How To Choose Living Room Sofa Manufacturer By Materials Part 1

What is the difference between cheap and expensive living room sofas ?

Why is there a price difference between 599USD and 1199USD for a sofa that looks similar in shape or the same in picture ? This is the problem that most distributors encounter when purchasing online or choose in the market.

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If we regard a sofa as a human body, then the frame of the sofa is the skeleton of the person, the springs are the meridians of the person, the sofa sponge is the muscle, and the fabric is the skin. And whether the human body has good looks and is practical depends on the design. In order to completely solve the problems of 599USD and 1199USD, our sofa anatomy this time will be unfolded in sequence according to the order of the five major sections: frame, spring, sponge, fabric and design. We put design at the end because we have to admit that design is a factor that has too much fluctuation in value judgment. Let's solve this problem first. Under the same design, why is there a difference between 599USD and 1199USD ?

I won't tell you what is the best and what you can choose, because considering the factors of money and actual needs, there is no good or bad, only suitable and unsuitable. It is impossible for you to buy an expensive living room sofa for a rental house ? isn't it ? I'll tell you where the difference in value is, and it's up to you to decide which one you will take. Our task is to dissect you so that you will no longer be the slaughtered sheep. I don't know if you have searched for such questions on the Internet, such as how to choose a sofa, and how to distinguish a good sofa from a bad one. I searched for such a question, and after searching, I found that most of the videos and materials are teaching you how to choose fabrics, how to distinguish between genuine and faux leather, and how to choose sponges. Why do everyone's questions focus on these issues ? Because people are always more concerned about those problems that appear in front of them, can be seen and touched. For example, fabrics that can be seen and touched. When you sit down, you will feel the soft and hard sofa sponge. People like to care about these visible problems, and often ignore those things that are hidden, such as the sofa frame.

Sofa Frame

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Regarding the sofa frame, some big-name manufacturers, even some listed companies, don't be fooled by them. The frame of each sofa is hidden, but it is actually very simple to find it, you just need to turn over the sofa, open the bottom zipper, and you can find it. In order to facilitate maintenance and display of real materials, most sofa manufacturers have set up this zipper. If you find that the sofa you picked does not have this zipper on the bottom, it can only mean that the manufacturer of it does not want you to see the frame of the sofa, or the springs, or anything else inside. What if your curiosity got the better of you, or for some reason you had to find the frame ?
You can take a utility knife and cut it across the bottom. Don't worry, this operation will not cause any substantial damage to the normal use of your sofa. Next you will see the real content of the sofa frame. Most sofa frames are now divided into three categories, artificial panel frames, solid wood frames and alloy frames. The one with the lowest value is naturally the artificial panel frame, which is generally plywood. If there is no zipper at the bottom or you don't want to show it to you, it is likely to be a frame made of plywood. So can the board be used as a sofa frame? Of course you can, and the biggest feature is that it is cheap, but environmental protection and lifespan are issues you need to consider. In terms of the lifespan of the panel frame, there is basically no problem after two or three years. In terms of environmental protection, the materials that can be circulated are basically E1 grades, so there is no need to worry too much. If your home is being rented out, it's totally optional.

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Why is the life of the frame made of panel board short ? To explain this problem, let's first understand, what properties should the material that can be used as a sofa frame have ? The sofa frame must have three characteristics, high structural strength, sufficient toughness, insect-proof and anti-corrosion. The structural strength here includes the nail-holding force and the hardness of the wood, that is, it must be strong enough and hard enough. Because it is the skeleton of the whole sofa. So why is nail holding power included ? Because the assembly of the sofa frame and the installation of the sofa spring to be mentioned later require it to have a good nail holding force, otherwise the spring will fall off and the mesh will collapse. According to this, wouldn't the harder the material of the sofa frame be, the better ? No, the second characteristic required by the sofa frame is sufficient toughness. What is resilience ? Everyone can simply understand it as elasticity. This attribute, which seems to be in complete conflict with hardness, can really exist at the same time as "hardness". So why does the sofa frame need toughness ? A sofa, when you sit down suddenly, or when children are jumping on it, in addition to the cushioning of sponge and spring, the frame and cushioning are the last barrier. Cushioning brings comfort and the life of the overall structure, and this is the main reason why the panel board frame has a short life and insufficient toughness. In addition, the strength of most of the panel board frames is very average, and the short service life is inevitable. Materials with extremely high hardness, such as the alloy frame mentioned above, or mahogany, have no toughness, so why can they be used as sofa frames ? Because it's hard enough that you can't break it at all. But the price is that you will lose the comfort brought by the resilient cushioning, and the price will be high. In most cases, the hardness of wood is directly proportional to the price. The higher the hardness, the greater the value. Even if it is an alloy, the cost must be higher than most wood. Alloy frames are generally used on some outdoor sofas. It needs to withstand more wind,sun and rain. Ordinary wood can't withstand this set of combined punches.

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So what material can be strong, tough enough to prevent insects and corrosion, and the price is reasonable ? Clever humans found the answer in some natural wood. First of all, people focus on the four fast-growing wood species that are fast-growing, low-priced, and stable in supply. Eucalyptus, poplar, pine and fir trees. But as long as it is fast-growing wood, it can be felled in 5-10 years. Don't expect it to be strong. In addition, eucalyptus has low toughness and is grown in tropical zone with insect eggs. Poplar has a strong sour taste. There are many knots in the fir, which makes it very easy to break. Therefore, most manufacturers, including some listed companies, have chosen pine wood. Do you often hear the name of larch imported from Russia ? Indeed, the cold environment in Russia and the choice of larch species resulted in some improvement in material strength. The word "import" also makes it look more advanced, but is this the most reasonable choice ? No, no matter where the pine wood comes from, no matter how cold the region it grows in, no matter how advanced drying technology it uses, it cannot escape the fact that it is pine wood, and it is the essence of fast-growing wood. As long as the cost of wood is raised a little, we can find a lot of wood that is strong enough, tough enough, and resistant to insects and corrosion. For example birch, ash, beech. These woods all have these characteristics. Big manufacturers, of course you can choose pine to make the frame, but please don't mislead consumers with some fancy terms. Make consumers feel that they should pay for your high price. Of course, there is no need for you to choose wood with too high hardness. Regardless of the price increase, the loss of resilience is not recommended. If economic issues are considered, birch is a material choice with relatively high cost performance on the basis of satisfying the three major characteristics of the frame. At present, we have indeed found that a small number of large manufacturers use birch as the raw material for sofa frames. Then why do you still hear many people say that larch imported from Russia is better ? It's scary to follow what others say and go with the flow. You can look at the prices of imported pine and birch from Russia on the wholesale website. How can you make money without brainwashing you ?

Speaking of which, do you understand the difference in frame between the 599USD sofa and the 1199USD sofa ? To sum up, in order of price, the panel board frame is smaller than the miscellaneous wood frame, smaller than the pine frame, smaller than the birch frame, smaller than the ash, beech and alloy frame, and the highest is the high-end hardwood frame. But in terms of performance, the closer to the middle, the more suitable it is for sofa frames. Which one to choose ? You need to think for yourself. We only do dissection.

Sofa Spring

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Do all sofas have springs ? Not, for example, abandoning the toughness of the sofa frame, the resilient mahogany solid wood sofa and some personalized sofas will directly use wooden boards as support and put cushions on them. Another example is that some manufacturers on the market will use bandage weaving technology in order to increase the overall resilience of the sofa. The former is the value of mahogany, and the design value abandons the overall resilience comfort. The latter also maximizes the overall resilience due to special needs. . Although these two extremes meet the needs of a small number of specific groups of people, the former has a discounted comfort and a hard sitting feeling, while the latter has a discounted durability and a too soft sitting feel. Neither of them is an option for most people. Most consumers and manufacturers choose serpentine springs that are both resilient and durable.

So what is a serpentine spring ? It is made of spring steel through a series of machine processing, and shaped into an S-shaped linear tension finished spring, also known as a bow spring. In addition to you can find it at the bottom of the sofa, many car cushions also use this type of spring to increase the rebound comfort of the cushion.

What is spring steel ? The process of steel making is actually a process of carbon removal. All steel has carbon in it. The higher the carbon content, the harder the steel will be, but the more brittle it is, the less suitable it is for springs. And at this time, something interesting happened. Many manufacturers, including some large listed companies, always emphasize the carbon steel they use, and what's more, they use the slogan high manganese carbon steel. Where is the interesting place ? First, the so-called carbon steel is steel in a broad sense, there is no difference. But why do they emphasize carbon steel ? Such as activated carbon and bamboo charcoal fibers that appear on the market. Manufacturers always like to use names that most people have never heard of, to make people feel that their things are advanced. It is true that the spring steel we mentioned above does contain manganese. The carbon content of spring steel is generally controlled at 0.62% to 0.9%, and the manganese content is controlled at 0.5% to 1.2%. But you know that the steel manganese that can be called high manganese steel How much should the content be ? At least 10% or more. Moreover, the extremely high hardness of high manganese steel makes it impossible to machine it at all. It can only be cast and formed. It is the material used to make tanks.

The carbon content and manganese content are within the control range, the higher the better ? Of course not, the increase in the content of carbon and manganese will indeed increase the hardness of the material, but the increase in hardness does not mean that a better serpentine spring can be made. Too hard materials will reduce the resilience of the sofa, and the more brittle properties brought about by the hardness will make the springs more likely to break. As far as the springs that can be used in sofas are concerned, we can't feel the difference in the amount of content. At least next time, don't think that terms like high manganese carbon steel are so advanced. Moreover, most of the springs on the market, no matter whether they are small workshops or large listed factories, basically come from several fixed steel factories.

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The properties of raw materials are similar, so what is the difference ? Here comes the key point, the wire diameter, arch position, spacing and arrangement density of the serpentine spring. The wire diameter refers to the diameter of the serpentine spring steel wire, usually 3.8mm or 4mm. Arch and spacing refer to the height between the spring arches and the diameter on each side of each arch. If the wire diameter is reduced, the arch position is lowered, and the spacing is enlarged, the arrangement density of the serpentine springs on the sofa frame is reduced, and make the difference of spring cost of a sofa be doubled, which is very easy to do. But the cheap price is that the rebound performance and support performance of the sofa plummet, which is easy to cause the spring to break and the sponge to sit and wear. But considering the personal economy and actual needs, there is no right or wrong.

Will the high-end sofa manufacturers have other operations ? High-quality sofa manufacturers will add a layer of reinforcing steel between the serpentine springs and some bandages. Why do they do that ? There has been a study abroad that in the animal nature of human nature, territorial consciousness still lurks in our subconscious. How do you understand it ? Recall that when you sit on the sofa, do you always have one or two fixed seats, and sometimes, after other people grab your fixed seat, you will drive him away. This has just caused people to always sit in the same position habitually, and over time, the aging degree of the spring in this position exceeds that in other positions. Slowly you will find that the sofa is uneven, or even collapsed. what to do ? The answer is to add a full circle of reinforcing steels or bandages to the spring to effectively distribute each force to each serpentine spring. Of course, although the craftsmanship is good, the cost will naturally rise. In addition, it is worth mentioning that we will actually see colorful serpentine spring on the market, black, gold, silver, and even rose gold. These are the colors of the serpentine spring after the surface is galvanized or chrome-plated in order to resist oxidation. The essence is the same, and it will not have much impact on the price. As far as the process of serpentine spring is concerned, the order of value is basically like this, small wire diameter, low arch, large spacing, loose arrangement is smaller than large wire diameter, high arch, small spacing, tight arrangement, less than adding reinforcement or Bandage craft.