We offer sliding door cabins among our products.
Sliding doors, while more complex than hinged doors, offer the undeniable advantage of cabin access even in confined spaces.
There are essentially three different technical solutions. The first, called linear, moves on straight tracks, allowing the door to remain outside the cabin’s side frame. The second, called pocket, represents an evolution of the first and features a curved movement. This solution allows the door to retract into the cabin’s side frame once closed. The final solution is the swing-and-slide door, which, however, finds application in fields other than ours.
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Linear sliding door
The linear sliding door is essentially installed on two commercial tracks, one at the bottom and one at the top. It’s a simple solution with a simple movement. The only unique feature is the use of a specific lock, as the closing movement is completely different from that of a swing door. Finally, special gaskets with a high lip are used to ensure a hermetic seal.
We created the first cabins with sliding doors back in 1985 for combine harvester cabs.
Sliding door with curved movement
A sliding door with a retractable door uses three tracks. Typically, the two main tracks are installed at the bottom because they also support the weight of the entire door. The third track, which only serves to align the door, is located at the top of the cabin.
We use a guide system developed in-house that can adapt to both the door dimensions and the required travel. Unfortunately, there are no commercial ready-to-use kits suitable for driver’s cabins.
Using industrial linear guides poses several space and curvature constraints that are difficult to adapt to the specific application. The same situation applies if you were to consider guides designed and sourced from the furniture industry.
Our solution, although customized, is very similar to the sliding doors found on refrigerated trucks or common commercial vans. Essentially, compared to these common solutions, the position of the tracks is different, as the central one is moved to the bottom, parallel to the lower one.
Swing and slide door
The sliding door family also includes the swing-and-slide solution, widely used in commercial vehicles such as buses and trains, as well as cable cars. This solution is not suitable for driver’s cabs because the mechanism requires pneumatic or electric drive to ensure a tight seal. Therefore, this solution has a higher economic impact than expected in our target market.
Swing-and-slide doors are operated by arms that act as pantographs. A tight seal is not ensured by a simple lock with a strike plate, but by the electric or pneumatic motor that continuously pushes against the door frame. In theory, a manual swing-and-slide door should use at least two locks along the perimeter of the frame, positioned opposite each other. Actual effectiveness is limited by the ability to apply sufficient force during the closing phase to engage both locks simultaneously, as well as the bulk of the arms when the door is closed.
Agrital
We have been manufacturing driver’s cabs since 1972. Initially, our range included only those for agricultural tractors. Today, we offer a wide selection of models, primarily for specialty industrial vehicles and earthmoving equipment. For example, we manufacture cabs for excavators, cranes, lawnmowers, electric vehicles, and street sweepers. Finally, to complete our range, we produce sheet metal engine hoods and oil and diesel tanks for installation on these same vehicles.
