When people hear the word particleboard, many picture inexpensive furniture that sags, chips, or loosens around its screws. That reputation is understandable, but it misses an important distinction: particleboard is a category of engineered wood products, not a single grade of material.

Manufacturers make particleboard in different densities and performance grades for different jobs, from flooring and countertops to cabinetry, shelving, and furniture. A panel made for a demanding furniture application can differ greatly from the low-density board most people associate with the name. In this article, we explain what BredaBeds Murphy beds are made of, how we measure that material, and why we chose it.

Why BredaBeds Uses an Industrial Core

BredaBeds Murphy beds are built primarily from 3/4-inch industrial-grade particleboard, the material we have long called our industrial core. Consistency matters in a Murphy bed: large cabinet panels must stay flat and square, precision-machined parts must fit together accurately, and the hardware must stay securely anchored for years of daily use. Industrial-grade engineered panels provide the stiffness, internal bonding, machining accuracy, and predictable performance this kind of furniture needs.

How Particleboard Performance Is Measured

The current North American particleboard standard, ANSI A208.1-2022, classifies particleboard by measurable physical and mechanical properties instead of treating every product as simply “particleboard.” These four measurements help explain why two products that are both called particleboard can perform very differently. To compare them, we look at our historical UltraBlend Plus industrial core alongside the standard’s LD-1 low-density reference values.

Modulus of Rupture (MOR)

Bending strength: how much load a panel can carry before it breaks. It matters for shelves and for the long cabinet panels that carry weight.

1,900 psi UltraBlend Plus vs. 406 psi LD-1 reference 4.7× higher

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Modulus of Elasticity (MOE)

Stiffness: how much a panel flexes under load. A stiffer panel stays flat and square across a large cabinet.

380,000 psi UltraBlend Plus vs. 72,500 psi LD-1 reference 5.2× higher

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Internal Bond (IB)

How strongly the panel is bonded together through its thickness, which helps it hold together where it is drilled and machined for hardware.

80 psi UltraBlend Plus vs. 15 psi LD-1 reference 5.3× higher

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Screw Holding

How securely fasteners stay anchored: the force it takes to pull a screw out of the panel face.

250 lbs UltraBlend Plus vs. 81 lbs LD-1 reference 3.1× higher

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A Durable TFL Surface

The decorative surface on our panels has traditionally been called “melamine.” The more precise term is thermally fused laminate, or TFL: a very thin, resin-impregnated decorative paper that is permanently fused to the panel with heat and pressure. The result is a hard, durable finish that resists everyday scratches and wear, with consistent colors, wood grains, and textures from panel to panel.

In 2025, the Composite Panel Association introduced CPA 5-25, the first dedicated North American standard for TFL panels. It establishes standardized methods for evaluating wear, scratching, staining, and lightfastness. To see the finishes in person, request color samples.

What About Formaldehyde?

Composite wood regulations have changed considerably since we first wrote about our materials. BredaBeds previously purchased and promoted NAF (no added formaldehyde) board. We no longer make that claim, because NAF is not the resin specification of the panels we currently purchase.

Today, particleboard sold in the United States is regulated under EPA TSCA Title VI, which limits particleboard formaldehyde emissions to 0.09 parts per million. Regulated panels must meet testing, quality-control, and third-party certification requirements.

Modern regulation has made formaldehyde emissions a standardized, independently verified compliance requirement rather than simply a manufacturer’s marketing claim.

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Not All Particleboard Is Created Equal

The important question isn’t simply “Is this furniture made from particleboard?” A much better question is “What particleboard is it?”

Density, grade, internal bond, stiffness, fastener holding, manufacturing quality, and intended application all matter, and the inexpensive particleboard many people remember from discount furniture does not represent the entire category. That is why BredaBeds selects industrial-core engineered panels: their strength, stability, machining accuracy, and surface quality make them well suited to large, precision-manufactured Murphy beds. To see how our collections differ, visit the collection comparison page.

High-Strength Cam Fittings

Each BredaBed is joined with premium cam fittings rather than relying solely on screws driven directly into the panel. Each fitting uses a metal-alloy cam body housed in a molded plastic carrier, which connects to a metal fastener installed in the adjoining panel. When tightened, the cam creates a metal-to-metal locking connection that firmly draws the two panels together.

This design spreads the clamping force across a much larger area of the panel than a screw alone, creating a strong, repeatable joint and helping the components align accurately during assembly. That is why we intentionally use a premium-grade cam fitting: the quality of these small parts significantly affects the strength and long-term fit of the finished cabinet. To see how it all goes together, view our Murphy bed assembly instructions.

Note: this article supersedes our earlier posts about BredaBeds material construction. Where older articles differ, including earlier references to NAUF or NAF board and to the ANSI A208.1-2009 standard, the information on this page is current.