Patio Door Glass Surround System
Situation
One of the leading manufacturers of designer windows and doors had problems with its current patio door assembly. They presented an interesting manufacturing challenge for Formtech to investigate.
Challenge
The customer’s current assembly system required the insulated glass to be first inserted into the trim. Then the remaining door panel was built around this unit, resulting in several issues:
- Glass units were broken, resulting in cost and safety issues
- Any further processing resulted in a high number of rejects.
- A flush surround system was desired for aesthetics. This required a new type of surround material that would neither expand nor contract as much as plastic, and would have a higher heat distortion temperature.
Solution
Formtech’s team pioneered a complete engineered solution:
- Formtech was in the early stages of testing a new composite extrusion material. This material was used to develop a two-piece trim system, which provided stable characteristics not found in traditional materials.
- Multiple material extrusions (with up to four separate materials) and the process required to use this compound were developed.
- By engineering a trim system that allowed the glass insertion as the final step in assembly, the breakage issue was resolved.
Results
Formtech’s ingenuity provided the perfect blended solution:
- A complete line of products featuring plastic embossing were developed. In addition, parts were capped with a a weather resistant outer surface that utilized plastic color matching processes.
- The composite extrusion material was both stainable and paintable in its native state, enabling a perfect color match.
- The plastic embossing provided a consistent match to natural wood grain.
- The physical properties proved to be perfect for other extrusions required for this door system.