Maintenance hatch
A maintenance flap or inspection flap is a flap which, as a service opening, allows sporadic access to a cavity behind it for the purpose of maintenance or inspection . If the opening is large enough to allow a person to pass through, the component is also called a maintenance door or inspection door. The different designation as flap or door , depending on the accessibility is followed not uniform, sometimes also be small maintenance flaps as maintenance doors referred to when vertically hinged shown. Conversely, in some specialist areas, instead of “ maintenance door ”, the term “ hatch cover ” or “ manhole ” is also used (including for pressure-resistant locks). A horizontal maintenance hatch can also be a manhole cover .
Maintenance hatches and doors are used as components in transport (e.g. in motor vehicles, rail vehicles, aircraft) as well as in mechanical and plant engineering, and in these applications are usually made of metal and screwed all around. When used as a component in the construction (. Eg as access to plumbing installations that are covered by tiled surfaces) are access panels often with a hinge and a simple square lock fitted, held by magnetic fasteners or elastic joint sealants bonded.
Transportation and mechanical engineering
In mechanical engineering , the use of maintenance hatches with manually operated locks is a constructive measure to achieve simple maintenance. In shipbuilding and plant construction , a closable opening that can be passed by people is called a manhole .
In the case of aircraft , the main focus in the design is on meeting the performance requirements and low weight. Converted rooms for access to maintenance that do not serve the economic purpose of the aircraft (e.g. the passenger cabin in a commercial aircraft) are accordingly scarce. Many units can therefore only be reached through maintenance hatches. Structural elements such as frames and bolt connections must also be checked for cracks and other damage at regular intervals. Maintenance hatches are also used for this. A particular challenge is the aerodynamic design of the joints and closure elements of maintenance hatches on the aircraft's outer skin. Screws with a countersunk head ( Phillips , Allen or Tri-Wing ) are usually used for fastening .
Early forward control trucks sometimes did not have tilting cabs, especially models from Mercedes-Benz. Because of the large number of maintenance flaps that this necessitates, they were given the nickname “Advent Calendar”.
Construction
In the building industry , fixed maintenance hatches allow subsequent access to installations that have been hidden by surface cladding in a visually pleasing way. Maintenance hatches are often found in sanitary facilities and drywall construction, among other things. Maintenance hatches and doors for commercially used properties are part of a maintenance-friendly development that leads to lower costs in the long term.
In the sanitary area, water pipes, inflows, drains and sewage pipes are hidden in cavities, for example in the built-in plinth of a bathtub or as a wall installation . These areas are tiled , which makes access more difficult in the event of a suspected leak. A tiled maintenance flap allows access without noticeably disturbing the visual impression. Maintenance hatches for tiled walls are offered in dimensions that allow tiling in the standard formats without cutting. As an alternative to opening with a hinge and lock, maintenance hatches in tiled walls can also be designed as a tiled frame, which is inserted using a silicone joint . If opening is necessary, the silicone joint is cut open and can then be replaced. To prevent the flap from falling out when it is opened, they are often secured with small magnets. Revision doors and frames are to DIN 18381 ( VOB Part C: ATV gas, water and drainage systems inside buildings) advertised .
In drywall , too , cavities that are difficult to access (e.g. suspended ceilings ) arise that still have to be checked for mold or pest infestation or where access to the supply technology (e.g. electrical installations or water pipes) is necessary. A maintenance hatch enables this. Maintenance hatches in drywall are either made of sheet steel or light metal or take the same panel material as the rest of the drywall construction as a frame, e.g. B. plasterboard . This enables the same design for the wall and flap, for example filling and painting.
Sophisticated architecture such as double facades can create dead spaces that still have to be accessible for maintenance and cleaning. If these rooms are visible to the public, access for cleaning is essential. Retrofitting a maintenance door can lead to high costs, as in the case of the Berlin department store Galeries Lafayette , where the pointed glass cone inside the building originally had no maintenance door, but was regularly soiled by objects thrown into it.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerhard Pahl, Wolfgang Beitz: Design: Basics of successful product development . Springer, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3540340602 , pp. 219-221.
- ↑ a b Klaus Homann: Real estate controlling: starting points for a life cycle-oriented concept . Gabler, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3824469308 , pp. 205-207.
- ↑ Martin Mittag: Tendering aid for building services: standard service descriptions, construction prices, company directory . Teubner, Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 3-528-02571-9 , pp. 480-481.
- ↑ Günter Wricke, Siegfried Müller: Trockenbaumonteur technology . Teubner, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-519-15919-8 , pp. 216-219.