Using Homag’s AirTec system, the E-700 Gantry CNC machine features exact edge tracing and a feed roller with direct distance measurement. The PowerEdge Pro Duo system guarantees that edging tape is applied precisely from start to finish. This creates more options for our customers in terms of designing shapes and achieving perfect results in 360-degree glueing – even for the smallest components that were just not possible previously.

Following on from this installation a few months later in Q2 2023 we will take delivery of our S-800 Edging Cell and second ZEROedge® system – this time with even higher quality LaserTec – for straight line edgebanding of the highest quality possible, even on long runs.

Starbank is the future of decorative panel product fabrication.

sales@starbank-uk.com

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So, rather than risk serious future mechanical or electrical breakdowns, especially with Homag quoting very long lead times ( 12 months +), we have taken the decision to capitalise on the tax break and place an order.

We have debated the machine specification for some time and with the help of the production team, we now have final layout on order.

This will be a complete departure from our current way of working – where we have a double and single sided machine for panel edgebanding. We believe this new investment and way of working will give us increased capacity & efficiency going forward.

Machine Specification

The edgebanding cell will consist of the following 3 machines:

1. Homag WZ14 – Automated in-feed sizing to ensure square and parallel panels
2. Homag S-800 – Single Sided Edgebander
3. Loop Tec O-600 (Homag) – Automated component handling on the out-feed, with return to the operator and stacking positions for finished panels

Glue Specification

The machine will also operate with 3 different adhesion systems and will have a 24 coil edging magazine setup.

1. LaserTec –  Technology which requires no adhesive for the ultimate in edge banding quality. Marketed as ZEROedge® through Starbank.
2. Standard PUR – To continue with our current PURedge edgebanding offer
3. Tinted PUR – To offer a mid-way price and quality improvement for standard white panels for example.

The Laser edge capability will compliment with the Centateq E-700 CNC Hot Air system, which will be delivered at the end of 2022. This machine is also benefitting from being swapped out early, prior to it giving us any serious issues.

Full sales team training will ensure we are able to continue to advise our customer’s on the best options for their projects.

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Fire Doorset Testing

The first of the doorsets went through the smoke tested very successfully, which was a great start. The next stage was for the doorset to go through the fire test. Our goal, was to surpass 60 minutes. We are always nervous during the test, especially when the timer to the side approaches the 60 minutes, as we never want it to fail at the final hurdle. However, the door managed to achieve 69 minutes before integrity failure. This is a rare result on an EN test of this nature.

It was now time to test the second doorset in the same way. Again, this doorset passed the smoke test with ease, giving us more confidence for the upcoming fire test. During the fire test, this doorset exceeded the 60 minute mark, only reaching integrity failure after an impressive 74 minutes. A great result for our Shield fire doors. We are also very proud of our skilled team members from CAD through to manufacturing who worked hard to design and build these complex fire doors.

This type of extensive fire door testing allows us as a fire door manufacturer to continually build our scope and capabilities to not only offer our customers a wider range of Shield – fire door services but for them to have the trust in us that our products are surpassing the strict independent test requirements.

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With the Conference of the Parties ( COP26 ) highlighting that we all have a responsibility to reduce our impact on the planet’s resources, we are pleased that Starbank has already been able to meet the strict carbon neutral standards.

We have been able to dramatically reduced our CO² emissions over the last 5 years. Notably through sustained and significant investment in our Biomass, Solar and Extraction systems. This has enabled us to demonstrate our ability to meet these stringent PAS 2060 requirements.

The only recognised international standard for carbon neutrality is: PAS 2060. We will continue to work hard to implement additional strategies to further reduce our impact.

We believe we are the first fabricator in the UK to achieve this standard. In fact there are very few companies of our size that are holding this certification, so we are very proud of what we do here at Starbank.

Carbon Neutral Vs Net Zero

The Starbank team have invested significant time and resources to achieve this standard. However we cannot lose focus, the ultimate challenge for all companies will be to reach “Net Zero”.

We often hear the terms “Carbon Neutral” and “Net Zero” but we don’t necessarily understand the differences. “Carbon Neutral” means that we doing very well but not quite at “Zero” Emissions and need to offset a small percentage that we cannot currently achieve through sustainable methods. The way we do this is by buying “Carbon credits”. These credits go directly towards active carbon reduction projects all over the world– such as renewable energy in large wind farms, solar arrays etc.

Net Zero, put simply, refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. We reach net zero when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away. World Leader’s have discussed Net Zero targets and plans at COP26. The results of this important gathering, will require active carbon removal projects to take CO² out of the atmosphere. This is the ultimate long term goal for all businesses to achieve what will be global emission targets by 2050.

Carbon Credits

Our carbon credits for this year have gone towards the Maharashtra Wind Project in India. This wind turbine project converts wind energy into renewable electricity, selling the power generated to the state grid. The project comprises of 40 wind turbines, each of 2 MW capacity and 57 turbines, each of 2.1 MW capacity. Together they feed into the large NEWNE grid (Norther, Eastern, Western & North Eastern) saving some 364,000 tonnes of CO² annually. The project developer has also invested in local healthcare, raising awareness of the importance of donating blood and organising blood donation camps in local communities.

One Planet. One Future.

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Our range of Carved decorative panels, gives you the choice of our standard range of designs. If you truly want to create something unique, then work with our in-house designer to create a bespoke pattern just for your project.

Why not include branding into your piece? With the use of solid surface, most designs can be backlit – creating a stunning effect within an interior space. This can work perfectly for showcasing your logo and tagline, making it the focal of the interior space.

As well as backlighting, we are able to offer Carved Duo on some of our designs. Carved Duo, is where we bond together two or more panels with different decorative properties. Once the design is machined, the different depths allows each material within the panel to become visible in certain areas. Look out for which designs are available in Carved duo on the design’s technical sheets.

If you think that 3D decorative wall panels will be the perfect addition to your next interior fit-out project, then take a look at our standard Carved – 3D wall panel designs . Alternatively, contact our sales team to discuss further.

The post Starbank Launches New 3D Wall Panels – Carved appeared first on Starbank Panel Products.

Starbank’s most recent CNC machining centre investments include: a Homag Centateq T-700 and a Centateq E-700.

“Our multi-million euro investment in these two new machines will firmly place Starbank at the heart of panel outsourcing in the UK for many years to come as we strive to continuously improve for our customers’ benefit”.

John McCaffrey, Business Development Manager.

Homag Centateq T-700

One of the reasons for selecting the CENTATEQ T-700 was the growth of compact laminate components we are now producing each week. To successfully manufacture high end detailed components and large volume work surfaces, with this material, it requires a large, robust and technically advanced machining centre. You only get this performance with the big gantry CNCs and the T-700 is perfect for us. We specified a 4-axis model with extra tooling carousels for bespoke applications to give us the capacity, flexibility and edge we wanted.

Homag Centateq E-700

The CENTATEQ E-700 is another powerful gantry CNC machine, but with the benefit of adding an EVA/PO edge banding unit. This gives us the ability to run a multitude of materials including the challenging 3D acrylic edging, setting us apart from our competition. As with the T-700 we opted again for a 4-axis model as this enables both synchronous or independent processing of panels depending on configuration.

Our multi-million euro investment in these two new machines will firmly place Starbank at the heart of panel outsourcing in the UK for many years to come as we strive to continuously improve for our customers’ benefit.

There’s no doubt we would not be where we are today without the right machinery and team driving our investments

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1. SORT

The goal of the sort phase is to eliminate everything in your workspace and department that is not needed. By doing this in our factory and office, it will create more space as well as reducing any potential time wasted trying to find things amongst items of no use.

2. SET

The Set phase ensures that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place within your workspace. The set phase must ensure the workplace is visual, so it is clear to everyone if an item is not where it should be. This stage helps to improve productivity as everyone knows where things should be kept, they can easily retrieve, use and replace them.

3. SHINE

The shine phase is about initially doing a deep clean of your area/ department and then maintaining it through daily cleaning and maintenance activities. This ensures that all our areas are clear and safe to work in, reducing potential accidents and helping to improvie the quality of the products we make.

4. STANDARDISE

The standardise phase is about implementing effective policies, procedures and routines to ensure the Sort, Set and Shine phases are continually achieved. In this stage we will review all our SOP’s and update them where necessary to ensure we are all doing our jobs the most efficient and effective way.

5. SUSTAIN

The final stage is the sustain phase. This is ensuring the successful integration the 5s workplace mindset amongst our teams. It is also about making improvements, preventing fallback to old ways,  reviewing the improvements and then making further improvements. This is the continuous cycle of 5s as it isn’t just a one time thing.

Our overall goal is to make improvements on the seven areas of waste that include: over production, inventory, waiting, over processing, motion, transportation and reworking. If we can make improvements in these areas it will not only improve our production and office facilities but it will help improve our customer relations and the products we produce.

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The day was a success.We managed to raise a total of £615 from all the events, which we added to our charity and social fund.

We decided to split the amounts to several organisations which included:

£300 going to Clatterbridge Cancer Care NHS Foundation Trust, which is one of the UK’s leading cancer centres providing highly specialist cancer care to a population of 2.3m people across Cheshire, Merseyside and the surrounding areas including the Isle of Man.

£750 going to Teardrops Homeless Charity in St Helens to fund an industrial washer/dryer.

We are proud of the team that we have at Starbank as they always get involved in helping raise money and we will always continue to support our local community and charities.

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Power-of-Five-FDSW-Factsheet_InfographicWe fully support the fire door safety week and want to help them reach as many people as possible. We are a manufacture of fire doors and other fire rated products which all sit under our SHIELD brand. We ensure all our products meet our third party Exova BM TRADA Q-Mark product certification. The thorough and strict testing, certification and auditing process set by Exova that gives us the confidence and our customers the reassurance that everything we manufacture is up to industry standards and will perform as needed in the event of a fire. We have recently just passed this year’s audit but we will continue to try and improve our internal processes wherever we can.

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