Dado Door has provided Armored Door Automation (Motorized Track Systems) to door manufacturers and projects requiring specific locking requirements. Some use mag locks and others use latching systems that secure the edge of the door to the strike side jamb.
If you are looking for a complete armed door, safe room door, bulletproof door solution, we can assist you with track and automation hardware including a bullet resistant panel that you can use as a center core and clad your own finish onto. At this time Dado Door does not provide millwork finish doors. The client would need to clad a material(ie MDF) onto each side of a bullet resistant center core(ie steel core or fiber core) that would be finished in the clients choice of laminating material(ie veneer).
Dado Door has provided automation systems for safe-room doors that include several methods to lock the door when closed, the methods are sometimes requested by the client. These methods can include mag-locks, electronic-deadbolts, manual pins you can push in by hand (in case there is some power failure or other system problem) and you want to move the door manually and secure it quickly by hand.
In some cases a prefab steel pocket jamb may be required to assist with forced entry protection, so that the door can enter into a niche/receiver on the strike side jamb several inches and not be easily pried out with a tool when closed. A steel tubing frame can also be clad with a bulletproof steel material like 1/4″ AR400 steel to make the entire jamb around the door more bullet resistant.
Get in touch to discuss your needs.
There are various methods to automatically lock a motorized armored door. Some clients request Mag Locks. There are different methods to incorporate a Mag Lock into the system. One trade-off is aesthetics vs functionality.
Some door manufacturers put an electromagnetic module above the door in the header and track assembly, and a steel plate (armature plate) is mounted to the top of the door by some brackets. When the door slides under the electromagnetic module and stops, the software in the Master Controller Module turns ON the Mag Lock and pulls the steel plate mounted to the door “in” to make contact with the magnetic section. Often this pulling “in” can create a noise. Likewise the release of the steel plate can make a noise.
Some projects use an electromagnetic or motorized latching pin that secures the door by some method.
In any case whether electromagnetic OR latching scheme, there is a decision to be made whether the system is to operate as Fail Safe or Fail Secure. In Fail safe mode, if everything shuts down(fails) as in a power outage, the door is allowed to let the user slide the door by hand. Fail Secure means that if the system fails or power goes out, the door is held in a secure state. In such a case, the customer would need to consider what options there are for egress if the door cannot be opened by hand.
In some cases the customer requires an electronic deadbolt or motorized latch. These devices can be triggered from the Dado Door Master Controller. This control of any locking method is done in “SYNC” by the controller such that when the door needs to OPEN, first the software must tell the Lock to release. When the door moves to fully closed position, the software must tell the Lock to engage.
There are methods to add a battery backup so that in a power outage the system continues to run. The consideration would be how long the backup can run base on its Amp Hour rating and the Door Controller and Locking power draw. Mag Locks can draw a lot of power so this must be planned for.