The introduction of the laserTec process in 2009 heralded a new age in edge application. Using a laser beam to melt the surface to be glued and then pressing it directly onto the workpiece, laserTec process guaranteed a consistently high processing quality with almost no joints.
60 years of edge banding excellence Furniture manufacturers today may be well familiar with HOMAG’s flagship edge banding machines – the EDGETEQ series – but it is the history of HOMAG’s innovation that has helped accelerate the Group’s reputation as a pioneer and technology leader in this segment. This year, as HOMAG celebrates 60 years of edge banding excellence, let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how their edge banding technology has evolved and improved in breadth, complexity and performance. as it could also incorporate snipping and sanding units in addition to edge banding and flush trimming. Today, up to 15 units are installed on these types of machines, allowing workpieces to be processed in a way that makes them ready for installation.
60 years ago, HOMAG launched the first throughfeed edge banding machine using the hot-cold application process. The machine was an immediate hit, and what followed over the years was a constant series of innovations and further developments that have allowed HOMAG to regularly prove itself as a pioneer and technology leader in edge banding. Hitting milestones from the beginning In 1962, just two years after the company was founded, HOMAG registered a patent for the first automatic edge banding machine – the KH 2/18 – a series machine with a veneer strip magazine, gluing unit, pressure zone, and flush trimming unit. This technology was to become the starting point for almost all further developments by HOMAG in this segment. In the same year, at the Hanover trade fair, HOMAG launched a new type of edge banding machine that utilised the
In 1962 the KH 2/18 1962 was patented by Homag as the first automatic edgebanding machine
hot-cold application process. In comparison to the competition, this revolutionary machine allowed edges to be glued much faster and more economically. From then on, HOMAG concentrated entirely on the production and further development of this gluing technology, and the process was further driven in particular by an innovative glue technology: hotmelt glue.
JOINERS Magazine June 2022 page 26
In 1965, HOMAG launched a double-sided edge banding machine with a new base frameand width-adjustment device. Two years later, they developed the first single-sided edge banding machine: the KH 12. With the KF, another milestone in furniture production was reached, as it was the first combined sizing and edge banding machine. The KF 60 was particularly successful
To o ff e r s m a l l e r f u r n i t u r e companies with a suitable edge banding machine, HOMAG launched the KH 10-13 series in 1973. These machines were offered with two different gluing stations to allow coil material, solid edges and pre-coated edges to be processed. At the 1975 LIGNA trade fair, HOMAG presented the cold-glue activation process to the industry for the first time – a technology for edge gluing using PVAC glue. The following year, a majority stake was acquired in Heinrich (continue overleaf)