Hot Topics

Artistic coatings A wall unit that at first glance looks like a giant oil painting or an MDF board with a surface resembling genuine mahogany ¡X the DecoPrint process, presented by the Hymmen company at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007, prints impressive coatings like these on the surface of various materials.

The new process can be used to apply artistic or wood-modeling decorations to veneers, ceiling panels, cement fiberboards, plastic panels, cellular sheets and of course, wood-based panels. First DecoPrint primes the board or panel, then prints a photo-quality design onto it in a monochrome or four-color process. A final coating of clear lacquer insures protection. Decorations applied using the DecoPrint process can be up to 2.2 m long, reports the manufacturer, with an application speed of up to 120 m/min.
Hymmen GmbH
Maschinen- und Anlagenbau
Theodor-Hymmen-Str. 3
D-33613 Bielefeld
Tel.: +49-521 / 58 06-0
FAX: +49-521 / 58 06-190
www.hymmen.com

Your contact at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007:
Anne Becker
Hall 27, Stand G19
Stand-Tel.    +49-511 / 89-49 70 62
E-Mail: a.becker@hymmen.com

Windows that keep you warm

Wood windows have long played an important part in energy conservation, but not everyone knew they were also capable of delivering energy — until the invention of “heating windows”, presented at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007 by Gieschen Tischlerei GmbH.

These “heating windows” are double glazed. A small opening at the bottom of the window frame admits fresh air into the space between the panes. This air is then warmed by the sun’s radiation (or by the heat from the building). A valve in the upper frame emits warm air into the room, thus supporting the building’s own heating system. This valve can be used to check and adjust the quantity and temperature of warm air admitted through the bottom of the frame, thus preventing any overheating. And if too much warm air should ever come in, it is simply diverted outside.

Gieschen Tischlerei GmbH
Holzstr. 1
D-27442 Gnarrenburg
Tel.: +49-4763 / 944 50-0
FAX: +49-4763 / 944 50-17
www.gieschen.de

Your contact at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007:
Olaf Gieschen
Hall 17, Stand B16 (partner of: Initiative ProHolzfenster e.V.)
E-Mail: info@gieschen.de

Wooden walls

The walls of wooden houses are normally filled with insulation material, adhesives and synthetic sealants. But they can also consist of solid wood. Just how this works is being shown at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007 by a German manufacturer of solid wood walls.

These solid wood walls have a monolithic wall construction consisting of a large number of untreated boards connected to each other in a crosswise pattern. This system produces wooden walls that resemble molded blocks of solid wood. The boards are joined using grooved aluminum fasteners, guaranteeing the wall elements a high degree of stability and strength. No adhesives are necessary. Thanks to the “diffusion-open” design and the unique structure of the wood, these solid wood walls also dispense with the need for vapor barriers.

Massiv-Holz-Mauer Entwicklungs GmbH
Auf der Geigerhalde 41
D-87459 Pfronten
Tel.: +49-8332 / 92 33-22
FAX: +49-8332 / 92 33-11
www.massivholzmauer.de

Your contact at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007:
Andreas Ludewig
Hall 16, Stand A32 (partner of: Hans Hundegger Maschinenbau)
E-Mail: info@massivholzmauer.de

Welding wood

The Berne University of Applied Sciences for Architecture, Wood and Construction (BFH-AHB) is appearing at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007 with a revolutionary new idea: welding wood with other materials. Dubbed “wood welding”, the method appears relatively unspectacular at first glance — in fact, it looks as though a machine was simply pressing a plastic nail into a piece of wood. But in reality, the nail vibrates above the surface of the wood, becoming liquefied in the process and penetrating the pores of the wood.

The advantages of wood welding compared with nailing, screwing or gluing can be seen in the example of a newly developed snowboard, on display at the show.

Wood welding makes it faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly to produce this snowboard — and the welding seams are extremely stress-resistant.

Berner Fachhochschule
Architektur, Holz und Bau und Holz HSB
Solothurnstrasse 102
CH-2504 Biel
Tel.: +41-32 / 344 02 02
FAX: +41-32 / 344 02 90
www.ahb.bfh.ch

Your contact at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007:
Benjamin Steiger
Hall 16, Stand D32 (Research and Education)
E-Mail: Benjamin.Steiger@bfh.ch

Wooden machine

Is it a sculpture or is it a machine? This is a question that many a visitor to LIGNA 2007 is sure to have when they see the wooden machine there designed by Erich Schatt. And when the artist climbs into his machine sculpture and uses both feet to set it in motion, it will become clear just how difficult the question really is to answer.

The rotation and noise of gears, chains, transmissions and cardan joints — all handmade out of wood — will be sure to impress artists and craftspeople alike. Which is exactly what Erich Schatt was aiming for: his goal is to show the interested public how power transmission based on the use of chains and gears actually functions, and inspire them about the use of wood as an industrial material.

Erich Schatt
Heubergstr. 3
CH-8185 Winkel
www.holzmaschine.ch
Tel.: +41-44862 / 75 01

Your contact at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007:
Erich Schatt
Hall 17, Stand D04 (Sonderpräsentation Wonders in Wood)
E-Mail: emschatt@bluewin.ch

Wooden gems

LIGNA has become the traditional venue for the selection of the winner of “Form & Function”, the national German competition for the best furniture pieces turned out by newly-qualified journeyman carpenters and joiners. But visitors to LIGNA 2007 will not only be able to view the 23 prizewinning items produced by 13 state winners at the stand of the German Association of Carpentry and Joinery (BHKH); they can also cast their vote for their public favorite.

The decision as to which journeymen project is the best one will be announced at the awards ceremony on the last day of the show (18 May, at 2:30 p.m.) The keynote speakers will be BHKH President Günter Füllgraf and Hartmut Schauerte, Federal Commissioner for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

Bundesverband Holz und Kunststoff
- Bundesinnungsverband für das Tischler-/Schreinerhandwerk,
für Baufertigteilmonteure + Bestatter
(German Association of Carpentry and Joinery)
Littenstr. 10
D-10179 Berlin
Tel.: +49-30 / 308 823-0
FAX: +49-30 / 308 823-12
www.bhkh.de

Your contact at LIGNA+ HANNOVER 2007:
Frank Markowski
Hall 17, Stand A34
Mobil-ƒv    +49-(0)173 – 933 26 81
E-Mail: presse@tischler.org