Rolling shutter doors can be seen everywhere. Common places include shopping centres, factories, retail shops and government buildings.
Have you ever wondered… How are roller shutters made? Or… How secure are roller shutters?
In this blog we thought we would put a step-by-step basic guide on how roller shutters are made to help you understand the build process and the components that make up a high security steel roller shutter.
A roller shutter has a few major components:
- Door Curtain – Made from strips of steel called “Lath”
- A Barrel – A tube of steel that the curtain is wound around as it rises and falls.
- A Motor – There are 100’s of different roller shutter motors to choose from. The good news is we specific this upon manufacturing based on such factors as weight, curtain type, usage, fireproofing, controls, and environment.
- Angle Fixings – These hold the shutter in place when they are secured to your building substrate.
- Safety Brake – All modern shutters have a safety brake to act as a safety feature to prevent the door failing down in an accident.
- Endplates – Allow the secure fitting of barrel/motor, safety brake.
- Channel Guides – These “U” channels guide the roller shutter door curtain up/down as the motor rotates.
- Canopy and Facia – Act as both an aesthetic cover and a safety guard around the moving components of the door system.
- Bottom Rail – Creates a finished curtain, floor weather seal and overall bottom to the steel roller shutter door.
How are roller shutters made:
The Roller Shutter Manufacturing Process (Steps 1–8)
Now that you understand the key components, here’s a high-level view of how the full process works from start to finish.
How are roller shutters made:
Process of Manufacture
- STEP 1: Our flat galvanised steel is rolled into coils at the steel mill. We insert the coil into our lath rolling machine which then shapes, forms, and cuts the lath that eventually makes our roller shutter doors.
- STEP 2: Now the lath has been formed, our fabricators then interlock the lath together. Next they end lock the curtain together, this gives the curtain stability.
- End locks come in many different options, these are based on the location of the shutter and how they are to be manufactured. Most commonly seen roller shutter end locks include; plastic end locks, wind locks, pressed steel and cast end locks.
- STEP 3: Our fabrication team then make a bottom rail that has penetrative cutbacks, to ensure that the curtain is secure in the guides once it is installed on site.
- STEP 4: A roller is then manufactured by cutting the required tube to the required length, followed by welding the lath fixings for the top of the curtain onto the roller. We then add a motor and a safety brake. The reason for this is, from a safety point of view a brake is required to comply with Health and Safety Regulations. Every shutter that anyone can walk under must have a breaking device just in case the motor were to fail.
- STEP 5: fabrication of the guides. These can be made in a wide variety of sizes, most commonly 50 x 50mm angle. These are cut to a desired length, then welded or fixed to a channel.
- STEP 6: To go with the guides, we manufacture the channels. The channel provides a guide for the shutter curtain to travel straight and gives it security by not allowing it to move elsewhere. The team then cut the channels to size and trim the tops back to steer the shutter down.
- STEP 7: The hood completes the manufacturing process. It provides safety and protection for the roller and motor, which is fitted at the head of the door. This creates a pleasing and smooth finish.
- STEP 8: Once the roller shutter is installed, the control is then the last part to be added. It is up to the customer how they would want to operate their shutter. For instance, we have a range of control options from a traditional key switch to remote control fobs.
Interested in seeing more? Check out our Facebook video showing how our lath is formed from steel strip to finished product.
For more information, view our roller shutters page.
At J Manny we supply, install, service, and maintain roller shutters, high speed doors, industrial sectional doors and fire shutters.
Additionally, we also specialise in automatic doors, physical security solutions, shopfronts and manual doors and more. Head to our Services menu tab to explore our entire offering.
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