Door type

High-speed roller shutter

A high-speed roller shutter is an industrial roller door whose aluminium slat curtain is coiled onto a shaft by an inverter-controlled drive at typically around 1 to 2 m/s. It opens many times faster than a conventional roller shutter, which stays well below 0.5 m/s.

The high-speed roller shutter applies the proven principle of the industrial roller shutter to high cycle rates: a curtain of interlocking aluminium slats runs in side guides and coils onto a shaft above the opening as the door opens. Lighter profiles, a drive with frequency inverter and mechanics designed for continuous operation make it many times faster than a conventional roller shutter door.

Three door types are often confused. The conventional industrial roller shutter with a steel or aluminium curtain opens at around 0.1 to 0.2 m/s and is built for a few movements a day. The high-speed roller shutter uses the same slat construction but is designed for high cycle rates. The PVC high-speed door, by contrast, rolls up a flexible fabric curtain; indoors it is usually even faster, but it offers hardly any insulation and little mechanical protection. Because some roll-up PVC doors are also marketed as “rapid roll doors” or “high-speed roller doors”, this page refers specifically to the slat design.

This makes the high-speed roller shutter the obvious solution when an existing roller shutter has become too slow. In appearance, design and space requirements it stays close to the familiar industrial roller door, but it opens so quickly that forklifts and lorries hardly have to wait. With double-skin, foam-filled slats it becomes an insulated roller door for heated buildings; with reinforced profiles and guides, a wind-resistant external door.

The slat curtain offers more mechanical resistance than a fabric curtain and, depending on the version, can also close off the building outside working hours. However, the lighter aluminium curtain usually does not match the intrusion resistance of a heavy steel roller shutter. How the high-speed roller shutter fits into the wider range of industrial doors is explained in the guide to high-speed doors.

Key features

• Aluminium slat curtain that coils onto a shaft above the opening
• Opening speed typically around 1 to 2 m/s, depending on size and curtain
• Inverter-controlled drive for soft starting and braking
• Single-skin or double-skin insulated slats
• Suitable for internal and external openings, wind resistance class depending on version
• No ceiling space required, narrow side guides
• Optional vision slats or light-transmitting slats

How it works

A high-speed roller shutter opens as the drive turns the shaft and the slat curtain rolls up layer by layer; once the vehicle has passed, the shaft unwinds it again in a controlled manner. The opening command comes from a radar detector, an induction loop, a pull switch or a radio remote control.

Because the diameter of the coil grows with every layer, the curtain speed would change constantly at a fixed motor speed. The frequency inverter compensates for this: it starts softly, keeps the speed even across the full stroke and slows down before the end positions. This protects slat joints, bearings and limit switches, and it is the key technical difference from the conventional roller shutter, whose drive usually runs unregulated at a constant speed.

Closing takes place at reduced speed so that the permissible closing forces are respected. A light curtain or photocell monitors the opening, and the safety edge in the bottom bar stops and reverses the door on contact. An adjustable hold-open time ensures that the door stays open only as long as necessary.

Design and components

A high-speed roller shutter consists of the slat curtain, the shaft with bearings, the side guides, the drive with control unit, and the safety and activation devices. The slats are interlocking aluminium profiles; plastic end caps on the slat ends often ensure quiet, low-friction running in the guide.

For thermal insulation, double-skin slats with a PU foam core are used. They turn the high-speed roller shutter into an insulated roller door, although they do not reach the insulation values of a sectional door or a spiral door with thicker panels. Slats with transparent inserts are available for daylight and visibility, and perforated profiles for ventilation. Side guides with brush seals, a bottom bar with floor seal and a header seal close off the opening.

The barrel shaft is sized to the door width and curtain weight; depending on the design, springs assist with weight balancing. The drive sits at the side of the shaft, either as a direct-mounted drive or via a chain. On external doors, reinforced profiles and sturdy guides ensure that the curtain achieves the required wind resistance class to EN 12424.

Technical data

Feature	Guide value
Opening speed	typically approx. 1–2 m/s, depending on curtain weight and door size
Closing speed	reduced, typically approx. 0.5–1 m/s
Size range	commonly approx. 3,000 × 3,000 mm to 5,000 × 5,000 mm, other sizes depending on version
Curtain	aluminium slats, single-skin or double-skin with PU foam core
Wind resistance class (EN 12424)	typically class 2–5, depending on door width and profile
Thermal insulation (U-value)	single-skin: hardly any insulating effect; insulated slats from approx. 2.5 W/m²K
Headroom	approx. 500–800 mm, depending on door height and slat thickness
Side room	approx. 150–300 mm per side, more on the drive side depending on the drive
Service life	designed for high cycle rates, several hundred thousand cycles depending on version and maintenance

Guide values – exact figures depend on size, curtain and design.

Advantages

• Many times faster than a conventional industrial roller shutter
• Robust slat curtain, more resistant than a fabric curtain
• Available as an insulated roller door with insulated slats
• No ceiling space required, ideal where crane rails or services run below the roof
• Often replaces an existing roller shutter without major alterations
• Good wind stability for external openings
• Lower investment than a spiral door

Limitations

• Slower than PVC or clear curtain doors in indoor applications
• Slats lie on top of each other when coiling: more wear and noise than on a spiral door
• Lower insulation than a spiral door or sectional door
• No self-repair after an impact; deformed slats must be replaced
• Lower intrusion resistance than a heavy steel roller shutter

Typical applications

• Replacement of slow roller shutters at heavily used building openings
• External doors on warehouses, logistics and production buildings
• Buildings with crane rails, services or ventilation below the roof
• Heated buildings that need an insulated roller door
• Workshops, vehicle halls and wash bays
• Internal openings with rough operation where fabric curtains quickly suffer

What to consider when choosing

A high-speed roller shutter is the right choice when a door opens more often than a conventional industrial roller shutter can handle in the long term, but operations call for a robust slat curtain rather than a fabric one. Conventional roller shutters are usually designed for a limited number of movements per day; beyond that, their long travel times cost time, energy and wear. If a door only moves a few times a day, the conventional roller shutter remains sufficient.

Four points determine the specification: insulation requirement, wind resistance class at the site, need for daylight and type of traffic. If the main goal is the highest possible cycle rate inside a building, an indoor high-speed door with a PVC curtain is faster and less sensitive to impact. If an external opening also needs good insulation and particularly quiet running, the spiral door is the higher-grade alternative.

For activation, induction loops have proven themselves for lorries and forklifts, and radar for mixed traffic; at narrow points, traffic lights control right of way. You can put together size, slat version and accessories in the high-speed roller shutter configurator.

Planning and installation

A high-speed roller shutter needs space above the opening for the coil and at the sides for the guides, but no ceiling space. As a guide value, plan for around 500 to 800 mm of headroom above the clear height, depending on door height and slat thickness; insulated slats make a thicker coil. At the sides, around 150 to 300 mm per side is usually enough, with more on the drive side depending on the drive type. How to measure the opening correctly is explained on the sizes page.

The door is usually mounted behind the opening on the inside face of the wall, or within the reveal if it is wide and deep enough; the coil sits exposed or in a hood above the opening. The floor should be level so that the bottom bar seals tightly. A fused power supply must be provided at the control box for the drive, usually three-phase depending on the version.

The door is delivered direct from the factory by freight forwarder, complete with drive, control unit and the safety devices specified in your configuration. Installation and commissioning are carried out by your installer – your own maintenance team or a local door installer – using the documentation supplied. In existing buildings, the high-speed roller shutter is often the simplest replacement for an old roller shutter, because headroom and side room requirements are similar; before the exchange, your installer checks headroom, reveal, wall construction and fixing substrate. The process is described on the delivery and installation page.

Typical sizes

3,000 × 3,000 mm to 5,000 × 5,000 mm. Enter your exact size in the configurator, together with curtain, colour, drive and accessories. Common sizes are listed under High-speed door sizes.

Safety and standards

As a power-operated door, the high-speed roller shutter falls under the product standard EN 13241 and the safety-in-use requirements of EN 12453. Its equipment includes a safety edge in the bottom bar, a light curtain or photocell in the passage area and a fall arrest device that prevents the curtain from dropping uncontrolled.

In the event of a power failure, the door can be opened with a hand crank or emergency hand chain, or optionally via an emergency power supply. A wicket door cannot be built into a coiling slat curtain; if the door lies on an escape route, a separate pedestrian door is provided. Installation, commissioning and handover to the operator follow EN 12635 and the national workplace regulations in the country of installation.

Maintenance and service life

Like any power-operated door, the high-speed roller shutter must be inspected by a competent person before first use and then at regular intervals – according to the manufacturer’s instructions and the national workplace regulations in the country of installation. With high cycle rates, shorter maintenance intervals are advisable. Checks cover the safety devices, closing forces, fall arrest device, drive, shaft and bearings, among other things.

Wear parts are mainly the end caps and joints of the slats, the seals, the bottom bar and the shaft bearings. Because the slats lie on top of each other when coiling, the curtain wears more than on a spiral door; a controlled drive and clean guides keep this low, and deformed slats can be replaced individually. Inspection and maintenance are carried out by your installer or a maintenance provider; spare parts are available on request.

Cost and price factors

A high-speed roller shutter costs more than a conventional industrial roller shutter and generally less than a spiral door. The price is determined by door size, slat version, wind resistance class, drive, safety equipment and activation. Installation by your installer is a separate cost item on your side. The individual price factors are explained on the page high-speed door cost.

The high-speed roller shutter pays off above all where a slow roller shutter runs many times a day: each passage now takes only a fraction of the previous open time. This saves heating energy, shortens waiting times for forklifts and lorries and reduces draughts at workstations. For a non-binding quotation, configure your door in the configurator.

Compared with other door types

The high-speed roller shutter differs from the conventional industrial roller shutter in speed and design, not in its basic principle: both coil a slat curtain onto a shaft, but the high-speed roller shutter is built for high cycle rates with a lighter curtain, a controlled drive and fatigue-resistant mechanics. The conventional roller shutter remains the solution for infrequent movements and maximum intrusion resistance.

What separates it from the PVC high-speed door is the material of the door leaf: the fabric curtain is lighter, usually faster indoors and, thanks to a zip guide system, often self-repairing after an impact, but it provides hardly any insulation. Compared with the spiral door, the high-speed roller shutter is less expensive and often needs less headroom, but it runs louder and wears more because the slats lie on top of each other.

Criterion	High-speed roller shutter	Industrial roller shutter	PVC high-speed door
Opening speed	approx. 1–2 m/s	approx. 0.1–0.2 m/s	approx. 1.5–3 m/s
Door leaf	aluminium slats	steel or aluminium slats	flexible PVC fabric
Cycle rate	high	low	very high
Thermal insulation	moderate with insulated slats	low to moderate	low, moderate when insulated
Intrusion resistance	medium	high	low
After an impact	slat replacement needed	slat replacement needed	often self-repairing
Typical use	roller shutter replacement, external door with frequent cycles	building closure, rarely operated	indoor door with high throughput

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