UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

KNS 4423 TIMBER ENGINEERING Project Proposal

Hwong Yew Leong (21075) Harris Ling (21030) Name Yap See Hock (22673) Vincent Wong Hua Seng (22587) Wong Yik Kuok (22662) Date Lecturer 5 April 2012 Mr. Gaddafi Ismaili

The Malaysian furniture industry became an international player due to the technical developments that enable cheap and numerous source of timber such as rubber wood which is to be turned into a value added product such furniture at a competitive price.

In 1995, there were about 2,965 furniture plants in Malaysia, with 2,630 in Peninsular Malaysia, 120 in Sabah and 215 in Sarawak. It is estimated that 70% of the furniture plant were small scale plants such as the workshops and backyard factories which using low level production technology and catering to domestic markets (MTIB, 1995). The remaining 30% were large and medium sized furniture plants which have penetrated the export markets (MTIB, 1995). In terms of ownership, it is estimated that more than 75% of the furniture companies are either wholly or majority Malaysia owned (MIER, 1996).

Generally the Malaysian furniture manufacturers can be categorized into four categories: Small and medium scale industries established and operating in the furniture village Small scale industries established and operating outside the furniture village Medium and large manufacturing companies-local owned Large manufacturing companies-joint venture and foreign owned

The factors affecting the export of furniture from a country can be divided into domestic and international trade factors. The domestic factors are the supply of raw materials from both domestic log productions and import sources and the export levy and quota rules. International trade factors are the currency exchange rates and import price indexes. The selection of the above factors was based on the discussions made relating the furniture development and the market. Raw material supply and government factors have been identified in most of the literatures related in this topic while the import price indexes were included to study the effect of the exchange rate on export trends in view of the financial crisis that occurred in Asia last year.

Export of wooden furniture from Malaysia to the other countries in year 2011 is as shown in table below. The main markets for Malaysian major wooden furniture are USA, Japan, UK,West Asia, Australia, Singapore and Canada.

The purpose of this project is to prepare a proposal on the potential market product made from timber and to be presented to the client or bank for their financial support. The idea must be supported with the data or study that has been conducted scientifically. The idea must be with the expected financial statement to support the project. The idea must be relevant that reflect to the available resources and has a potential in the market demand with reasonable price.

The proposed product for our group is a shoe rack. The material use for this product is damar minyak (Agathis borneensis) which is one types of softwood in Malaysia. The table below describes the general properties of the Damar Minyak and Rubber wood timber species. Timber Species Botanical Name Damar Minyak Agathis borneensis

Preview Family Distribution Araucariaceae Although common in mountain forests, it is also known to be present at lower altitudes Classification General Description Softwood Sapwood is not differentiated from the heartwood, which is buff or cream, sometimes with a pink tinge and darkening into a light golden brown.Grain is straight. Texture is very fine and even.Growth rings are present but not sharply marked, indicated by layers of thicker walled tracheids.Fibres and vessels are absent.Tracheids are radially grouped and loose in arrangement.Wood parenchyma is in scanty patches, not visible even under a hand lens.Rays are very fine, not visible to the naked eye.

Timber Species Botanical Name

RUBBERWOOD Hevea brasiliensis

Preview Family Distribution Classification General Euphorbiaceae Grown throughout the country on undulating lowlands Light Hardwood Sapwood is not differentiated from the heartwood, which is

Description

pale cream in colour, often with a pink tinge. Grain is straight to shallowly interlocked. Texture is moderately coarse but even. Vessels are moderately large to large and have simple perforations, moderately sparse, a few solitary with the majority in radial pairs or multiples of up to 4, occasionally radial multiples of 5 to 8 may be found and clustering of pores is fairly common; distributed without any arrangement. Tyloses are abundant. Wood parenchyma of the apotracheal type is abundant and visible to the naked eye, appears as narrow and closely but irregularly spaced bands, forming a net-like pattern with the rays. Paratracheal type occurs as narrow borders to the vessels. Rays are moderately fine and visible to the naked eye, but are not prominent on the radial surface.

The physical, mechanical and working properties of the proposed timber species are also very important in the shoes rack manufacturing and practicability. The tables below show the comparison between the properties of the two different wood materials. Physical Properties: Species Properties Air-Dry Density (kg/ Shrinkage Radial (%) Shrinkage Tangential (%) Seasoning ) 560-640 0.8 1.2 Seasons fairly rapidly but care is needed to avoid warping splitting Recommended Kiln Schedule E (D for boards 50mm thick and above) D (C for boards thicker than 40mm) 385-580 1.2 2.5 Seasons fairly slowly with slight degrade Rubberwood Damar Minyak

Mechanical Properties: Species Properties Strength Group Modulus of Elasticity (N/ ) 66 66 SG5 9200 Rubberwood SG6 12000 Damar Minyak

Modulus of Rupture (N/ ) (MPa)

Compressive Parallel to Grain (N/ ) )

32.3

33.6

Shear Strength (N/ Durability Treatability

11 Non-Durable Easy Very easy over 320

6.9 Non-durable Extremely Easy Very easy over 320

Permeability (Absorption of Preservative l/ )

Working Properties: Species Properties Planning Finish Planning Boring Finish Boring Turning Finish Turning Nailing Easy Smooth Easy Fairly Smooth Easy Moderately Smooth Good Easy Smooth Difficult Rough Easy Smooth Excellent Rubberwood Damar Minyak

Folding and multifunctional shoe rack

The basic of this particular shoe rack is the 2-tiered wooden shoe rack with bench on top. This is type of shoe rack which is suitable for smaller family or less family members with small amount of shoes storage. Detailing:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Wooden shoe rack (two racks with bench on top shown) Stores about 10 pairs of shoes Naturally absorbs perspiration Inhibits fungus growth Stackable (depending on the stack design accessories) Can be applied with aromatic wood repels moths and insects Deodorizes closets Sand lightly for multiple uses Less assembly required. Size about 0.9m 0.29m 0.45m

The product description of the proposed wooden shoe rack is that: The shoe rack consume very less space as the typical shoe rack is about only two to three feet high while a shoe cabinet can be as tall as five feet. The product can be extended or stacked to allow extra shoes storage. This ensures that the storage capacity for shoes is just enough and not wasting unnecessary space. Clearly if the product is properly used, the users will be able to arrange all their shoes, boots, sandals, and etc in good order. Shoe racks can help also help consumers or user to avoid tracking filth on the floor during rainy and muddy days. In fact even if during sunny weather outside, dust and other dirt can still be brought in. However with the shoe rack by the door will promote cleanliness in the home. Moreover the product can also contribute to time saving and convenience when it comes to clean-up and maintenance. The shoe racks products are more or less seen as a permanent fixture to a house. It is a good addition to home furniture collection as well as a wonderful way to keep the consumer or user shoes organized. Besides the bench on the top allows consumers to sit conveniently while wearing their shoes or when tired after coming back from outside.

Material used to manufacture product: The Damar Minyak is selectec as the material for proposed manufacture wooden shoe product. It consider as the softwood which is very light in density and durable. In addition, Damar Minyak were easy obtain (local wood source), smooth finishing, easy turning and excellent in nailing. Hence, the properties of Damar Minyak are suitable to produce a good quality of shoe racks.

The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed shoe rack are as follow:

Advantages 1. The aromatic terms can be applied in the product specified for the purpose to retain its fresh smell for long duration by making it a smart choice to be placed in poorly ventilated areas such as closets and cupboards. 2. The product is made by using 100% local Damar Minyak softwood from the local Malaysia for quality product. 3. The product has space efficient design with bench on top of seating purpose. It can hold up to 8 pairs of mens shoes or 10 pairs of ladies shoes. 4. The product is very light and portable for convenient and easy carry purposes. 5. The product is also easy to assemble or dissemble for packing purposes or easy delivery to other places. 6. Besides the distinct fragrance applied can also helps to repel insects or bugs by preventing them from hiding inside the shoes or the closets and keep the closet naturally fresh without using commercial perfumes.

Disadvantages 1. The product needs to be frequently sprayed with the moth spray freshener to maintain the smells or the original fragrant of the product. 2. The wood product of the shoe rack might lead fire and easy burn up due to the properties of the timber of flammable effects. 3. The durability of the wood made shoe rack may not be as tough compare to steel made or plastic made shoe rack.

4. The product of the wooden shoe rack above might not be able to sustain a large familys shoes storage as extra stack are necessary to support the number of shoes load. 5. The price or cost of the product can be higher or expensive due to the high quality nature wood sources used as the material and more handmade wood parts made by the skilled workers.

Estimated Cost Timber product Sawn timber (all sizes of Chengal, Damar Rates RM255.00 per cubic metre or part thereof,

Minyak, Nyatoh, Kembang Semangkok and Red either kiln-dried (KD) or air-dried (AD) sawn Balau) timber (source from Malaysian Timber Industry Board) Proposed dimension of the product = 0.9m 0.29m 0.45m Volume of timber required to produce = (0.9m 0.29m 0.025m) = 0.0196m3 1m3 - RM255 0.0196 - X Timber cost per unit, X= 0.0196 255 = RM 5.00 Assembly cost & the bolt cost = 5+ number of bolt cost per bolt = 5+ 24 0.15 = RM 8.60 Finishing cost( cutting, painting& etc) = RM 8.00 Total cost per unit shoe rack = 5+8.6+8 3

= RM21.60 Earning Profit Price per unit shoe rack = RM 40.00 Profit per unit= 40-21.60 = RM 18.40 Earning Rate Earning rate per unit= 18.40/21.60 100% = 85.2%

Conclusion The appearance of the proposed shoe rack that showed in above figure is very modern and attractive. According to the estimated earning, this product can bring high return within short periods. This product will be popular in local furniture market because of its special design and reliable quality and competitive price. Besides that, this product also can be export throughout Malaysia and other timber product main market such as USA, Japan, UK,West Asia, Australia, Singapore and Canada.

References Timber technology and Engineering information resources (TTEIR). Retrieved 3 March 2012 from http://timbertech.frim.gov.my/TimberSpeciesDb1.aspx Export of the wooden furniture Malaysia. Retrieved 4 March 2012from http://www.mtib.gov.my/repository/Statistik/malaysia/Year_2011/September2011/stats-msiasept-11-woodn-furn.pdf Malaysia Timber Industrial Source. Retrieved 4 March 2012from http://www.mtib.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1636&Itemid=67&l ang=en&showall=1