The Striebig School Of Innovation

“Working with TM Machinery was easy and fuss free,” begins Andy Brook, Technical Services Officer and Technical Staff Manager at the University of Southampton’s Winchester School of Art. Looking to improve the university’s technical provision by replacing a 50-year-old table saw and dust extraction unit that were no longer performing effectively, Andy researched the best possible options on the market and after a demonstration at TM Machinery’s Leicester-based showroom last summer, the Art and Design Institute purchased Striebig’s Compact vertical panel saw. “I had a tick list of things I needed the saw to offer me,” explains Andy. “Whilst I knew our work wouldn’t involve high volume cutting and it would be primarily used for sizing plywood and MDF sheets for student projects, I wanted a saw that could withstand years of use and continue to offer accurate and safe cutting for years to come. It also had to offer simple, manual operation, have the ability to work with a range of materials up to 2.4 x 1.2m and fit a compact space.” Bought predominantly for students on Fine Art, Fashion Design and Games Design degree courses, the saw would be commissioned for use on student projects, including the building of exhibition stands, creating crazy golf courses and designing arcade gaming cabinets. Andy adds, “It was important for us to find a new saw that was as versatile as the ideas our students were coming up with. “Knowing the type of projects the saw would be working on made it easy to narrow down my search but, with limited experience sourcing new woodworking machinery, I welcomed the knowledge and guidance offered to me by TM Machinery. On the surface, the machines looked very similar but it was clear from my visit to TM’s showroom that the build quality and precision of the Striebig Compact was far superior to anything else I had considered. It’s easy for manufacturers to tell you how good their machines are but seeing the saw in action puts everything into perspective. The Compact really did set itself apart from the competition and with the ability to modify the design to include a digital measuring tool, the university got a tailor-made machine that was perfectly designed for the work it would be carrying out. The whole process from build to installation took around three months.” As well as a range of bespoke solutions that can be added to your saw during the build process, the entry-level Compact comes fully equipped with a powerful 3.9kW motor and an integral dust extraction system with a dust limit below 1mg/m3. Able to cut a wide range of panel materials, including timber panels, plastics and composite panels, the Swiss-made saw also copes with panel sizes from 3100 x 1644mm (model 4164) to 5350 x 2200mm (model 6220) and thanks to its rigid, self-supporting, heavily braced saw frame, it guarantees 1/10mm accuracy with every cut. True to its name, the Compact’s smallest model, the 4164, measures 4,256 x 2,400mm and only needs half the space of a horizontal cutting centre for handling the same panel size, making it the ideal addition to a small to medium sizes workshop. It was during Andy’s visit to TM Machinery that he also saw the AL-KO Mobil JET 160 dust extraction unit working in tandem with Striebig’s Compact saw. The space-saving design offers a high extraction capacity and powerful motor. It’s also been fully tested to offer the optimum combination of extraction power and low energy consumption and has been accredited with both the GS and H2 marks. “The extraction unit was the best all round package I’d seen and it was still comparable in price. It could also be installed at the same time as the machine – something that hadn’t been offered to us elsewhere,” explains Andy. “This – along with the added automatic synchronised start system that could be requested when ordering – was the cherry on the cake. I was sold.” With space at a premium, TM Machinery had engineers assess the installation area and make sure the access routes could accommodate the new purchase for added peace of mind. To ensure safety during operation of the saw, certified training was also given to five members of staff once the machine was installed. Andy adds, “TM went the extra mile to guarantee a smooth and efficient installation that worked around us. From the very first demonstration to the training and ongoing aftercare service, it has been a pleasure to work with the TM team. We couldn’t have asked for more.”

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