When a technologist opens the part card and sees four edge-tape fields, the temptation is to put the same tape everywhere. It is simple, fast and asks for no thought. But that "same everywhere" is exactly where money slips through. Different sides of a part live under different conditions — putting the thickest or the thinnest everywhere is equally wasteful.
"To each side its own"
A rectangular part has four sides and each one falls into one of three categories:
- Face (visible and touched). Demands the best edge: thick, premium material, premium glue, exact seam colour.
- Side (visible but not touched). Medium quality: thin or middle tape, standard glue, seam colour in tone.
- Hidden (not visible, not touched). The cheapest option: 0.4 mm EVA, base glue, no premium settings.
Applied to a standard cabinet: the face goes 2 mm PUR, the sides (potentially visible with the door open) go 1 mm EVA, the back edge (against the wall) goes 0.4 mm EVA. Ratio: 25% of the meterage premium, 50% middle, 25% economy.
Combination scenarios
In practice these combinations come up:
- "Premium face, economy elsewhere": 2 mm PUR on one side, 0.4 mm EVA on three. Classic for a "dear front, cheap inside" furniture line.
- "Face + one side premium": 2 mm PUR on the face and one side, 0.4 mm EVA on the other two. For freestanding cabinets.
- "Top + bottom premium": 1 mm PVC on the two front-facing sides (for example the top and bottom of a door), 0.4 mm EVA on the left and right. For hinged doors.
- "Premium around": 2 mm PUR on all four. For countertops under heavy use.
- "Economy around": 0.4 mm EVA on all four. For hidden internal parts inside the carcass.
What counts as "thick" and "thin"
The furniture industry uses three typical edge-tape thicknesses:
- 0.4 mm — thin. The "economy" tape for hidden and lightly loaded sides. Cheap, saves metres on the part.
- 1 mm — medium. The "middle" option for sides that are partially visible. Stronger than thin, not much more expensive.
- 2 mm — thick. "Premium" for critical visible sides. Strong, attractive, but the most expensive.
Other thicknesses exist (0.8 mm, 1.5 mm, 3 mm), but these three are the backbone of practice. 95% of furniture work is built on them.
The economics of mixing
Take a typical cabinet with 4 parts × 4 sides = 16 edge positions. Putting 2 mm PUR on every one of them gives 16 "premium" positions. A sensible mix: 4 faces (premium) + 8 sides (middle) + 4 hidden (economy). Numbers:
- Premium metres across all 16 positions (PUR everywhere): treat as 100% of the cost.
- Reasonable mix: 25% × premium + 50% × middle + 25% × economy = roughly 65% of the cost.
A 35% saving with no loss of quality on the visible sides. This is exactly how thoughtful design reduces cost without weakening the visual impression.
When not to mix
There is one case where mixing is harmful: when all four sides of a part are equally important or equally unimportant. Examples:
- An internal shelf in a closed wardrobe. All four sides hidden. All four — 0.4 mm EVA. Why complicate it?
- An open shelf above a bar counter. All four sides visible from every angle. All four — 1 mm PVC. No mixing.
- A premium front in a solid colour. Face and sides visible at close range. All four — 2 mm laser edge. No mixing.
In these cases the "apply to all sides" button in iFurn.pro is the right call. Do not complicate where there is nothing to complicate.
How iFurn.pro helps
In the part card iFurn.pro shows the four tape fields with side labels and hints — "face", "hidden" — based on the geometry analysis of the piece. The technologist sees how each side is going to be used and decides which tape to put on it.
In the calculation the system groups tapes by tier (premium / middle / economy) and shows the total cost in each category. That helps the technologist see "where the money goes" and where to optimise.