Edge pre-jointing is an operation on an edge banding machine that in iFurn.pro accompanies every straight-edge banding. On the machine the part edge passes through a milling unit that takes off a thin layer of material, levelling the surface for the band. It sounds simple, but it is often this second of processing that decides how the band sits — and how long it lasts.
Why pre-jointing is needed
A modern board (chipboard, MDF, HDF) leaves the saw with an almost perfect cut — but only almost. The edge always has:
- Micro chips along the face edges. When the saw enters the board, the exit side leaves a thin layer of material that slightly crumbles. Without pre-jointing the band lies on these chips and the seam is uneven.
- Micro nicks on the edge surface. The edge surface itself after the saw is not perfectly flat. The band can stick, but the seam will be «half-flat» — visible to the eye on a close look.
- Residual dust and chips. The saw is usually blown clean, but micro particles still stay. They interfere with glue.
Pre-jointing removes a thin layer — usually 0.5–1 mm — and leaves a perfectly flat, clean, chip-free surface for the band. After pre-jointing the glue lays evenly, the band — without skew, the seam — thin and even.
When pre-jointing is mandatory
It is not critical for every project. Pre-jointing is mandatory in three industrial scenarios:
- Premium project with a critical edge. Any furniture at the level of «expensive kitchen», «premium wardrobe», «executive office» requires a perfect seam.
- Thin 0.4 mm band. A thin band does not «forgive» edge irregularities — laid uneven, the seam is visible.
- Laser activation. The laser requires a perfectly flat edge — otherwise the built-in glue layer does not activate evenly.
In mass household furniture — economy kitchens, serial wardrobes, office furniture of typical execution — pre-jointing is often skipped. A 1–2 mm band hides small irregularities, EVA glue is less demanding of flatness, the final product passes visual inspection.
Where it is decided whether to pre-joint
In iFurn.pro pre-jointing is not chosen: as soon as a band is assigned to a side of a part, pre-jointing is on automatically. There is no “with / without pre-jointing” switch either in the part card or in the edging window. You can see it by the || indicator next to the band list in full mode, and in quick mode by the bold underlined italic of the band number.
A side “without pre-jointing” can only come from outside — when a project is imported or via the external API, where the pre-jointing flag is passed explicitly. Such a variant cannot be created from the cabinet.
The thickness of the removed layer is set by the factory in the firm settings — the “Straight pre-jointing” parameter. Based on it iFurn.pro recalculates the three size states of a part: before pre-jointing without band, after pre-jointing without band, and with band (see the article “Pre-jointing and curved edging: what the system sets by itself”).
If the factory wants to see pre-jointing as a separate line in the order pricing, the firm administrator registers it as a separate service in the service catalog — with its own per-meter rate. Without such a service pre-jointing is treated as part of the standard edging service and is not itemised on the bill.
What pre-jointing adds to the price
In the industry, pre-jointing raises the cost of a metre of edging by roughly 10–15%. That is due to milling cutter wear, additional consumption of board material (a thin layer is shaved off) and the additional time the extra machine unit is running.
The factory reflects this surcharge in the iFurn.pro service catalog: either as a separate «edging with pre-jointing» service with a higher rate, or simply built into the general edging rate. It is a management decision of the company, not a setting in the project.
Bottom line
Pre-jointing is not an “extra expense” but an investment in the durability and aesthetics of the edge. In iFurn.pro this choice is not made by hand: a straight edge always goes with pre-jointing, the thickness of the removed layer is set by the factory in the “Straight pre-jointing” setting, and in the pricing it appears exactly as the firm has described it in its service catalog.