Soft Closing in Sliding Door System

Nowadays, sliding door system is wildly used in different spaces. Soft closer, as an important part of the sliding door system, cannot be ignored. It is a brilliant invention that greatly enhances the experience and safety of the sliding door system.

What is a Soft Close Set?

A soft close-set is an additional mechanism that gently assists your door into its final position, which reduces the physical impact and possible damage of slamming doors, as well as reducing noise.

The soft closer, as an essential part of the soft closing set, let’s get a close-up look at it.

Following are pictures of a soft closer in the sliding door system.

Overall Picture                                                                                                            Exploded Picture

There are two main types of soft closer in sliding door systems ——Hydraulic and Pneumatic.

Whether it is a hydraulic or a pneumatic soft closer, the damper is indispensable. It is a core part of the soft-close system. The following are two types of dampers.

Hydraulic Damper                                                                                             Pneumatic Damper

Actually, the working principles of these two types are similar, the damper makes a reaction to release driving force and then slows down the speed while closing doors. The major difference is the two different mediums in the dampers. The medium of the hydraulic damper is silicone oil, and the pneumatic damper is air/nitrogen.

Comparison between the two dampers(Advantages & Disadvantages)

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

We usually choose a hydraulic damper in our soft close system for its high driving force and stability, of course, the pneumatic damper is available for your preference.

Why use a soft closer (Advantages of soft closer in sliding door system)

1. Less noise

Sliding doors with a soft closing system should be installed on furniture and interior rooms where considerable concentration and quiet are required.
The application can be very extensive, for example, bedrooms, hotel, and patient rooms, conference and meeting rooms, offices and nursing facilities, care and treatment centers, etc.

2. Avoid accidents

Some people like small children, and old people who can’t react quickly to sudden heavy closing of sliding doors, need more safeguard measures to avoid potential risks. The sliding door with a soft closer can effectively prevent fingers from being trapped indoors. The automatic gentle braking and closing of the door panels prevents hard collisions and therefore contributes to preventing accidents.

3. Higher convenience

Soft closing systems provide additional operating convenience on any sliding door: This means that less force is required to close the doors, and the doors automatically glide gently into the end position. Conveniently and safely in any situation.

4. Increasing the longevity

Violent collisions between sliding doors and the frames together with end profiles cause additional wear to hardware accessories (like running gears, stoppers, and tracks), door leaves, and door profiles. The soft closing system ensures that the sliding doors are protected and can be used for a longer lifespan.

How to choose a suitable soft closer for your sliding door?

Most suppliers offer a single-grade soft closer whose weight load ranges from 20kg-90kg, it’s simple and rough. The ideal approach is to make diverse grades for different doors, for instance, a standard soft closer that is applied on a door weight of 20kg must act differently if applied on a 90kg door. The effect of a soft closer is related a lot to the weight of a door, which means we have to match a door with the most suitable soft closer to maximizing the effect. We usually divide the weight load of soft closer into three grades—-1. 20kg-60kg. 2.60kg-100kg. 3. over 100kg

Our engineers will adjust the tensity and flow velocity of silicone oil to change the resistance of the damper in order to match the weight of the door.

What is the position to fix the soft closer onto the sliding door system?

As we know, sliding door hardware is different with different track types(stainless steel pipes, aluminum profiles, steel bars, etc.), and it works with different door panels(wood, glass, metal-frame), and the position of soft closer will be various accordingly.

Here is a brief introduction to typical positions of soft closer in the case of the Tengyu sliding door system.

1. Soft closer of flat track barn door hardware. (Model No: YMXT-BG01)

On the barn door hardware, the soft closer is attached to the back of the flat track.

The mechanism is easy, a soft closer can catch the actuator that is fixed on the door during the process when closing the door, and with this mechanism, the door will close more softly and steadily in its final position.

2. Soft closer of stainless steel hardware. (Model No: YMXT-YG14)

On stainless steel sliding hardware, the position of the soft closer is a little different. It is fixed in the stainless steel tube.

But the mechanism is the same, the interaction between a soft closer with an actuator.

3. Soft closer of aluminum sliding hardware. (Model No: YMXT-XC31)

When it comes to aluminum sliding hardware, the position of soft closer is different from the former two types.

For the aluminum track sliding system, the soft closer here is assembled with a hanging wheel, and the actuator is screwed on the top of the track. The whole soft closing system is concealed in the track, which is contrary to the former two types.

But the mechanism is still the same. In this system, it is the moving soft closer to meet the fixed actuator.

From the instances above, we can find that even though the position of the soft closer can be diverse in different sliding door systems, the mechanism is totally the same(the interaction between the soft closer and the actuator).

All in all, a soft closer is absolutely essential for high-quality sliding door hardware. Although it is an optional item for a sliding door system, it is still highly recommended and everyone should take the soft closer into consideration when purchasing a sliding door, as it can not only enhance the safety and durability of the whole sliding door system effectively, and you can also definitely experience the convenience it brings to you in practical use.