The best accessories for automatic doors

When we think about an automatic door, the first thing that comes to mind are two glass leaves that open and close, or a door that rotates 360 degrees whenever it is activated. With this basic thought in mind, there are a great many accessories and mechanisms that form part of this type of entrance and that are essential to ensure it operates as correctly as possible.

These products include photocells, side safety sensors, passage control mechanisms, locks, buzzers, movement sensors, remote controls, buttons, people counter systems, video screens, self-dimming glass or LED lighting on glass leaves.

Without a doubt, this is a long list of accessories that offers true innovation in comparison with the first automatic doors to be launched on the market. According to clients, this type of mechanism will be of greater or less utility and demand will vary.

Accessories for automatic doors

In the case of businesses, the type of building and entrances in question should be assessed. Photocells, buzzers or passage control mechanisms using a digital code will provide increased security against intruders.

Venetian blind technology is also very new, designed to maintain privacy in certain rooms or areas. A blind is built into the leaves of the door and, when activated, blocks vision completely. Along these lines, self-dimming glass is also interesting.

Manusa has an extensive catalogue of mechanisms and accessories for automatic doors and access controls to make the life of users crossing the threshold of buildings, homes and officers much easier.

Automatic doors with break-out function

Automatic doors are increasingly visible in all types of location, including private and public buildings, private homes, or large shopping centres. Technology is becoming more and more linked to the everyday lives of people, who now insist on most of the items that surround them every day being technological.

Among all the models sold and see on a daily basis are the automatic doors with break-out function. A specific example of this would be emergency or panic doors. The door is sliding and is opened automatically. One of the most important features of this type of door is that, thanks to its layout, it can be used as an easy emergency exit in the event of danger, fire or fast evacuation.

For example, standard automatic doors have four glass leaves, but only the two in the centre open and close. The side leaves are opened manually, expanding the entrance in less than one minute.

There are also hermetic swing doors, designed for installation in buildings related to the healthcare sector, such as hospitals or clinics. These may have one or two leaves, and they guarantee the hygiene conditions inside thanks to materials such as the stainless steel or high pressure laminate that Manusa uses in their manufacturing.

It is also commonplace to see the break-out function on revolving doors in hotel receptions, for example. Hinged or folding doors are installed on the sides of the main element for use by all types of user, especially people in wheelchairs.

This type of door increases user comfort thanks to its automated opening. They are also elegantly designed and blend in with the areas where they are installed, which is a guarantee, and they have an acceptable price-quality ratio that is increasingly appreciated by all types of companies and individuals.

Automatic doors for basements and storage rooms

Many buildings and semi-detached or detached houses have basements and storage rooms. It is commonplace for each home in a housing block to have a storage room in which to store things not used on a daily basis, or utensils, clothing, old items or furniture that no longer fits in any other room of the house.

Basements can be found quite often in terraced, semi-detached or detached houses. This room is normally next to the underground garage of the house, although sometimes it is located in another part of the plot.

Door automation is not only limited to the entrances to houses, but automatic access systems can also be installed in storage rooms and basements. This provides greater security with regard to burglaries, intrusions or any types of problem that may arise.

The basement is accessed, if it is below the garden for example, through a hydraulic, electric or manual hatch. It can also be accessed through a door and some steps if there is an entrance from the house or the garage.

It can be accessed from the house through a door that is opened using any kind of accessory, such as remote control, proximity control, access control with an encrypted numerical code, or photocells.

The type of entrance system can also be applied to the basement. If the place where you live has a residents’ association, installing automatic accesses would be complex because the majority agreement by the owners to the financial disbursement involved in completing the work would be required.

The installation of an automatic fire door is very useful and recommendable in both rooms. If there is a fire in the home, you can rest assured that the fireproof door will save the contents stored in the storage room and the basement.

Some designers and architects are already working on projects involving home automation in which many of the doors are automatic to make life easier for their inhabitants. Will automatic doors be part of the lives of many homes in the coming decades?

How we built our history: the beginnings of Manusa

The success of a business is often based on its past, its work, and the values underpinning it as it progresses. At Manusa, we have known right from the start that we are what we are thanks to our experience since our beginnings. We have not relinquished our origins, which has enabled us to continue to grow with our sight set firmly on the future.

In the beginning, we sold automatic sliding and telescopic doors. We had several models with one, two or four leaves. As we started out in this sector that we now appreciate and love, we worked with two drive mechanism systems.

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On one hand was the electric model that involved door movement using an electric motor transmitted directly with no gears, clutches, etc. and using a special timing belt. Its main features included speed, safety, duration and silence.

On the other hand, we sold automatic doors with a pneumatic model mechanism. They were moved using compressed air supplied by an additional compressor. This type of access was suitable for installations of several doors that could be powered by just one compressor. This led to a very reliable material at a very reasonable price. It was a real innovation for its time in the seventies.

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We have always worked – and continue to work – to ensure our customers are fully satisfied. Hence our first catalogues of products included all the details of each of our automatic doors. Not only did they include the picture or diagram of the door, but also showed other features such as the photocell systems or the usual lengths of the contact mats.

manusa historia emisor receptor puertas automaticas catalogo antiguo empresa

Perhaps, on seeing these images today, they might seem obsolete or old-fashioned. Automatic doors form a part of our lives and most people generally understand how they work, either when approached or by remote control. However, when our company started out these products were a real revolution. A revolution that makes us proud of our history and that has enabled us to remain at the forefront of the sector.

Automatic doors in banks

Given their nature, banks must have security measures in place to avoid robberies. They are gradually eliminating manual doors to replace them with automatic entrances. In some cases, users often have to press a bell and wait for an employee to open the door to let them in.

In other banks or financial institutions, this option is automated. Normally, the person enters the building and presses a button. The door behind them is automatically locked before another one in front of them opens.

Banks have automatic doors for security purposes, but also for the convenience of employees and customers. Automated accesses is now commonplace in most sectors of society, as well as in banking. For example, a standard sliding door or revolving doors are often seen at entrances for a more flowing circulation of people.

The door to the ATM

Some banks are also open 24 hours a day because they have an ATM inside. As we all know, users can enter and the door automatically locks so that they can withdraw or send money without worrying about being robbed. This automatic system provides greater security for customers in comparison with those using the ATM located outdoors on the front wall of the bank.

In addition to this, all bank doors must have safety measures in place for fires, explosives or other tragic or emergency situations.

Manusa, a leading company in the creation, design and development of all kinds of intelligent accesses, offers ideal automatic doors for use in banks. The materials used in their production comply with strict quality controls to guarantee their perfect working order.

Furthermore, with its own offices in countries such as China, Spain, Brazil, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates, and present in over 80 countries, the products can be installed in any bank in the world.

How do automatic doors work in the case of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)?

Transport is a fundamental piece in the infrastructure of any large city. Everyday, millions of people commute to work or enjoy leisure time using urban transport.

Whether by metro, train or bus, users travel by these means so they can leave their car at home or because of the traffic restrictions applied in many city centres.

Automatic doors can be found in all modes of public transport. The user or driver can open or close the doors by simply pressing a button.

Although plenty of cities are yet to incorporate this system, there are several places that have installed automatic door control and management for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. It is a system for BRT stations that simultaneously opens and closes the doors in both the bay and bus in an automatic, coordinated and safe manner.

Characteristics of the BRT system

One of the most notable characteristics of these systems is that they are fully integrated in the bus station’s architecture. They are designed for intensive use and can be adapted to any infrastructure. They are easy to install and low maintenance.

What is more, BRT door systems can incorporate the control of other elements in the station such as ticket gates, lighting and air conditioning in both summer and winter. The system is available in different configurations, including automatic mode, manual control by the bus driver or centralised management from a single control point. In addition to the above, it can identify different types of vehicle and open the doors in the corresponding bay.

In some countries the system has also been installed in underground stations and airports where passengers have to get a bus or train between terminals.

Which are the best high speed doors?

Although most people only think about sliding models when we discuss automatic doors, there is also a very popular product used in, among others, the industrial sector. Of course we are talking about rapid roll-up doors.

Besides industrial warehouses, this type of access if often seen in hospitals, logistical centres and shopping centres.

In most cases the doors feature characteristics such as an adjustable waiting time, a fireproof and self-extinguishing canvas, an optional viewing panel, a range of fabric colours and safety photocells.

Their opening can be set to meet the customer’s needs. For example, they can be activated using a remote control, with an infrared sensor, a push button, a handle or a magnetic sensor.

Operation of automatic roll-up doors

There are various types but here we shall concentrate on three of the most popular models which provide excellent results for a wide range of users and buildings. They all have a similar mode of operation although their purpose may vary:

  • Vertical opening: This is a good option for accesses with a high circulation of people, machinery and vehicles, such as industrial buildings, warehouses or loading docks. It is worth highlighting that their reduced size and excellent air-tightness means they maintain temperature differences and can be used to compartmentalise industrial warehouses.
  • For cold and frozen storage: Roll-up doors are the perfect option for businesses that need to maintain areas cold for the storage of fresh or frozen products. The Frigocam cold chamber is designed to compartmentalise areas with ambient conditions of down to –30 °C.
  • Aluminium: Manusa designed this model to provide a high degree of air-tightness and support high pressures. The high-quality industrial doors ensure excellent reliability.

The material and drive unit used in this type of product are crucial, especially the ring gear and drive shaft. Furthermore, expert advice about rapid roll-up doors is essential during the purchasing process to guide customers to the best option for their business.

Who invented the automatic door?

Automatic doors are very often seen nowadays in many different places. Airports, residential areas, banks, hospitals, offices, industrial units or transport are just some of the places where you can go through a door without having to press a button.

Automatic doors are part of daily life for millions of people worldwide. But when did they first come about? Who invented the first automatic door? The answer is a mathematician.

You have to go back to the first century AD and to the region of Roman Egypt. It was here that the mathematician Heron of Alexandria invented the first known automatic door. The writers of the day said that he used heat from fire to pump water from one receptacle to several containers using pressure. Thanks to pulleys and ropes, these containers were able to open the doors to a temple.

This surprised many, and Heron of Alexandria soon applied his door opening technique to other places, such as the entrances to the city.

Despite being well ahead of his time, Heron of Alexandria was unable to set up his system in many more places. His contemporaries and subsequent generations believed that it was easier and more effective to open a door using human strength or pack animals.

It was dozens of centuries later, in 1931, when engineers Roby and Raymond designed the first model of a device that automatically activated the opening of a door. The invention was patented and installed in a restaurant in Connecticut, in the United States. It was welcomed by the waiters of the restaurant, as they could move around with their hands full of dishes and glasses without having to use them to open the door.

Years later, the first automatic sliding door was launched onto the market. A product that, in only a few years time, will have been around for 70 years.

The best industrial automatic doors on the market

Industry has represented a key part of any country’s economy over the last few centuries. Agriculture-based societies were replaced by industrial societies and thousands of people moved from the countryside to cities in search of a better life.

Nowadays, industrial terrain is well-defined in cities and towns. Dozens of industrial warehouses occupy large areas where different companies from diverse sectors carry out their activities with the aim of making a monthly profit.

Many of these warehouses have automatic doors, whether in the areas set aside for offices or in the buildings used as logistics warehouses. Which are the best industrial automatic doors on the market?

  • Rapid roll-up doors: These open vertically and are ideal for locations with an intense circulation of people and mobile equipment, for example in warehouses and loading docks. An excellent option for any company.
  • High-speed stacking doors: These are designed for intensive use in large external access points. They afford a good flow of goods and protect the interior of warehouses from adverse weather conditions.
  • Fire doors: We should mention that Manusa industrial doors can be combined with fire doors, designed to prevent the spread of fires.

In addition to these models, there are other industrial doors with optimal characteristics for any company that requires this type of door.

For example, we have sliding doors that can be used to compartmentalise the different areas of a company; access doors to the industrial complex; or ATEX rapid roll-up doors which can compartmentalise explosive atmospheres where inflammable gases, vapours or combustible powders are handled.

The price of industrial doors varies in function of their size and characteristics.
Manusa guarantees the best value for money on all our products. Not to mention our outstanding after-sales customer service with high levels of user satisfaction.

What to do if an automatic door doesn’t open?

Occasionally, after some time, doors no longer perform as well as they did when they were first installed.

When an automatic door does not open it could be due to different reasons: the drive unit may be suffering electrical or mechanical faults; there could be an error in the software activated by the motion sensor; or the door does not open and close smoothly or as well as expected.

What is more, in association with these problems, the doors’ operation may produce unwanted noises. For example, a high-pitched, squeaking sound. This could be because the mechanism is worn out and needs repairing by disassembling and reassembling the product or by installing a new part.

Another potential fault is when a door is jammed by an object obstructing the rails that guide the movement of the side leaves. This is something that should be checked on a daily basis, so it does not develop into an unresolvable problem over time.

Trouble-shooting. Automatic door does not open

But what should we do to resolve the problem of an automatic door that does not work properly and will not open?

This is when the technicians from the company who manufactured the door should be called into action. They are familiar with the product and will be experts in how to repair any damage to the automatic door.

In the case of a company, their own maintenance team should try to discover the cause of the problem before contacting Manusa’s customer support service. This means the appropriate channels will be followed to resolve the incident as soon as possible.

If, however, the door that will not open belongs to a private customer, for example in their home or garage, then the ideal course of action is to call the superintendent of the community of residents or apartment block or, in the case of an individual home, get in touch with the insurance company or directly contact our technical service.