2628 Chapter 22 



tance to end impact of these pallets was considerably greater than lumber or 

 plywood decked pallets of comparable design, but with y4-inch-thick decks. 



FLAKEBOARD 



Flakeboard pallet decks constructed of southern hardwoods have not been 

 extensively evaluated, but it seems likely that they will be used in some applica- 

 tions, yet to be determined. Flakeboards have less impact strength and puncture 

 resistance than plywood, but could serve well in appropriate thicknesses. 



Kurtenacker (1975b) found that flakeboards with densities of 37 and 42 

 pounds per cubic foot showed no appreciable distortion in the plane of the decks 

 when tested for diagonal rigidity, but they failed after three to six 40-inch free- 

 fall drops on one corner because of nailhead pullthrough. Both flakeboard and 

 plywood deckboard were crushed and gouged by repeated forklift impacts, but 

 both were intact after accelerated aging. Nailing characteristics of the flake- 

 boards appeared comparable to those of plywood. 



Should oak and hickory flakeboards find use as pallet decks, they likely will 

 be manufactured in a density range from 45 to 55 pounds per cubic foot. (See 

 sections 24-9 through 24-16 for properties of such flakeboard, and sections 28- 

 25, 28-27, 28-31, and 28-32 for economics of manufacture.) 



Molded flakeboard paUets. — Section 28-19 summarizes an economic feasi- 

 bility analysis of an operation for molding pallets from a hardwood flake and 

 resin mixture (see figs. 28-22 and 28-23; also figs. 24-60 through 24-62). 



In some sophisticated designs, reinforcing ribs are moulded in place; the ribs 

 may be externally formed with shaped platens or internally formed between flat 

 platens by adding additional flakes in the rib area to cause localized 

 densification. 



FIBERBOARD 



R. K. Stern (1979ab) compared the performance of medium-density fiber- 

 board with that of northern red oak lumber in construction of nine-block, four- 

 way pallets and reusable warehouse four-way pallets of notched-stringer design. 



Block pallets. — R. K. Stem's (1979a) work indicated that for nine-block, 

 four-way pallets, a 1-inch top-deck thickness of medium-density hardwood 

 fiberboard is needed to achieve performance comparable with northern red oak 

 pallets having y4-inch deckboards. Pallets of this style having 1 -inch-thick 

 fiberboard decks (medium-density) appear to be equal to, or better than, all- 

 lumber pallets for use in mechanical handling and automatic palletizing sys- 

 tems — i.e. , where pallet dimensional stability is necessary for smooth operation 

 of the system. 



Stringer-type pallets. — From his study of 48- by 40-inch, flush-type, non- 

 reversible warehouse pallets, R. K. Stem (1979b) concluded that one-piece 

 medium-density hardwood fiberboard pallet decks should be thicker than Va- 



