This article is in response to a reader question about applying edging on sandwich panels.
Applying edging on sandwich boards requires a different approach, as Polyboard will not put it on a panel directly.
When you make a composite panel made of several layers using Polyboard’s ‘thickness split’ command, applying an edging on the panel will in fact place a separate edging on each layer.
If you need to apply a single wide strip of material onto all the panels, you can either position a ‘double back’ onto the edge or make the strip as a part of an ‘assembled’ panel.
In the first approach, to apply a single wide strip of material onto all the panels, you have to put on a front edging as a cabinet part that fits onto your sandwich panel.
To do this, you need to first add another shelf and make it a virtual panel with no thickness. From there, you can add a double back, set it as zero distance from the front, and make it overpassing so it goes over the front of the shelf.
This creates a double back in the cutting list.
Edging on sandwich panels:
Now onto the second method. To make the strip as a part of an ‘assembled’ panel, you first need to make the edging as a bar material, and then give it the right thickness so it corresponds your sandwich board.
Each work around has its advantages and disadvantages depending on how you are building the sandwich panels.
The advantage of using a double-back overlapping a panel is that if you vary the thickness of your panel the edging will always match up. The disadvantage is that you have to apply it on every panel individually.
Making the strip as a part of an ‘assembled’ panel is a good approach if you have to build a lot of shelves that are always the same thickness. You can copy the structure, paste it onto another panel, and it will be manufactured in exactly the same way. With Polyboard, you can also put the structure in a library and then apply that to a panel.
Here’s a video that applies this second method:
Edging with assembled panels:
