We are starting to make hybrid doors with MDF raised panels. I am being told Medex is one of the better materials to make these with.

Does anyone have experience with this material? I understand it resists moisture better than most MDF. Is it harder on cutters?

Thanks

What are you looking for in the panel? Most people are looking for less prep on the beveled edge.

I've been using double refined MDF by Plum Creek and it reduces the amount of prep needed by a large factor.

If you are looking for water resistant qualities the the Medex is the way to go.

Cabinet doors? Passage doors? Exterior doors?

Who is telling you this, the Medex salesman?

First, you will need good carbide tooling and plenty of power to raise the Medex or any MDF for long. You will also need to have excellent dust collection and personal protection since the brown cloud can/will envelop everything as well as your lungs.

I no longer make any panels in MDF. As in "you can't pay me enough to deal with that crap."

A customer prefers Medex, hence the question.
They are cut on a Cnc router with custom made tooling.
Our dust collection is excellent there is no objectionable dust.
They are for paint grade cabinet doors.

I never met a piece of medex that did not curl up like a potato chip.
I will use plum creek if the customer wants to buy the cutters. So far no one has. I will not use my cutters on it.

We are early in this and we have tested with Plumb Creek. Medex in the thickness I need is hard to come by around here so I think it is a no go anyway.

I have many customers requesting Hybrid doors, I really don't have much choice. The benefits with painted jobs make it worth it. We will be producing them on a nested router so the labor savings is also significant. Think about that savings.

Hardwood process is:
Rip boards
Cut boards to rough length for a panel
Glue the panel
Scrape glue from the panel
Run through planer
square/size the panel
Profile one side at a time
Sand profile.

With hardwood the parts been handled quite a bit.

MDF process is:
Create nest
Drop full sheet on the router
Push button
Go do other work.
Come back, pencil job number on panel
Sand profile

We have dedicated insert carbide tooling for the MDF. I am not sure how long it will last at this point.

"I have many customers requesting Hybrid doors, I really don't have much choice".

For several years around here a mantra was "Sell what you make rather than make what you can sell". The point being one of self-determination vs a flag of the winds, at the mercy of the winds, as another once put it.

Once we learned to sell what wanted to make, we never looked back. The money is a bit better, but we are all happier, we have a far better class of customer, we really find satisfaction on several levels, we are the envy of our peers, and even the scrap is better.

I do not mean to tell you what to do. Enough is written about herd mentality and how lower prices is always a dead end that is hard to reverse. Just my opinion.

I appreciate your input David but it is not like that at all. I sell wholesale and it’s not about price. It’s about the quality of finish and stability of the product.

We've used 5/8" ultra refined mdf for raised panels since they invented the stuff in the mid 2000's. 3/8" mdf flat panels(been using that forever before the good mdf)

Both fully glued into soft maple.

We get zero paint cracking. Wood panels always crack, show, etc.

Never really had any issues with shaper cutters. Not sure why the other guys are complaining.

We don't have any issues around the dishwasher. There is a ton of paint on the raised panel.

I would call Vortex and talk to them. I believe they did a lot of testing on the CNC when they developed this set --->https://www.vortextool.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&catego
ry_id=65&CFID=34286750&CFTOKEN=7d90ca31563b7ab0-A446365D-F887-C871-A45B83
B3903E3274

If you are going to produce MDF doors of any appreciable quantity, invest in diamond tooling. At least for your main bits. Carbide will work for about a 100 doors or so before it becomes dull and begins to burn. Customers are asking for Medex brand probably because of its moisture resistance properties. A good quality, double refined mdf panel with good coats of bonding primer will last for many, many years without abuse.
I can't get medex in my area, but some guys I know in the northeast use it, and claim that it is a good product for panels and doors.

Can you stain a door made with Soft maple surround and Medex inserts? Ie will it be possible to get same finish? We have had a custom door made for our house and we requested “paint grade” so they made it with soft maple surround and Medex inserts. They are saying that is the best for dealing with weather issues but our assumption is only if whole door is painted vs staining. If inserts were wood is panel likely to shrink ?