For any industrial door system, moving parts equal inevitable wear and tear. In a high-traffic warehouse, factory, or logistics base, older doors are often the biggest culprits behind unexpected operational downtime. Constant use, the risk of forklift collisions, and the general friction of metal-on-metal mechanisms can create a never-ending repair backlog that drains both time and budget.
If you are constantly repairing or resetting conventional commercial shutters, it’s time to look at the mechanics of your doors. Upgrading to the Turbo Fold Speed Door offers an efficient and low-maintenance upgrade to older high speed industrial doors. Rather than relying on brute force to move a heavy curtain quickly, the Turbo Fold relies on smart mechanics, specifically its unique folding straps, inverter drive technology, and self-repairing track systems, to drastically extend its operational lifespan and cut down maintenance costs.
The Turbo Fold Speed Door vs. Rolling Shutters
Traditional fast-action rolling shutters operate by coiling the door curtain around a top barrel. While this is an effective system, it creates substantial friction as the material tightly wraps around itself. Over hundreds of cycles a day, this constant coiling stresses the curtain material, puts strain on the motor, and accelerates wear on the barrel assembly.
The Turbo Fold Speed Door uses an entirely different mechanical principle. Instead of rolling, the door operates via a highly efficient fold-up mechanism. Heavy-duty lifting straps are used to pull the horizontal sections of the curtain vertically, neatly folding the panels upon themselves as the door ascends.
This folding action effectively eliminates the high levels of friction associated with traditional roller shutter systems. Because the material isn’t being stretched and tightly compressed into a coil, the curtain experiences significantly less mechanical fatigue. For maintenance, this means far fewer call-outs to address torn materials, snapped tension springs, or worn-out barrel components.
The Inverter Drive: Engineering a “Soft” Operation
Speed is essential in any industrial setting. Operating at 1 metre per second, Turbo Fold Doors dramatically improve traffic flow and reduce environmental heat loss. However, high speeds often come at a cost to the motor. Standard direct-drive motors apply immediate, full torque to pull the door open and slam it shut, sending violent shock waves through the door’s entire structure, which is very destructive over time.
To counter this, the Turbo Fold Door features an advanced inverter drive system. This technology regulates the electrical frequency supplied to the motor, allowing the door to achieve a ‘soft’ start and a ‘soft’ finish.
Instead of violently jerking the door upwards, the motor smoothly accelerates to peak speed, then smoothly decelerates just before reaching the top or bottom limits. This calculated ramp-up and ramp-down completely eliminates the mechanical shock loads that typically destroy gearboxes, sheer pins, and lifting straps, ensuring the door runs smoothly for years.
The Quick-Set Repair System: Eliminating Collision Downtime
No matter how bright the warning lights or how wide the vision panels are, accidental impacts happen. In a busy industrial environment, a forklift clipping a door track is a possibility. With traditional high speed industrial doors, a track knock-out requires shutting down the bay, securing the area, and calling out an engineer to manually re-feed the curtain and reset the limits.
Turbo Fold Doors are built with the reality of industrial environments in mind. If the curtain is struck by a vehicle and knocked out of its guides, you don’t need to block off the bay or wait hours for a maintenance engineer. The door features an innovative quick-set repair system. Once the door is knocked out of place, you simply initiate a standard operational cycle. The guides are designed to automatically catch and realign the curtain within a single open-and-close cycle.
A Low-Maintenance Upgrade Built to Last
By replacing friction-heavy rolling mechanisms with an efficient fold-up system, eliminating motor shock with an inverter drive, and integrating self-repairing guide technology, MDS has engineered a solution that actively fights mechanical degradation.
If your facility is struggling with high-maintenance doors, making the switch to high speed industrial doors isn’t just about faster operating speeds – it’s about reclaiming your maintenance budget and keeping your operations moving without interruption. Talk to our team today to discuss the ideal door solution for your needs.