Individually adjustable lifting floors in floating systems

Profile

• What was needed: Plain bearings, linear guides, lead screws and lead screw nuts
• Requirements: Chlorine resistance, weather resistance, low wear and maintenance, reliability and precision
• Sector: Furniture construction & industrial design
• Success for the customer: Savings of approx. €30,000 and 1kg of lubricant per system compared to previously used gearboxes. In addition, a flawless appearance of the luxury product is guaranteed.

Problem

The components of the lifting floors are constantly in contact with chlorinated water and must be weather-resistant. Since the entire mechanism is under water and is very difficult to access, all bearings must be maintenance-free and as low-wear as possible. Direct contact with the end user means that reliable as well as safe operation is essential to prevent injuries or damage to the system. As this is a luxury product, a flawless appearance also plays a decisive role. When lowering the lifting floor from the maximum vertical position, the aim is to minimise the forces resulting from water displacement in order to ensure a sustainable design without jeopardising the stability of the system. In addition, the constant use under chlorine water places the highest quality demands on components and materials. There are also numerous restrictions during installation due to work in the visible area or subsequent integration into existing systems.

Solution

Vertically adjustable lifting floors with thermal insulation effect for swimming pools: the aim of this development is to install vertically movable lifting floors in swimming facilities with integrated counter-current systems so that the pool depth can be individually adjusted. This makes it possible to use the pool surface as a terrace extension when raised and to adjust the water depth from a low height for non-swimmers to a depth of 1.5 metres as required. In addition, the lifting floor is fitted with 10cm of insulating material on the underside, thereby drastically minimising heat loss and the energy requirements of the system. In this task, which at first glance appears simple, constant compliance with the permissible gap dimension between the mobile floor unit and the stationary inner pool, which must not exceed 8mm, poses a special challenge when the pool size increases, as the water pressure increasingly deforms the pool walls, which are predominantly made of polypropylene. For this reason, the core competence to be developed is to design a linear movement of the lifting floor that is as continuous, precise and particularly reliable as possible  .