Commercial Cantilever Gates: What Your Business Needs to Know

When managing a commercial property, access control is more than just keeping unauthorised individuals out. It’s about managing the flow of both vehicles and pedestrians and ensuring that everyone remains safe and unhindered. Cantilever gates are now found at most UK industrial estates and commercial distribution centres, and while order gates may seem simple and straight forward, understanding what makes them special involves more than just a quick glance at the brochure.

A cantilever gate works by being supported from one side only. Unlike traditional sliding gates that run along a ground track, these gates hang from a supporting frame and glide across the opening without touching the ground at all. These gates offer great functionality and easily address your needs in high volume vehicle traffic areas.

There is enough to be said about the simplicity of the engineering behind the gate design. The gate panel is designed to extend beyond the boundaries of the support frame which means that this panel freely extends and moves across the opening. This design means there are no wheels that will grind down to the track and no tracks that will grind down to the ground. There are also no obstacles or obstructions to vehicles that will cross the design intended openings.

Why Clearing and Clean Ground Level Is Important  

Imagine a distribution center that has several HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) and other types of commercial vehicle) passes every day. They usually have a pull type gate to open and close to let trucks enter and exit as they can’t afford gates that accumulate debris in floor tracks. Weather is another factor – and in the UK, we get plenty of it. Snow, ice, leaves, and general muck all conspire to jam up traditional tracking systems. Cantilever gates simply don’t have this vulnerability.

Decidedly these closures can be operated much more quickly. When there is no mechanical resistance, and no friction of the tracks, these closures can open and close much more quickly than ground gates. When you have more than 20-30 vehicle movements in one day, those tiny time savings really do add up. Your staff won’t have to stand idle waiting for deliveries and the flow of operations is improved.

Security is enhanced by the design itself. There’s no easy way to lift a cantilever gate off its track because there isn’t a track to lift it from. The suspension system and supporting framework create a more robust barrier than many alternatives. That said, security is only as good as the installation and the automation system controlling it.

What Things To Consider

First off, with every gate, there is a weight capacity that has to be taken into account. Depending on where your gate is, be it a windy area, you may need to change specs to adapt to those environmental needs, instead of matching it to just your gap.  

While getting your quotes, try to scrutinise the system’s supporting framework closely. That’s where the weight of the gate is going to rest, and corners can often be cut here to save money by the cheaper suppliers. Your posts need good foundations, your rollers & bearings need to be industrial, and your entire system needs to be designed on the specs of your unique system. A cantilever gate across a span of 4m is a totally different beast than a 10m one.

The range of quality and sophistication of automation systems is HUGE. In a nutshell, a basic system will only open and close your gate, while a better system will do that and integrate with your access control, your vehicle recognition system, and even your site management software. Consider what you need, and not what sounds good on paper. A gate that opens every time is going to be worth more than a gate that has a lot of “cool” features that you will never use.

What to Expect from Your Maintenance

Although this type of gate may have less maintenance compared to other types of gates, maintenance check-ups will still have to be done. Components of the gate such as the suspension system, rollers, and automations will need to be checked regularly. Most problems can be problems can be caught through routine maintenance, and so will result in less costly maintenance.

Management of commercial cantilever gates can be costly. Most probably, it can be for a good reason, especially considering the problems they can solve which cheaper options cannot. This is key so that your purchases do not be either the cheapest option, or the most feature-laden system.

Your gates will be opening and closing many times a day, and for that reason, it is important to make your decisions from the gates that are proven to be of a good quality. This will ensure that the gates can withstand the many operations.