MDF vs. Hardwood
Both MDF and hardwood are wood-based materials.
For each property being compared, the top bar is MDF and the bottom bar is hardwood.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa | 10 | |
| 40 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 4.0 | |
| 12 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 0.5 | |
| 2.0 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.25 | |
| 0.37 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 2.5 | |
| 0.9 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 18 | |
| 80 |
Thermal Properties
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1700 | |
| 1260 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 0.3 | |
| 0.16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 6.0 |
Electrical Properties
| Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm | 0.5 | |
| 0.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 0.75 | |
| 0.7 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 3.0 | |
| 9.5 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 71 | |
| 110 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 6.7 | |
| 32 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 | |
| 59 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.24 | |
| 0.18 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 27 | |
| 79 |