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1 Supplementary File
In order to lift and slide a door or window of great dimensions that inevitably has a hefty weight, an elaborate system needs to be adopted. Secco Sistemi, however, set out to operate lift and slide doors manually, thus freeing the frame from its weight, so that it can be moved as if in zero gravity.
To make a door or window float in the air despite its weight, it must slide without friction. The best way to achieve this is by using magnetic levitation. Secco Sistemi endeavored to use this technology without resorting to electrical energy and discovered a patent by Ironlev®, a peculiar geometry of passive magnets for lifting large masses along a thin track.
ØG® [zerø gravity] consists of a levitation unit recessed into the floor made of a sliding rail, the Ironlev® magnetic pads and a connection beam to the sash frame.
The system is accessible for maintenance through removable capping profiles that can be fitted with the same finishes of the floor for a perfect continuity between internal and external floorings. Only an 8 mm gap, sealed with brushes, remains visible along the all length of the door, completely flush, avoiding any possible tripping.
The result is a lift and slide a sash of enormous dimensions that has an unexpected force, without noise, without electricity.
