We should first cover the basic breakdowns on sliding and swinging doors with proper terminology.

Door Panels:

This is the most common breakdown for aluminum door panels. The two stiles are compressed together with pieces of tie rod running horizontally through the rails and muntin. This keeps everything together and has more than enough strength to hold everything together with the glass in place.

Sliding Door (bi-part)

The header is the part of the door that houses the electrical components like the interface board, control box, motor and gearbox. The track is part of the header and is concealed by the header cover. The jambs are part of the frame and holds the whole door package together. The SO panel does not move. It is either mounted to the header or can be push open in case of an emergency. The SX panel is the panel that moves open and closed.

This type of door has no sidelights and is a surface applied package. The P panel has a bottom track for the SX panel bottom guide to ride in. This application is used when there is a small opening going into a building.

Single Slide:

This type of package is almost identical to a bi-part except that it only has SX and SO panel.

Swing Door (Dual)

Here the header houses the operator (motor and spring assembly) and control box. There is a spindle that comes out of the header and is attached to a door arm. The arm is then attached to the top rail of the door. The most common application is to take an existing door that is not automated and make it automated by installing a surface applied header with automating hardware. Swing doors are more commonly seen as single door that is automated.

Sliding Door Maintenance:

All sliding doors have a track with hanger wheels and some type of bottom guide. The hanger wheels allow the door to slide left and right. Some hanger wheels are made of metal and some are plastic. The track is made of aluminum and some tracks have track cap. The track cap works in conjunction with the steel hanger wheels and is molded out of plastic. The track spans the whole length of the header.

You want to clean the track and track cap (if applicable) at least once every 3 months. Use a clean rag, spray some metal lube on the rage and wipe the track down until it's nice and clean. This keeps dirt and debris from building up that can cause pitting in the hanger wheels or track cap.

Flat spots on the plastic hanger wheels are caused by huge buildups of debris and you will notice this by the way the door is "bouncing" every time it hits one of these flat spots. This can lead to other problems because the door will vibrate and can loosen up other parts in the door.

If the plastic track cap (for metal hanger wheels) is not cleaned regularly, pitting can form and if not treated the track cap will crack and split. This can cause the door to get jammed and ruin the metal track underneath the track cap.

Bottom guides come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and designs. The main function of the bottom guide is to keep the sliding panel (SX panel) from flapping out at the bottom. The guide rides in a bottom track and the track can be mounted to the floor or can be part of the non-moving panel (SO panel). Most bottom tracks have some kind of vinyl insert (plastic) but it is not uncommon to have a track with out any vinyl inserts.

The main thing is to keep the bottom track clean and free from debris. Debris can be in the from of : dirt, sand, paper, cigarette butts, gum, or anything that can get stuck into the track and cause the bottom guide to wear out. You should clean out the track at least once a month. This can be done with a broom, clean rag, or vacuum. After the track has been cleaned out, it's a good idea to spray some metal lube on the guide to prevent rusting and keep it well lubricated.

Another thing to look for, to prevent costly repairs, does the door slam open or closed. Automatic doors in shopping centers or high traffic areas are always opening and closing. The door that is slamming will cause unnecessary ware and tear on almost all the parts. Vibrations can cause parts on older type control boxes (electronic hardware that controls speeds, time delays and other control features) to break or come loose i.e. transformers or relays. Heavy vibration also causes the mechanical parts to wear down faster and wear down the life of the door. If you notice that your door is starting to slam, shut it off until it can be properly serviced.

Sliding Door Safety:

I can not stress the issue of safety enough. All automatic doors have some sort of safety feature built into them: holding beams, presence detectors, safety mats, etc. The safety features of your door should be checked out EVERY day. If someone was to be hit by the door, it could turn into a costly lawsuit. Get to know the safety features on your door and test them every day.

Most safety devices are designed to hold the door open if it fails. For example: An automatic sliding door with a presence detector that has gone bad should keep the door open indefinitely until the problem is resolved, or the door is shut off and closed manually. With the door held open all the time, someone won't get hurt if they are standing in the middle of the door and it starts to close.

Some doors are equipped with holding beams and these will be seen on the SO panels as little round circles about the size of a dime to a nickel. An infrared beam will be transmitted horizontally from one SO panel to the other. When the transmitted infrared beam meets with an obstruction (person blocking the beam) and does not make it to the infrared receiver side, the door should stay open.

Other types of safety devices are mounted on the bottom of the header, or are part of the motion sensor. In either case, you should be able to stand in the middle of the door and not have the door close on you. If it does close on you, the door should be immediately turned off until it can be properly serviced.

Following these simple procedures should keep repair bills down and protect your customers.

Swing Door Maintenance:

With swing doors, there is less maintenance to conduct than with sliding doors. However, there are still things that need to be done to ensure proper operation.

You want to check that the door closes without binding on the floor or sides of the frame. Binding on the floor/mat will put excess stress on the motor and could cause premature failure over time. Binding on the frame will put gouges in the aluminum.

If you encounter these problems it is best to call for service. Adjusting the door for these problems is out of the scope of basic maintenance and should be done by the professionals.

If you have mats that operate the door, they should be checked to make sure that they work properly. To do this one can step, or shuffle, on the mat to make sure that there are no dead spots on it. Over time the mat will develop spots that are not making contact as well as it should. Shuffling side to side all over the mat to make sure there are no dead spots can prevent a person from getting hit by the door is the safety mat is not working, or prevent someone from hitting the door while trying to get into the building.

Again, if you notice signs that there is a problem with your mats, call the professionals.

If you have push plates or motion sensors, you should check that they are working correctly. Some push plates are battery operated, and require that the battery be changes every 6 months to 1 year.

Conclusion:

Proper maintenance on your automated door/s will ensure proper operation for years to come. It will help prevent unnecessary wear and tear, which will add up to savings for parts that need to be replaces prematurely.

Ensuring that the door is working properly can also prevent someone from being injured by the door if the door is malfunctioning.

And finally, if you feel that there is something that you cannot do, or don't think something is right with your door, give us a call and we can properly diagnose and correct the problem.