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Sliding doors have been around for the longest time. A quick search on Google about the benefits of sliding doors, and you’re bombarded with tons of lists and articles (Check out our own article here!)
Sliding doors are great for saving space, practical dividers for offices, and is a safe option for kids and those who are physically challenged. There are tons of benefits when choosing sliding doors versus the usual swing door. So now that the advantage is settled, the question you ask next is, are all sliding doors made the same?
Of course you can check glass standards, stainless fittings, installation service and delivery and maybe even warranty and after-sales service. And in all things, you definitely get what you pay for. So what makes SDC different? Well, we can brag about our high quality standard glasses, our endless customization options, our high-tech locks and the flexibility of our designs, but let’s focus on our patented system. SDC is different because we made a difference, literally! Our founder Mr. Doron Polus, invented his own sliding door mechanism that applies to windows, glasses, mirrors, barn doors, pocket doors, you name it! Bogged by the usual pain points in the sliding door industry and with the straightforward and modest goal to make the best sliding door there is, the “Smart Track” mechanism was invented. Don’t take the word invented lightly! Mr. Doron actually invented this and had it patent registered! We definitely are different and no one has the same system that we have!
When you think sliding doors, what are the most common dilemmas that come into mind? First, is the quality of the material. Is it going to rust, how sturdy is the glass, are the fittings stainless? Second is the performance. Is it going to slide as smoothly as it did in the first day or is it going to get stuck every other day? Third would be safety. Since sliding doors are slabs of heavy glass anchored into tracks, it is imperative that these slabs on their tracks and not easily wobble and disengage. Lastly, you would want to consider flexibility in design and the overall aesthetic look of the door and whatever other practical and logistical considerations.
Now that we have that settled, let’s dig deeper into SDC’s magic!
SMOOTHEST SLIDING DOOR EVER
“There’s nothing like it in Manila”
We’ve all had that experience in where we are about to enter an establishment or maybe a room and we are faced with a sliding door, we take our position and we aim to flawlessly slide it but alas! It gets stuck and we get in a very unflattering situation where the slab either falls of or we have to exert too much effort to slide the door.
This will never happen to our mechanisms. Why? It’s not just some motherhood marketing “make you trust us” more spiel, it literally won’t because of the unique design that we employ in each of our mechanisms. They say the devil is in the details, and in our case, it definitely is.
The typical sliding door has an upper track and a lower track. Gravity dictates that majority of the door slab’s weight is carried by the lower track. In line with this, upper tracks are usually designed for the purpose of guiding the door slab so that it stays in line and in place. To effectively achieve this purpose, the upper track is usually looser, this usually creating undesirable screeches and noses caused by the friction between the upper parts of the door and the upper track.
The SDC difference lies in the upper roller and lower wheel assemblies that not only provide a smooth and quiet glide, but also a safety mechanism to ensure that the sliding door, window, mirror, etc. remains on its track.
Take a look at the photo below. Here you can see that the first shaft is disposed adjacent the front side A of the frame, and the second shaft is disposed adjacent the backside B of the frame. In this way, the periphery of the first roller extends beyond the plane of the frame’s (and the door’s) front side A, the and periphery of the second roller extends beyond the plane of the frame’s and door’s back side B.
This type of configuration is what allows our sliding doors to be stable and glide smoothly without any frictional contact between the upper track and the slab of the door. Specifically, the upper track defines at least one channel having first and second opposing side walls, as shown in the figure above, the first side wall extends downwards over, and parallel to, the back side B of the frame’s horizontal top portion, and the second side A of the frame’s horizontal top portion. As noted above, the combined span of the rollers extends beyond the width of the frame.
As such, in operation, the first roller rotates in frictional contact with an inner surface of the first side wall, and the second roller rotates in frictional contact with an inner surface of the second side wall, thereby eliminating any frictional contact between the frame and the side walls.
You can also see here how the combined span of the rollers is slightly larger than the horizontal distance between the respective inner surfaces of the side walls, and rollers are made of flexible rubber, so as to provide for a snug fit between the rollers and the side walls.
ALWAYS AND FOREVER ON TRACK
Aside from the assurance that SDC’s doors glide as effortlessly as possible, the ‘Smart Track’ technology also ensures that the tracks don’t wobble and fall off. It is important to ensure that sliding doors always remain in their tracks. Disengagement of a sliding door, may it be a window or a mirror, from its track is problematic for these main two reasons. First, the door, or portions of it, might fall and break. This will require costly repair and replacement. You want your sliding door investment to last as long as possible, of course! Second, and most importantly, a disengaged sliding door poses a significant health hazard not only to the person operating the door but also to anyone who may be in close proximity to the door. This is especially important when designing rooms for kids, the elderly or those who are physically challenged.
AESTHETICS AND PRACTICALITY
When designing spaces, architects, engineers and interior artists not only consider the aesthetics of elements but their functionality as well. The reverse is true. Alvar Alto, once said, “Beauty is the harmony of function and form”. This ideal is well true for SDC’s designs and configurations.
Typical sliding door configurations have very limited customizing options. If there are any options to do so, they come with a hefty price tag. This does not apply to the SDC’s designs. Our configuration allows for multitudes of customizing options without the worry of going over your budget. Want a panel with some horizontal slices, 2, 3, 4? No need to manufacture separate slabs. Our convenient movable straps can easily be configured to the design that you wish.
Now let’s imagine your usual sliding door mechanism. There’s that bulkiness at the bottom right? The one where you always hit your foot, or that weird looking slab that just kind of looks wrong. Well, the SDC created a design that put this problem to its grave.
This invented design relates generally to sliding door systems and more particularly to a modular type of sliding door system that includes modular lower tracks that may be equipped with ramps on either side so as to allow the tracks to lie on top of a floor or other surface or may be recessed into the flooring. This modular design allows one to easily add, relocate and uninstall the sliding doors. How convenient is that! Further, with respect to lower tracks that lie on top of the top floor, the ramps on either side of the lower tracks prevent one from tripping on the tracks as wells as add stability to the sliding door.
- FLEXIBILITY
- AESTHETICS
- EXTRA STABILITY
Furthermore, in existing sliding door systems, each set of lower tracks has slots for two sliding doors. These lower tracks allow two doors to slide in parallel alongside each other. If a user of a sliding door system wishes to place more than two sliding doors in parallel, however, the user must generally install multiple sets of lower tracks in parallel, with each set accommodating only two sliding doors. Such an installation is inconvenient and gives the sliding doors an aesthetically unpleasant and inconsistent look. Also, such an installation often results in a gap between the sets of lower tracks to accommodate for the width of the additional sliding doors. The resulting gap is not only unaesthetic, it can pose a hazard to people walking over the lower tracks. Multiple lower tracks installed in this manner would not meet the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for safety. Further existing sliding door systems require the installation of the lower tracks into the flooring. Such installation prevents easy relocation, removal and addition of installed sliding doors.
So to wrap it up, here are the things that make SDC’s configurations different
- Smoothest Glide Ever – technology that reduces friction between tracks and doors
- Tracks in place forever – Smart Track technology assures that the doors remain on track forever
- Invisible Tracks – Tracks can be recessed to flooring in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing, safer for people with disabilities and also adds extra stability to the door.
- Additional Panels Optional – You don’t need to be limited to only two panels, if your design requires multiples, the SDC’s mechanism allows your design dreams to come to life.
