Wood
Approved
MDF
Engineered wood sheet made from wood fibre and binder. Porous and easy to machine, but produces very fine persistent dust and can release binder vapour when heated.
Never do this
- Do not dry-sand MDF without extraction running.
- Clear people who are not working from the room during sustained dusty work.
Hazards
Dust / Airborne Particulate
Fumes / Vapors
Fire / Ignition
Controls in place
HEPA-rated dust extraction, running before the first cut and left running afterwards. MDF is the material that most rewards this - the dust stays airborne well after the machine has stopped.
Not permitted on
No machines are listed as prohibited for this material. That is not an approval — follow the requirements on the machine you are using.
Good to know
The dust is finer and stays airborne far longer than other wood dust, which is why it sits a step above general wood rather than being treated the same — P100 rather than N95 once extraction is not keeping up.
HEPA-rated extraction is what we run, and MDF is the material that most rewards leaving it running after the machine has stopped. Heating it — laser cutting especially — drives off binder vapour as well as smoke, so it is a dust problem or a fume problem depending on how it is cut.
Cut edges are porous and crumble, so they want sealing rather than sanding smooth.
Documents
Document
Type
Status
No documents are on file for this material. That is a gap in our records, not a clearance — ask staff for the safety data sheet before working with it.