Compatibility with Hardware and Profile

A good profile system with poor hardware results in poor window.  Poor profile with high class hardware doesn’t result in good window. During the last few years with entry of many system companies in India, people have understood the use of good quality hardware and good profile design but where people fail is the compatibility with the two. For a layman it is probably difficult to understand what I am trying to say. Look at your window / door in your home or office, is the hardware fitted properly or there is an additional patch or piece to support the hinge, rollers on sliding windows rubbing the frame leading to paint peeling off the track, shutters not opening properly as the hinges are stuck, and shutters sagging due to excessive weight. The problem is not the profile or the hardware. It’s the relation between them. I guess it’s our jugaad nature which makes us put things together and make it work. When I was in college, Suzuki Shaolin and Yamaha Rx100 were a rage! The first modification guys tried out back then was changing the rear tyre to the one from Yezdi! I am sure you guys too have done this kind of stuff. Cars with extra large radial tyres, sound system sticking out of the dashboard, chrome plating the bike silencer and engine and what not. Maybe we extend the same to our windows. We like a hardware, we put it on the window.
There are some dimensions which need to be considered while designing casement windows – the groove dimensions for fixing of the hinge like shown in Figure 1. The groove type as shown in Figure 1 is 20/15 for frame and 18/14 for shutter. Hinge manufacturers have identified 10 groove types and produce hinges accordingly. With these groove combinations you can have your own unique profile design and yet source compatible hardware.
While designing sliding shutters / track, one needs to consider the dimensions of rollers / pulleys / trolleys produced by different producers. Many of the producers can have wheels of same load carrying capacity but different dimension.
 You can get 25 different roller types and different radius depending on the profile geometry to choose.
It’s a chicken and egg situation. To design the profile first or to select the hardware? It is important to work on the exterior shell or outer design to suit the aesthetics or specification but the internal skeleton should be designed to mate with the hardware. Dimensions where hardware such as hinges, rollers and handles fit need to be designed to match the hardware. It is possible to get the design ratified with the hardware company. Giesse, a world leader in aluminium hardware offers this service free of charge. You can contact at sayed.anwar@giessegroup.com for more information.
Couple of extruders have started offering new range Euro groove profiles so that you could choose any European hardware to make the window. I know one company designed their entire profile system without taking any of the hardware companies into confidence. They ended up designing and making their own rollers as they couldn’t source the rollers from either Europe or China.
There are many more things to consider but I don’t think I can cover it in one article. So keep reading!      

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