How Are Recliners Made?
Recliners are the lifesavers after a tough day out there at work or school. The relaxation offered by a recliner is unbeatable and unmatchable. Who doesn't love to lie down comfortably in a recliner? Be it the elders or the children in the household. Everyone is fond of a recliner. But have you ever wondered how the coziest fixture is made?
Scroll through to know about every single move that goes into the manufacturing of a recliner.
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How Is a Recliner Made?
Before we tell you about the making of a recliner, let us get a gist of the materials that go into the making of most recliner types. Here’s the list,
Hardwoods, metals, nuts, bolts, steel corners, fiberboard, stamped steel, and foam are the components that are used to provide you with the utmost comfort.
A lot of technology goes into the making of a recliner. Although it may sound simple as a chair, all the struggles have to be crossed by a manufacturer to bring out the best recliner.
1. Frame
Frame is the most important part of a recliner. Getting the frame in the desired shape is a tedious task. This work demands a lot of energy and patience. The frame is the wood that is cut in the shape of a seat, back, and armrest that is needed to build a recliner. The back of a recliner which is the biggest piece is usually done from a single piece of wood. Most of the manufacturers use plywood and chip wood in a recliner. Chip wood is used to cut down expenses.
Chip wood is glued together to achieve the desired shape. Plywood is highly durable and the quality offered by plywood is unbeatable. Few manufacturers use more expensive hardwoods such as maple or oak on the exposed areas of a recliner. This is done to elevate the looks of a recliner.
2. Upholstery
A recliner upholstery is usually made of fabric or leather. A fabric recliner usually consists of cotton or natural synthetic fiber materials. When it comes to leather upholstery, the finest leather goes into the making of a recliner. With the aid of technology, high-quality leather is sorted out and put into the cutting machines giving command of their shapes. Defective leather or the remaining leather is used for the hidden areas.
The cut-out pieces are then stitched together for the armrest, back, and seat. Once they are stitched, they are stuffed with foam. Polyurethane foam is the material that is stuffed to give you the utmost comfort. They are also checked for any air bubbles. Air bubbles might result in causing damage to the foam and the surface of the recliner. In case of any, they are removed with the help of pressure machines. The foam's quality is high and lasts for a long time to give life to your fixture.
3. Arms and footrest
The recliners’ arms are designed in a way that it operates independently. It is the component that is used by the operator to move the recliners back and forth. They usually contain many panels that are interconnected for easy movement.
The footrest is interconnected by way of springs to rise upwards and downwards. These springs help in keeping the recliners functional.
4. Metal activating mechanism
This is the prominent technology that differentiates the recliner from that a regular chair. This mechanism helps in the backward and forward movement of the recliners. Made of stamped steel, the element is attached to the frame of the chair to function as a recliner.
5. Quality control
Unlike furniture made particularly helpful in enterprises, public spaces, or educational institutions, furniture made for domestic use is exempt from buyer testing. Although many inspectors check each element to ensure it looks nice, feels well, and operates properly, furniture makers regularly observe quality through optical review. The recliner is organized and packaged for transportation from the factory once the part meets optimal inspection passes. The business may test fabrics to ensure they adhere to requirements and add fabric elasticity, stitching slip, shade fastness, and flammability. Certain brands conduct more thorough testing on their mobile home furniture to guarantee the constant performance of the goods for their customers.
6. Design
The manufacturing of recliners usually consists of several stages, from the initial design to the final product. One can categorize these phases as follows:
First draft
To acquire an idea for a recliner, a home furniture designer might discuss it with a marketing manager or marketer. New items frequently come from a design sketch created by an internal designer.
Prototypes
The product development team turns the recliner's concept into a working model that includes manufacturing guidelines for mass production.
Pre-series phase
You can choose a production site, and workers test the prototype on equipment to see if it can get manufactured.
Pilot production
Once the prototype has been constructed successfully in one plant, specs and materials are electronically sent to all manufacturers for another test run.
Process of Making a Recliner
1. Frame that is constructed using high-quality plywood or chip wood is assembled. They are assembled together with the aid of nuts and bolts. Desired sizes and shapes of frames are either hand-made or cut with the aid of machines. Once the frame is set, half of the process making of a recliner is over. With the help of brackets, nails, nuts, and bolts, rigid frames are together. It takes a lot of time to assemble a chair by hand, and frequently, people do it alone. The frame is in space where it waits for storage.
2. In the case of the power recliner, the motor has to be placed in the recliner at this stage. The motor helps in the functioning of the recliner with the aid of a switch that helps in the movement of a recliner. If it's a manual recliner, the cables that connect the armrest and the back frame aids in the movement. The cables and levers are placed in this stage. The design blanks for the metal recliner activation mechanisms use punching and spark erosion machines; the parts for the finished metal mechanism get stamped out of steel. The chair's structure then gets fitted with the metal mechanics.
3. Metal activating mechanism is the next move that goes into the making of a recliner. The stamped steel is attached to the chair’s frame. It converts a normal chair into a recliner. Without a metal activating mechanism in place, it is still a normal chair.
4. Upholstery assembly is the final process that is done in the building of a recliner. Fabric or leather that is cut out and stuffed with polyurethane foam is then assembled into the frame. The hard corners of upholstery are softened with the assistance of polyester fiberfill. Arms and footrest frames are also fitted with shaped leather. All the upholstery is fixed to the frame with nails and stapled. The cut upholstery pieces are to the designer to assemble the foam seat covers one by one using industrial sewing machines. The cataloguer receives the empty pillowcases and stores the pillows for the upholsterer.
5. The product development team electronically sends samples or templates for cutting upholstery textiles to the cutting departments of the various production plants. The computer-controlled cutting machine, which can cut about 40 layers of fabric at once, is programmed with this computer data. The machine-cut cloth is taken out, sorted, labeled, and kept before being transported to the sewer system. Solid foam is for creating the foam bodies for the upholstered portions to shape them to the correct profile, like polyurethane.
Once everything is assembled and put in place, a thorough inspection of the recliner is carried out. The recliner is weighed and the assembling quality check is performed. After passing all the quality checks, the finished product is sent out to the ultimate customer along with a proper recliner warranty. There is an additional obstacle because of the numerous recliners, but the installation instructions for an electric recliner are comparable to those for building an electric recliner. These instructions are for the recliner to be together separately before the sofa. Assemble each recliner securely to the couch foundation and one another. Connect electrical parts according to the manufacturer's direction. As a result, there is less chance of the recliners moving while in use. It is crucial to abide by all safety precautions, confirm that all electrical elements are within appropriately, and shield them from moistness or water to reduce the threat of fire or electric shock.
Conclusion
Now that we are in the end part, we hope our article has guided you through every single process that goes into making a recliner. When you decide to buy a new recliner or already own one, our specialist's share of knowledge in this article will help you understand what goes into the making of your favorite furniture and also how it is constructed. If you’re planning to get one, be sure to check out our recliner buying guide so you’ll have all the information in place to make the best possible purchase.
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