Wan to know how your garage door work? The garage door is the most important part of your garage and yet the most neglected. Most garage doors in Chicago are engineered to be safe, work well and be affordable. While operating the door is as easy as pressing a button, its machinery is much complicated.
Garage Door Spring
Your garage door spring lifts the weight of the door. They counter balance the lifting force making it easy for you garage door opener. The opener here only lifts a small portion of the whole system.
So, how does it work? What are important machine parts and what role do they play in the door’s operation? Below we have detailed a few facts about machinery to answer your questions. For garage door service in Illinois.
Torsion Springs
The torsion springs are main components of a garage door and are placed above and parallel to the opening. When the door is shut, the wires and cords fastened to the door’s bottom create tension on the springs causing them to wind up, which help speed up the doors functioning. When the door is raised, the springs uncoil and their force is transmitted to the door which lifts instantly. With constant opening and closing of the door, the springs wear out and weaken making the door heavy to lift.
Extension Springs
Not so common in Chicago any more but there’s another important component used in a garage door is the extension spring which is attached to the cables at the bottom.
The key difference between a torsion spring and an extension spring is that the latter stretches instead of being wound up when the door is closed and then the energy from the stretched spring helps the door to open easily. Gradually, the extension springs also deteriorate as the steel weakens. The extension springs should be checked regularly for safety, because if they break it can cause injuries or even damage property.
Garage Door Track
Another essential part of a include the door track whose functioning depends on the movement of the rollers. The garage door moves up and down on a vertical track with the aid of these rollers and the track, fitted onto the door by metal clips, acting as a guide for the rollers.
It is necessary for the track to be aligned with the rollers because if the track is too close to the door, it will prevent the door’s movement and if placed too far away, the rollers could move out of the insulation.
The rollers are made of metal and are susceptible to getting corroded and rusty. Therefore, a good maintenance requires frequent lubrication of the rollers to ease their movement on the track.
Important parts
Some other parts that facilitate the door’s functioning are smooth rollers, end bearings, bottom brackets and cable drum – all these are essential to a smooth operation.
All in all, the weight is counter-balanced by a spring system which will pick up the panels along the tracks. Check out this video for more info or check this page.
A garage door opener lifts the door with the push of a button when you need to keep it simple on your back.
