These doors are manufactured by global mine door solutions specialist, USA-based American Mine Door, and are available locally from Maxiflex. Thanks to their unique design, the door wings open in opposite directions, enhancing safety, efficiency and productivity.
In addition to giving the mine doors the ability to endure water gauge pressure, the patented ‘opposing wing’ design cancels out the effects of static pressure. Moreover, this key differentiating feature enables the mine to reverse air current without accumulating the costs of disassembling and reassembling doors in opposite directions. As the same air assists the doors to open and close, the air pressure is equalised, reducing potential stored energy concerns.
The risk of ramp slope effects is eliminated as the door wing that operates downhill helps the other wing uphill. Owing to the equal force principal, these versatile mine doors can be installed in most slope applications.
The underground ventilation mine doors are available in three unique designs: low, medium and high-pressure in sizes ranging from 1.5m – 7m wide to 1.5m – 5m high. The doors are installed at a 12/6 pitch and the door wings both open at 63° versus 90°; which significantly reduces the open/close cycle resulting in improved productivity. Door speed is further increased by cushioned cylinders.
Safety awareness
All door functions are controlled by advanced automation control technology. The custom programmable logic control (PLC) package provides operators with greater control and increased productivity, while improving their safety awareness.
The PLC package helps to maintain airlock integrity by allowing only one door to open at a time while the other door is ‘locked out’. Traffic lights and audible alarms at each door signals door positions. The mine doors can also be opened and closed from above ground.
The PLC package can be utilised to count cycles and forecast when maintenance is needed. The units are available in electric, hydraulic, pneumatic and manual actuation systems as well as in single, two and three door configurations. In addition to standard logic packages, custom-programmed solutions assist operators to customise their doors to meet their individual operational needs.
Additional options including lighting systems and audible alarms, interlocking doors, thru-door safety scanners as well as motion trip sensors.
Safety of mineworkers
American Mine Door has incorporated its innovative ‘opposing swing door’ technology by also offering the option of separate personnel man doors, further improving the safety of mine workers. Concave and sliding door options complete the personnel man door range available from Maxiflex.
According to Maxiflex Managing Director, Bram Janssen, these underground ventilation mine doors are ideally suited to the Southern African market as they are well-designed with proven reliability and of, utmost importance, offer complete peace-of-mind with optimum safety for mineworkers.
“Additional benefits include hassle-free installation and maintenance as all components are supplied with drawings. These products are also reusable and can be easily moved from one location to another. Moreover, the doors are able to use stored energy enabling operation in the event of a power failure.
Full range
“This product extends our range of automated door solutions for above ground applications,” continues Bram. “We are the sole distributors of a range of vertical lifting fabric doors, better known as Mega doors, as well as high-performance rubber doors from global automated door specialist, Assa Abloy Entrance Systems.
“These doors serve a wide range of facilities typically found on mines such as wash bays, truck shops, loading docks, maintenance facilities, parking garages, transportation centres, distribution facilities, wastewater management and utilities.”
Maxiflex’s turnkey industrial entrance solutions meet a multitude of applications across diverse industries from automotive manufacturing and mining to food and beverage, refrigeration, hospitality and pharmaceutical. The product offering includes: a range of industrial sectional doors; vertical-lifting fabric doors for large openings and heavy-industry environments; loading dock equipment; protection screens and impact doors.
The company is also an industry leader in the manufacture and supply of PVC strip curtains. Maxiflex was recently awarded the sole distributor rights for the supply of Stackdoor, a pioneering security grille manufactured in The Netherlands.
Maxiflex Door Systems SA (Pty) Ltd
Tel: (011) 392-1709
Email: info@maxiflex.co.za
www.maxiflex.co.za