20 years of sustainable impact
20 years of sustainable impact
STAR4D celebrates anniversary
In the world of industry, innovation often arises from the unlikeliest of places. In 1993, a group of forward-thinkers within the Iowa Waste Reduction Center embarked on a journey that would revolutionize painter training and environmental responsibility. What began as an initiative to improve Iowa’s body shops eventually evolved into something much greater — the Spray Technique Analysis and Research program, known affectionately as STAR.
It was a time when the automotive industry was grappling with the environmental implications of its practices, particularly in painting processes. STAR sought to address this issue by developing cutting-edge techniques and tools to improve spray coating processes, reduce pollution and promote environmental sustainability.
The Paint Application & Coating Education facility, located in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park, was established in 1999 to provide a dedicated space for STAR research and training.
The Department of Defense began taking a closer look at the implications of corrosion on military assets. It was identified that the cost of corrosion to a military department was in the billions of dollars annually, and severely impacted the ability to be mission ready. In response, STAR underwent a transformation becoming Spray Technique Analysis and Research for Defense (STAR4D). This evolution allowed the program to serve a broader range of industries, including defense, while maintaining its commitment to reducing environmental impact.
In the span of two decades, STAR4D has demonstrated key returns on investment such as a 10% increase in painter efficiency, a 10% decrease in paint usage and a 10-25% reduction in rework, just to name a few. From its inception as a regional initiative focused on industrial painter training, STAR4D has evolved into a globally recognized program with a profound impact on multiple industries, from automotive to aerospace to defense. Its commitment to environmental sustainability, innovation and precision training has transformed the way we approach painting processes.
STAR4D Timeline
Development of VirtualPaint, a groundbreaking technology that would revolutionize painter training.
VirtualPaint is a virtual reality system designed to be very user friendly, have a relatively low learning curve and give the painter the ability to customize almost every aspect of the painting experience.
STAR4D Timeline
VirtualPaint 3D is incorporated into STAR4D certification courses, offering an even more immersive training experience by engaging trainees in a virtual reality painting environment that adopts extremely realistic aspects of the tasks being performed by painters within a facility.
Painters trained with the VirtualPaint 3D system show significant improvement on the painting of more difficult or detailed parts.
