shop where the rubber form is covered with a thin veneer of water-based paint. The heat and pressure of the expanding foam cause the paint to transfer to the finished piece. The paint protects the rubber form from the chemicals in the polyurethane and provides a release from the piece.
While the finished polyurethane product is quite light, consisting largely of closed cells of hydrogen
, the rubber form and the metal and wood foam box are very heavy. The manufacturing process is difficult to automate due to the many shapes and sizes and the fact that most orders are unique. Thus, the work requires great strength and is quite hazardous to the back, hands, and feet. Competition produces pricing pressures, and labor is the most expensive component of pricing. As a result, low wages are standard.
. The business was originally founded to serve the manufactured housing industry by Robert DuBois, who later sold the company to Goshen Rubber Company. Goshen Rubber sold the company to private investors in 1998. In 2001 Nu-Wood was acquired by the Beil Family who operated Nu-Wood building a strong presence in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. In 2010 Nu-Wood was purchased by Len and Marci Morris who also operate Stairsupplies.com. Nu-Wood operates delivery vehicles and serving the continental US and Canada.
On 6 December 2001, a worker argument resulted in the shooting death of the general manager, the wounding of six employees and the shooter's suicide. A new operations manager joined the company in 1993 and worked to create a more friendly and stress-free work environment. For more information: http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/12/06/indiana.shooting/
Millwork
Millwork is any woodmill-produced building construction interior finish components such as doors, window casing, baseboard, mantels, and crown molding....
made of a specially formulated polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
. The standard density is similar to white pine. It can be cut, sawn, shaped, routed, nail
Nail (engineering)
In woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped, sharp object of hard metal or alloy used as a fastener. Formerly wrought iron, today's nails are typically made of steel, often dipped or coated to prevent corrosion in harsh conditions or improve adhesion...
ed, staple
Staple (fastener)
A staple is a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining or binding materials together. Large staples might be used with a hammer or staple gun for masonry, roofing, corrugated boxes and other heavy-duty uses...
d, and screw
Screw
A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or an object that has the...
ed just like wood. Profiles exist for a variety of uses, indoors and out. Advantages over wood include a surface which will not crack, flake, or blister and a product which is resistant to water, mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
, mildew
Mildew
Mildew refers to certain kinds of molds or fungi.In Old English, it meant honeydew , and later came to mean mildew in the modern sense of mold or fungus....
, and insects.
Manufacturing process
The polyurethane foamFoam
-Definition:A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping gas in a liquid or solid in a divided form, i.e. by forming gas regions inside liquid regions, leading to different kinds of dispersed media...
is created from two components which generate heat when combined. One component contains water and the other component reacts with water. The oxygen of the water fuels the exothermic
Exothermic
In thermodynamics, the term exothermic describes a process or reaction that releases energy from the system, usually in the form of heat, but also in the form of light , electricity , or sound...
reaction, leaving hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
bubbles which causes the compound to foam. Given no compression, the foam rises to fill the space allowed. Based on the mixture and the specific makeup of the two chemicals, it is possible to estimate exactly how much foam is required to fill a given space. More importantly, it is possible to determine the exact amount of mixture required to fill a defined space and achieve a specific packing ratio.
Tremendous compression is required to obtain packing equal to the density of white pine. In addition, fake wood needs a wood look and feel on the surface. This means the finished product must easily slide out of the mold that provides its shape. It also means the mold must be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the expanding foam. This combination of requirements creates a complex problem that is solved by a variety of techniques.
Silicone
Silicone
Silicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation....
rubber is used to create negative space
Negative space
Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the "real"...
molds from original millwork created by expert woodworkers. The forms are polished, painted with a release agent surrounded by a box made of angled aluminum and filled with the liquid silicone rubber compound. The rubber is generally around one inch thick. Once the rubber hardens the form is removed from the standard, which is shelved for future use. At this time, the form provides a negative space with the exact dimensional and surface characteristics of the woodwork to be produced, plus a small tolerance for expected shrinkage.
The rubber form and form box pass along a bed of rollers to a paint shop where the rubber form is covered with a thin veneer of water-based paint. The heat and pressure of the expanding foam cause the paint to transfer to the finished piece. The paint protects the rubber form from the chemicals in the polyurethane and provides a release from the piece.
While the finished polyurethane product is quite light, consisting largely of closed cells of hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, the rubber form and the metal and wood foam box are very heavy. The manufacturing process is difficult to automate due to the many shapes and sizes and the fact that most orders are unique. Thus, the work requires great strength and is quite hazardous to the back, hands, and feet. Competition produces pricing pressures, and labor is the most expensive component of pricing. As a result, low wages are standard.
History
Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork is manufactured in Goshen, IndianaGoshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
. The business was originally founded to serve the manufactured housing industry by Robert DuBois, who later sold the company to Goshen Rubber Company. Goshen Rubber sold the company to private investors in 1998. In 2001 Nu-Wood was acquired by the Beil Family who operated Nu-Wood building a strong presence in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. In 2010 Nu-Wood was purchased by Len and Marci Morris who also operate Stairsupplies.com. Nu-Wood operates delivery vehicles and serving the continental US and Canada.
On 6 December 2001, a worker argument resulted in the shooting death of the general manager, the wounding of six employees and the shooter's suicide. A new operations manager joined the company in 1993 and worked to create a more friendly and stress-free work environment. For more information: http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/12/06/indiana.shooting/