The sides of the cabinet are made from bent and laminated veneer-covered plywood. The laminate consists of 5 layers, from outside to inside: cherry veneer, flexible plywood, beech veneer, flexible plywood, beech veneer. Total thickness is approximately 12 mm (5 mm for each plywood layer, 0.6 mm each veneer layer, glue). The layers are glued using either polyurethane glue or Titebond Cold Press for Veneer.
Moulding and glueing is done in two steps: first the three inner layers are glued and bent over a mould using a vacuum-pressing technique. Once dry, the outer veneer layers are glued using, also using vacuum pressing. For vacuum pressing, the mould + layers are placed in an airtight plastic bag, from which the air is subsequently sucked out using a vacuum pump. The outside air pressure then forces the layers together en causes them to bend over the mould (remember air pressure at sea leavel is up to around 1 kg per square cm). The mould is made of a series of particle board sections fastened onto a base plate and covered with flexible plywood; the mould exactly matches the curve of the cabinet sides.
The picture below shows the laminate when it comes out of the vacuum bag, still on the mould (forgot to take pictures of the vacuum bag, but this link on Youtube provides an idea of the principle).
