The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) updated a document for evaluating the performance and durability of rollers used in the operation of sliding doors and lift and slide doors.
AAMA 906-18, "Voluntary Specification for Sliding Door and Lift and Slide Roller Assemblies," was first released in 2005 and was last updated in 2015. "The 906 document was updated to reflect testing of large weight capacity rated sliding door rollers," said Jan Huml, chair of the AAMA 906 Lift and Slide Roller Assemblies Task Group.
“We changed the dwell cycle time because test labs were concerned about injuries during testing, with rollers being tested at weights up to 1,500 pounds per pair with fast dwell speeds,” Huml said. A panel weighing up to 1,500 pounds operates at slow operating speeds in the real world, which the new dwell time changes address, he added.
Representative samples of the door rollers are evaluated for performance at the weight rating specified by the roller manufacturer by cycling the rollers under load for 10,000 cycles. Clearance and operating force measurements are taken before and after the cycle test to ensure performance remains within specified tolerances.
Related Stories
| Jul 5, 2012
Roof membrane could have prevented roof parking deck collapse, specialist says
The collapse of a section of a roof parking deck at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake in Ontario, Canada could have been prevented if the structure had a membrane, according to a concrete expert and specialist in structure analysis at McMaster University.
| Jul 5, 2012
New Joplin, Mo. hospital being built to withstand tornado that destroyed predecessor
After the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado destroyed St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., architects and engineers analyzed how the nine-story structure reacted to the storm.
| Jul 5, 2012
Continued tax breaks necessary for widespread adoption of net zero buildings
Tax breaks passed by the U.S. government to encourage construction of green buildings are set to expire in 2012 and 2013.
| Jun 28, 2012
Six buildings now recognized under Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge (LBC), a green ratings system for design and construction that judges a building based on its actual performance, not just its projected performance at the design stage, has recognized six buildings to date.
| Jun 28, 2012
Label for building products will have ‘global warming number’
The director of the 2030 Challenge for Products says that the organization is aiming to place a label on building products that will list what’s in it, and how much embodied carbon each product represents.
| Jun 28, 2012
Top building material executive urges building resilience in sustainability standards
A meeting of 1,000 business executives at the recent Rio+20 environmental conference featured a passionate plea to include building resilience in efforts to boost sustainability.
| Jun 28, 2012
Following spate of skyscraper balcony glass panel breakages, Ontario adopts code change
Ontario's housing minister announced new building code rules to help prevent glass panels from breaking off high-rise balconies during hot weather.
| Jun 28, 2012
Factory worker deaths in Italy raise questions on building codes after earthquakes
Italian officials are questioning seismic building standards and inspection procedures in the aftermath of two damaging earthquakes.