2007 年 73 巻 729 号 p. 583-588
In order to examine the feasibility of using wood as a plastic substitute, we studied the possibility of producing cups from wood by extrusion. It is common to use powdered wood in the same kind of studies. Whereas in this study, we didn't powdered raw materials and used wood in bulk state. The formability depended strongly on the moisture content of raw materials. We failed to obtain enough fluidity to fill a die cavity with air-dried wood specimens (moisture content : 11%). Whereas it was possible to fill the die cavity both with high moisture content wood specimens (moisture content : 25%) and water saturated wood specimens (moisture content : 90%). However, the states of molded products were quite different between the two. The cups produced from high moisture content wood specimens had cracks. On the other hand, the cups produced from water saturated wood specimens were well formed. The original fiber orientation had much influence on the deformation process and the resulting fiber orientation.