Product • 24.09.2007

Revolutionary: Completely new spiral door generation

Now in series and thus the first in the world with thermally separated insulation laths which are registered for a patent.

Raw material costs which are increasing throughout the world and in particular the permanent increase in the price of heating oil have provoked EFAFLEX, the leading manufacturer of high - speed doors, to completely re-conceive high - speed spiral doors for closing halls. The most successful model “SST” will therefore be offered as of spring 2007 in three different performance classes, namely “Premium”, “ECO” and “Basic”. Thus above all the representative customer desires are accommodated in three ways:

1. Permanently increasing energy costs require a moderate and economical handling of the valuable raw materials. The use of high - speed doors basically previously led to saving energy, the heat insulation of the doors used however often was neglected. Therefore as the first and only producer in the world, EFAFLEX will as of immediately offer double walled insulation laths in thermally separated and insulated models for exterior high - speed doors – now in serial production. Especially in the times between uses of a high - speed door, this measure ensures that it will again extensively reduce the unwelcome loss of heat. According to DIN EN 13241-1, for the first time a steadily built-in door has extreme high heat insulation. According to the manufacturer, U values of around 0.8 W (m²K) are reached for the entire surface of a steadily built-in high - speed door.
With the development of the new door blade laths the special challenge was to constructionally ensure the exclusive usability in high - speed doors subject to high stress for as many years of use as possible. In contrast to conventional doors the job specification, for example with regards to capacity, stability, dimensional accuracy, warping rigidity etc. is extensively more demanding because nowadays regular EFAFLEX high - speed doors up to a size of 8000 x 8000 mm are often moved up to 150,000 times a year (!) with speeds up to ca. 4 m/s. The Bavarian specialists have set correspondingly high goals in their specifications for the new lath generation. However, with the result that, after all, no production method available on the market appeared to be suitable. The trendsetting, fully automatic production of the door blade lath registered for a patent therefore will be done independently and directly at the EFAFLEX factory. Highly modern facilities which are conceived and produced according to the EFAFLEX specifications ensure an individual, i. e. order-related, as well as always economical adjustment to the customer wishes. Technically for example at the speed of lightning the thickness of the lath can be varied depending on the requested heat insulation between profile thicknesses of 40 mm, 60 mm, 80 mm and in future also 100 mm. For optical reasons, all available door blades have a unified lath height of 225 mm. Thus a combination with selectively one or two shelled insulated sight or ventilation laths in any number is possible. In addition (almost) all color design possibilities can be realized. Instead of the elegant and valuable EFAFLEX standard coating, as of immediately also almost all individual “house colors” can be optionally supplied.
Also functionally considered, the new SST generation fulfills the highest expectations. In addition to the excellent heat and sound insulation values, for example according to DIN EN 12424 an over average wind resistance according to class 4 has been proven. A previously attained advantage continues to be in connection with the patented, spiral shaped door blade reception. No other construction offers nearly as much comparable operation quality. Even with years of stress through maximal use with at the simultaneous highest movement speed of the moved masses, the original high - speed spiral doors from EFAFLEX not only ensure sustained quiet running which is gentle to the materials but also offers just as much above average availability and a minimal maintenance effort. The manufacturer in addition allows the greatest possible customization of the different space relationships on location in which differently formed spiral bodies are available as a door blade reception. For highly limited free space, even a special low lintel model is available.

2. Furthermore the analysis of the representative buying pattern leads to the conclusion that the market is basically reflected in three differently classified job specifications. EFAFLEX reacts to this by making in future the high - speed spiral doors available in three different model variations:

The SST series “Premium” is conceived for highly loaded, industrial continuous use and with an opening speed of up to 2.0 m / sec. and a simultaneous capacity of up to 250,000 movements a year appeals to those customers who often use the door passages with quick or heavy devices. In contrast, the “ECO” line, which is also new, corresponds with the “average” specifications like the majority of door users currently desire. Robust quality and the proverbial EFAFLEX reliability, combined with moderate opening speeds of up to ca. 1.0 m / sec. And this still with an over average capacity of up to ca. 200,000 working cycles a year. In contrast to this is the third model series, the "Basic" series, which does not have the high - speed, but still the high quality level and also the over average capacity in the foreground. With movement speeds of ca. 0.3 m / sec., also this SST model corresponds with all contemporary demands for a modern industrial door. Whoever however expects a high frequency and is afraid that a conventional sectional door in the long run will not stand this capacity receives with the SST “Basic” a high tech door system which can be moved trouble-free up to 100,000 times a year on absolutely attractive conditions. Especially, if a manual operation using the "dead man" model is sufficient and correspondingly you can do without an automatic control and extensive safety features.

3. Especially in view of again drastically reducing unprofitable fallout times with high - speed doors, for example for maintenance and / or repairs, the engineers at EFAFLEX have had a true stroke of genius together with the introduction of an active crash system (ACS) for solid (!) door blades. If desired, the new SST generation with the model “ACS-DS” can be provided with a double sided moving device for the lower door blade area. For this the door blade laths in the area up to ca. 1,000 mm nominal height which are most in danger of a crash are fixed on frame joint chains which are attached to each other and can be removed. If there is a collision between the forklift and the door blade, the laths can normally be pressed out of the tracks undamaged, whereas an inductive sensor registers the "crash", reduces the door cycle to "repair speed" and within the following lifting movement fully automatically puts the parts which have become loose from each other back together again. According to the manufacturer, for the first time you can speak about a "crash without serious consequences" in connection with a fixed door blade because normally there can be no expensive damages or unwelcome fallout times. Furthermore spiral doors with active crash systems are serially being equipped with a direct synchronous drive. In addition to this fully new dimension in the drive technology, the company from Bruckberg tells us that the force transmission now directly follows "from above" on the upper lath through a driveshaft and synchronically allocated and at the same time telescopable extension arms. This considerably prevents on the one hand a canting of the door blade and reduces the use of load transmission elements which can wear out, like motor drive belts, clutches, door blade belts, deflection pulleys etc. A longer lifespan is also reached because the shearing stress of the buffer springs has been reduced. At the same time, the crash - down safety could be considerably improved. The result is lower maintenance costs and even longer inspection intervals. And the unrivaled door blade speeds are now easily reached and in particular with the highest operation quality.

All described EFAFLEX products of course correspond to EN 13241-1 for high - speed doors. If this is combined with the TÜV tested and patented door safety system TLG or the brand new EFACON control which is even serially capable of networking, there are now neither quicker nor safer doors when dealing with people, transported goods and the environment. (CS)