Textile Corridor Doors: Opening Design and Site Coordination
A 12-door corridor project began with a proposed 10-metre opening. SEPPES reviewed the passage conditions, helped adopt a 5.5-metre-wide configuration and coordinated repeated surveys, manufacture and installation around the building programme.
- Door package
- 12 high-speed doors
- Adopted door size
- 5,500 × 4,000 mm
- Site reviews
- 3 survey visits
- Project handover
- March 2026
The passage had to work with both the building and the traffic.
The engineering decision was made before the doors were produced: review how much opening the route required, then coordinate the door construction with the corridor exposure and supporting surfaces.
The Site Challenge
The steel-framed corridor connected production buildings at a textile factory in China. It carried a frequent material-transfer route and was exposed to through-drafts.
- The original concept included a 10-metre-wide opening.
- Concrete surfaces and steelwork were still progressing.
- The factory planned a later AGV transport system.
The SEPPES Response
The team reviewed the opening proposal before manufacture, adopted 5,500 × 4,000 mm door dimensions and coordinated a 12-door package.
- Three visits to review the openings and installation conditions.
- White PVC curtains, viewing bands and guide seals.
- Servo controls with terminals reserved for future AGV connections.
Review the opening width before fixing the door specification.
SEPPES considered the corridor conditions and recommended the narrower configuration. The accepted design then became the basis for the surveys, production dimensions and installation work.
| Review point | Project decision | What to check at your site |
|---|---|---|
| Required passage width | The initial 10 m proposal was revised to 5.5 m. | Largest loaded vehicle or trolley, turning path, traffic direction and the clearances required by the facility. |
| Corridor exposure | Opening size and door arrangement were reviewed together. | Whether the route is sheltered, externally exposed or subject to drafts while nearby openings remain unfinished. |
| Fixing and floor conditions | The 12 openings were checked through three site visits. | Guide-fixing verticality, mounting faces, overhead obstructions and floor level across each opening. |
| Final door selection | The accepted package used 5,500 × 4,000 mm high-speed doors. | The offered door’s installation drawing and performance information at the proposed size. |
The revised width was a decision for this corridor, not a universal limit for high-speed doors. Where the required opening must remain large or the exposure is more demanding, review a different door construction rather than reducing the traffic clearance without a layout check.
For the site survey and opening review, use the custom installation and retrofit guide.
Specify visibility, sealing and controls as part of the same opening.
The project combined a consistent appearance across the corridor with the practical details needed for material movement. Product selection went beyond choosing a curtain colour or opening speed.
| Component or feature | Installed project configuration | Buyer consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Curtain and viewing band | White PVC curtains with a continuous transparent band. | Agree the visibility needed for the approach and typical load. A viewing section supports sight lines but does not replace traffic controls. |
| Guides and seals | Double-row brush sealing at the guide areas. | Review mounting alignment, floor conditions and the required separation between zones. |
| Drive and controls | Servo-drive control with soft starting and stopping. | Compare the complete drive and control scope, including the stated duty and electrical supply. |
| Protective devices | Photoelectric protection included in the control configuration. | Agree detection coverage and operating checks with the installer for the actual route. |
| Future integration | Dry-contact terminals reserved for later AGV connection. | Identify the vehicle supplier, signal definitions and commissioning responsibilities before integration. |
Reserved terminals are the starting point for an integration brief.
An interface provision is useful when the factory is developing automation in stages. The next step is a complete operating agreement between the door, vehicle and facility teams.
Agree the Door-to-Vehicle Signals
For a future AGV route, ask the vehicle integrator and door-control team to define the opening request, door-open confirmation, travel permission and fault or unavailable indication. Confirm the signal type and who supplies each connection.
Agree the Route and Test Conditions
Review the vehicle’s loaded envelope, approach speed, stopping point and queue position. Include shared pedestrian use, a failed opening request and the agreed response to a lost signal in the integration review.
This project included connection provisions for a later AGV system. Completing the vehicle-to-door sequence would require its own interface agreement and commissioning.
Define the next integration stage with the AGV and door-control interface planning guide.
Three surveys helped align manufacture with the site programme.
The site programme influenced when the doors could be installed, not just when they could leave the factory. Early confirmation of the mounting surfaces reduced uncertainty at the installation stage.
Review and Agree the Opening
The proposed corridor width was reviewed and the 5,500 × 4,000 mm configuration accepted before manufacture.
Recheck the 12 Openings
Three site visits covered opening heights, guide-fixing surfaces and floor levels so the door package could be coordinated with the actual construction.
Schedule around Site Readiness
Production and installation planning were coordinated with concrete work, opening-edge preparation and steelwork readiness.
Install and Commission the Package
The 12 doors were installed and checked for handover in March 2026. Installation coordination included the door assemblies, control equipment and intended corridor use.
A later strong-draft event, while corridor glazing remained unfinished, displaced and damaged one curtain. SEPPES provided service support to restore the door. Temporary enclosure conditions therefore remain an important planning point even after door installation.
Keep the required traffic space; compare door constructions around it.
A corridor brief should explain why the opening exists and what must pass through it. Use that requirement to compare suitable door families, then check installation space and declared performance.
| Your main condition | Selection direction to review | Information that changes the decision |
|---|---|---|
| A busy, sheltered production passage | Review flexible PVC roll-up configurations. | Traffic frequency, opening size, guide arrangement, activation and the separation required between zones. |
| A large or exposed opening | Review reinforced or stacking-door configurations with the supplier. | Required clear width, exposure, supporting structure and declared performance for the offered dimensions. |
| A rigid-panel door is required | Review spiral-door configurations. | Headroom, complete mounting envelope, panel construction and the facility’s operating requirements. |
| Building enclosure is incomplete | Agree temporary operating conditions before use. | Which glazing or cladding remains open, the site programme and responsibility for authorising operation. |
Explore the stacking-door range or spiral-door range when the opening brief points to a different structure. The final choice should follow the site review, rather than copying the dimensions of this project.
Send an opening schedule that the building and door teams can share.
This checklist is for planning a new project. It is especially useful when several openings are being supplied together or the building programme is still moving.
| Information to send | Useful detail | How it helps the review |
|---|---|---|
| Opening schedule | Label each location and provide clear width, height and quantity. | Prevents similar-looking corridor openings from being treated as identical when their fixing or clearance conditions differ. |
| Traffic and loads | Largest loaded dimensions, travel direction and any shared pedestrian route. | Connects door selection to the required usable passage. |
| Structure and enclosure | Photos of fixing faces, steelwork, floor and unfinished glazing or cladding. | Makes both permanent and temporary exposure conditions visible before manufacture. |
| Controls and automation | Activation method, planned AGV supplier and expected project stage. | Separates the current door package from later integration work. |
| Programme and handover | Site-ready date, access constraints and required operating documents. | Clarifies when installation can start and what the facility needs at completion. |
Make ongoing support part of the corridor-door brief.
The door package will operate inside a changing factory environment. Keeping its installation and control information together makes later changes easier to review.
At Commissioning
Agree checks for travel, limits, the selected activation and protective devices. Confirm that control boxes and service points remain accessible after surrounding work is complete, and that the agreed building condition is in place.
For the Facility Team
Keep a labelled door schedule, operating instructions, component identification and a service contact. Agree inspection arrangements for the operating duty and exposure. Review any later change to the enclosure or AGV route with the responsible teams.
Resolve the opening requirements before ordering.
Is 5.5 metres the maximum width for a high-speed door?
No. It was the width accepted for this corridor after review. Other opening sizes may require different door constructions, support details and performance checks. Start with the required traffic space and ask for a configuration review.
Should the opening be reduced to match a preferred door?
Confirm the vehicle and load envelope first. A size change needs agreement with the facility and building teams so the route keeps the clearances and access it requires.
Was an AGV system commissioned as part of this project?
The door package included terminals reserved for later AGV connection. A completed vehicle-to-door integration was not part of the scope described here.
Why are repeat measurements useful on a new building?
Concrete, steelwork, floor levels and nearby services can change as construction proceeds. Rechecking the relevant dimensions before manufacture or installation helps the teams work from the same site condition.
Can the doors enter service before glazing is complete?
Ask the responsible project teams to review the temporary exposure and operating conditions first. This project’s follow-up experience shows why the unfinished enclosure should be part of that review.
Planning doors for a connecting factory corridor?
Send an opening schedule, corridor photographs, vehicle or load dimensions and the building programme. SEPPES can help review the door size, site conditions and control interfaces before the package is finalised.
