Plywood For General Purposes - Specification: Indian Standard
Plywood For General Purposes - Specification: Indian Standard
Indore(maveshaheen959@gmail.com) 49.43.1.49.
Indian Standard
ICS 79.060.10
 BIS 2024
FOREWORD
This Indian Standard (Fourth Revision) was adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards, after the draft finalized
by the Wood and Other Lignocellulosic Products Sectional Committee had been approved by the Civil
Engineering Division Council.
The standard requirements for general purpose plywood was first published in 1951, which was then revised in
1960, 1975 and 1989. In the second revision, for grades of plywood band on the adhesive type used and ten types
of plywood band on the visual on features of the face and back of the plywood were introduced, thereby
providing a total of 40 clauses. In the third revision of the standard, BWR and CWR Grades of plywood were
deleted and the WWR Grade plywood was replaced with MR Grade. Further, band on appearance, only 3 types
of plywood were retained then.
A scheme of labelling environment friendly products known as ECO-Mark has been instituted at the instance of
the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India. The ECO-Mark is administered
by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 as per the
Resolution No. 71 dated 21 February 1991 and Resolution No. 425 dated 20 October 1992 published in the Gazette
of the Government of India. For a product to be eligible for ECO-Mark, it shall also carry the Standard Mark
(ISI Mark) of BIS besides meeting additional environment friendly requirements. For this purpose, the
Standard Mark of BIS would be a single mark being a combination of the ISI Mark and the ECO-Mark.
Requirements to be satisfied for a product to qualify for the BIS Standard Mark for eco-friendliness, will be
optional. Manufacturing units will be free to opt for ISI Mark alone also.
The ECO criteria is based on the Gazette Notification No. 170 dated 16 May 1996 for wood substitutes as
environment friendly products published in the Gazette of Government of India, as revised/amended from time to
time.
This standard contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 ‘Industry innovation and
infrastructure’ Build resilient infrastructure promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster
innovation.
The composition of the Committee responsible for the formulation of the standard is given in Annex D.
For the purpose of deciding whether a particular requirement of this standard is complied with the final value,
observed or calculated, expressing the result of a test or analysis shall be rounded off in accordance with
IS 2 : 2022 ‘Rules for rounding off numerical values (second revision)’. The number of significant places
retained in the rounded off value should be the same as that of the specified value in this standard.
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                                                                                                    IS 303 : 2024
                                              Indian Standard
    PLYWOOD FOR GENERAL PURPOSES — SPECIFICATION
                                              ( Fourth Revision )
4.3 These shall be manufactured in accordance                Any suitable type of synthetic resin adhesive may
with 7.1 and 7.2. The grades shall conform to the            be used for bonding the veneers in different grades
general and workmanship requirements given in                of plywood comply with requirements as per the
8 and 9 respectively, and the test requirements laid         respective grades (see 4.1) of plywood. For type of
down in 11.                                                  synthetic resin adhesive to use refer IS 848.
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 IS 303 : 2024
                                                  A Type                                     B Type
 (1)                (2)                             (3)                                        (4)
  i)     Blister                                    Nil                                        Nil
  ii)    Checks                    Individual check not more than              Individual check not more than
                                 50 mm in length and the total length       100 mm in length and the total length
                                    not more 300 mm per m2 area               not more 1 000 mm per m2 area
 xi)     Patches                  4 patches per m2, provided they are         Any number, provided they are all
                                  all tight patches and do not mar the         tight patches and do not mar the
                                                appearance                                appearance
 xii)    Splits                   2 splits, each not more than 1 mm            3 splits, each not more than 4 mm
                                  wide and length not more 100 mm,            wide and length not more 150 mm,
                                     provided they are filled with           provided they are filled with suitable
                                              suitable filler                  veneer inserts. Splits up to 25 mm
                                                                                 long and 0.8 mm wide may be
                                                                              ignored, provided they are suitably
                                                                                         filled with a filler
                          i)            A type                                 3
                          ii)           B type                                 5
                                                            2
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7.1 The veneers for all the grades shall be either                   where
rotary cut or sliced. The veneers shall be sufficiently
smooth to permit an even spread of adhesive.                              X, Y, Z represents species used for top/bottom
Treatment as specified in 7.1.1 shall be given to the                     and centre.
plywood either at the veneer stage or after
converting the veneers into boards.                                  7.2.2 Joints in Veneers
                                                                 3
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8.1 Any dimensions (length and width) and number                  9.1 The plywood shall be of uniform thickness
of ply as agreed to between the manufacturer and                  within the tolerance limits specified under 8.3.
the purchaser may be used and shall be declared
by the manufacturer.      Prevailing dimensions                   9.2 The faces of finished plywood shall be
(length × width) of plywood boards are as given                   reasonably smooth. Slight sanding may be given to
below:                                                            rough plywood boards in order to make them
                                                                  reasonably smooth.
        a)    2 440 mm × 1 220 mm;
        b)    2 135 mm × 1 220 mm;                                10 SAMPLING           AND      CRITERIA        FOR
                                                                  CONFORMITY
        c)    2 135 mm × 915 mm;
        d)    1 830 mm × 1 220 mm; and                            The method of drawing representative samples and
        e)    1 830 mm × 915 mm                                   the criteria for conformity shall be as prescribed in
                                                                  IS 7638.
8.2 Thickness
                                                                  11  PHYSICAL            AND        MECHANICAL
The thickness of the plywood boards shall be 3 mm,                REQUIREMENTS
4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm, 19 mm,
22 mm and 25 mm.                                                  11.1 The plywood shall conform to the requirements
                                                                  given in 11.3 to 11.6.
        NOTE — Any other thickness as agreed to between the
        manufacturer and the purchaser may also be used.          11.2 Unless otherwise specified in this standard, six
                                                                  test specimens, cut from each of the plywood
8.3 Squareness and Edge Straightness                              selected as in 10 shall be subjected to tests
                                                                  specified in 11.3 to 11.5. For formaldehyde
Edge straightness and squareness shall be tested                  content and steady-state formaldehyde emission
as per Annex C.                                                   test, specimens shall be taken as per IS 13745 and
                                                                  IS/ISO 12460 (Part 1) respectively.
8.4 Tolerances
                                                                  11.3 Glue Adhesion
The tolerances on the dimensions of finished
plywood boards shall be as given in Table 3.                      Glue adhesion shall be deemed satisfactory if the
 Table 3 Tolerances on Dimensions of Plywood                      plywood complies with the requirements specified
                                                                  in 11.3.1 and 11.3.2.
             for General Purposes
                                                              4
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  c)     For BWP Grade — The specimens shall                         The plywood when tested in accordance with
         be kept submerged in a pan of boiling water                 IS 1734 (Part 1) shall have a moisture content not
         for a period of 72 h. The period of 72 h of                 less than 5 percent and not more than 15 percent.
         boiling may be a continuous period or an
         aggregate of smaller periods of boiling, if                 11.5 Static Bending Strength
         the test piece is left in cold water between
         these smaller periods. These test pieces                    Three test specimens taken in each direction from
         shall then be removed from the boiling                      the sample of plywood, when tested in accordance
         water and cooled down to room                               with IS 1734 (Part 11) shall have an average and a
         temperature by plunging them in cold                        minimum individual modulus of elasticity and
         water. These test specimens, while still in                 modulus of rupture not less than the values
         wet condition, shall be tested in accordance                specified in Table 4 against each grade.
         with the method given in IS 1734 (Part 5).
                                                                     This test is applicable only for plywood of thickness
         NOTE — The cycles of drying or soaking can be               6 mm and above.
         made up of a number of shorter periods of drying or
         soaking. In such instances the specimen shall be kept
         in air at 27 °C ± 2 °C in between the shorter
         periods constituting the drying cycle, and be kept
         submerged in water at 27 °C ± 2 °C in between the
         shorter periods constituting the soaking cycle.
 Table 4 Average and Minimum Individual Values of Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of
                                     Rupture (MOR)
(Clause 11.5)
                                                                 5
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                                                          6
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13.2 Following additional information may be               Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 and the Rules
marked on each plywood:                                    and Regulations framed there under, and the
                                                           products may be marked with the Standard Mark.
    a)   Number of plies; and
    b) Trade name of timber species used in                14 DELIVERY
       manufacturing of plywood (see IS 1150).
                                                           Unless otherwise specified, the plywood boards
13.3 BIS Certification Marking                             shall be delivered in a clean condition and shall be
                                                           suitably packed according to normal trade. For
The product(s) conforming to the requirements of           ECO-Mark the material used for packaging of the
this standard may be certified as per the conformity       plywood shall be recyclable, reusable or
assessment schemes under the provisions of the             biodegradable.
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IS 303 : 2024
                                                    ANNEX A
                                                    (Clause 2)
IS 707 : 2011          Timber technology and                     (Part 12) : 1983   Determination of scarf joint
                       utilization of wood, bamboo                                  strength (second revision)
                       and cane — Glossary of
                       terms (third revision)                    (Part 13) : 1983   Determination of panel
                                                                                    shear strength (second
IS 848 : 2006          Synthetic resin adhesives                                    revision)
                       for plywood (phenolic
                       and     aminoplastic)    —                (Part 14) : 1983   Determination of plate shear
                       Specification       (second                                  strength (second revision)
                       revision)
                                                                 (Part 15) : 1983   Central loading of plate test
IS 1150 : 2000         Trade      names     and                                     (second revision)
                       abbreviated symbols for
                       timber    species  (third                 (Part 16) : 1983   Vibration of plywood plate
                       revision)                                                    test (second revision)
IS 1734                Methods     of      test   for            (Part 17) : 1983   Long time loading test of
                       plywood:                                                     plywood strips (second
                                                                                    revision)
    (Part 1) : 1983    Determination of density
                       and    moisture   content                 (Part 18) : 1983   Impact    resistance      test
                       (second revision)                                            (second revision)
    (Part 2) : 1983    Determination of resistance               (Part 19) : 1983   Determination of nails and
                       to dry heat (second revision)                                screw     holding   power
                                                                                    (second revision)
    (Part 3) : 1983    Determination     of     fire
                       resistance (second revision)              (Part 20) : 1983   Acidity and alkalinity
    (Part 4) : 1983    Determination of glue shear                                  resistance test (second
                       strength (second revision)                                   revision)
    (Part 5) : 1983    Test for adhesion of plies            IS 5539 : 1969         Specification for preservative
                       (second revision)                                            treated plywood
                                                    ANNEX B
                                                   (Clause 6.1)
          LIST OF PREVALENT TREE OUTSIDE FOREST (TOF) SPECIES FOR PLYWOOD
                                                    ANNEX C
                                                   (Clause 8.3)
                   METHOD OF TEST FOR SQUARENESS AND EDGE STRAIGHTNESS
C-1 PROCEDURE FOR EDGE STRAIGHTNESS                          shall be measured to the nearest millimetre and
                                                             recorded.
The straightness of the edges and ends of plywood
shall be verified against a straightedge not less than       C-2 PROCEDURE FOR SQUARENESS
the full length of the plywood. If the edge on the
end of plywood is convex, it shall be held against           The squareness of plywood shall be checked with a
the straightedge in such a way that also                     1 200 mm × 1 200 mm square, by applying, one arm
gives approximately equal gap at each end. The               of the square to the plywood. The maximum width
largest gap between the straightedge and the edge            of the gap shall be recorded.
                                                         9
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                                                   ANNEX D
                                                   (Foreword)
                                       COMMITTEE COMPOSITION
                  Wood and Other Lignocellulosic Products Sectional Committee, CED 20
Organization Representative(s)
                                                       10
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Organization Representative(s)
                                            Member Secretary
                                     SHRI PRADEEP SINGH SHEKHAWAT
                                      SCIENTIST ‘D’/JOINT DIRECTOR
                                        (CIVIL ENGINEERING), BIS
Plywood, Veneers and Adhesives for Wood Products Subcommittee, CED 20:1
Organization Representative(s)
                                                   11
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Organization Representative(s)
     In Personal Capacity (House No. 12, HIG, 1st Stage,   SHRI S. S. ZOOLAGUD
         K.H.B.    Colony,    Basaveswara       Nagar,
         Bangaluru)
                                                     12
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BIS is a statutory institution established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 to promote harmonious
development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and attending to
connected matters in the country.
Copyright
BIS has the copyright of all its publications. No part of these publications may be reproduced in any form without
the prior permission in writing of BIS. This does not preclude the free use, in the course of implementing the
standard, of necessary details, such as symbols and sizes, type or grade designations. Enquiries relating to
copyright be addressed to the Head (Publication & Sales), BIS.
Amendments are issued to standards as the need arises on the basis of comments. Standards are also reviewed
periodically; a standard along with amendments is reaffirmed when such review indicates that no changes are
needed; if the review indicates that changes are needed, it is taken up for revision. Users of Indian Standards
should ascertain that they are in possession of the latest amendments or edition by referring to the website-
www.bis.gov.in or www.standardsbis.in.
This Indian Standard has been developed from Doc No.: CED 20 (22829).