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Automatic Door Glass Requirements

← Glass & Glazing Compliance Centre

Automatic door glass has to be right on two fronts: safe for the public, and suited to the operator that moves it.

What glass do automatic doors need?
Automatic entrances are high-traffic, public human-impact positions, so appropriate safety glazing is a central consideration. The glass also has to suit the door operator — its size and weight within the operator’s intended range — and work with the sensing and safety features. The exact specification is confirmed for the specific door and operator.
Please note: This guide is general practical information and does not replace the applicable standards, the operator manufacturer’s specifications or professional advice. Glass, operator and safety details must be confirmed for the specific door and installation.

An automatic door combines glazing with a powered operator in a busy, public setting — so its glass has to be right on two fronts: safe for the people using it, and suited to the operator that moves it. This guide covers the main automatic-door glass considerations, with the specifics always confirmed against the operator’s specifications and the applicable requirements.

Safety glazing for entrances

Entrances are exactly the kind of high-traffic, human-impact location where safety glazing is commonly expected. The glass in an automatic door and its adjacent screens should be a safety glazing material to SANS 1263 and permanently marked. Both laminated and toughened are used; laminated’s containment can be valued at a public entrance, but the right choice depends on the application.

Automatic door glass — safety glazing at a public entrance

Framed vs frameless entrances

Automatic entrances come framed (aluminium-framed glass leaves) or frameless (all-glass with minimal framing). Framed systems suit most commercial entrances and integrate readily with shopfronts; frameless gives a cleaner look but places more emphasis on glass type, edgework and fittings. Either way, the glazing and the operator must be designed together.

Door mass and operator compatibility

A sleek automatic sliding glass door installed at the main entrance of a contemporary commercial building in South Africa, featuring clear tempered glass panels framed by brushed stainless steel tracks and a compact overhead operator housing. The door is set within a clean, light-grey façade with subtle architectural lines. Mid-morning natural light reflects softly off the glass, creating gentle highlights along the metal edges while the interior beyond remains slightly blurred. Captured at eye level with a slight angle to emphasize the door’s motion and mechanism, the composition follows a clean, modern, photographic realism style, conveying reliability, professionalism, and effortless accessibility with sharp focus and minimal distractions in the background.

A powered operator is designed to move a door within a certain size and weight range. Because glass adds significant mass, the glazed leaf must fall within what the chosen operator is intended to handle — heavier or larger leaves need an operator suited to them. Coetz supplies the MC-125 automatic sliding door system and the MCW-100 swing door operator; the appropriate operator and glazing for a given opening are confirmed against the product specifications rather than assumed.

Automatic sliding door glass sized to suit the operator

Sensors, safety features and access control

Automatic doors rely on sensors to detect people and to stop or reverse safely — a core safety function alongside the glass itself. Where the entrance uses access control (card, keypad, intercom), it should be planned with the operator and door. Getting the sensing, safe opening and closing behaviour and access integration right is as important to safety as the glass specification.

A robust automatic swing door operator mounted above a solid aluminium-framed glass door in a corporate office corridor, showcasing the precision-engineered housing, discreet safety sensors, and neatly concealed wiring. The door sits within a smooth, light-painted wall with clear signage and a polished tiled floor reflecting the lower edge of the frame. Cool, even fluorescent ceiling lighting casts soft, controlled shadows beneath the operator unit, emphasizing its form without harsh contrasts. Photographed from a slightly low angle with sharp focus, the composition highlights the operator as the hero element while the corridor gently fades into a subtle bokeh. The atmosphere is professional, orderly, and technologically advanced, in a clean, photographic realism style.

Opening dimensions and installation tolerances

The opening dimensions drive the door configuration (single-slide, bi-parting, single or double swing), and automatic doors are sensitive to installation tolerances — they need to be set square and true to run reliably. This is specialist installation work, and the glass, operator and opening should be confirmed together for the specific door.

Automatic door glass in summary

automatic door

In summary, automatic door glass should be appropriate safety glazing for a public entrance, and the glazed leaf must fall within the operator’s intended size and weight range. The glass, sensors and access control are specified together, so automatic door glass is confirmed for the specific door and operator.

Sources

Back to the Compliance Centre. Explore automatic doors or the MC-125 system.

Automatic door glass: getting a quote

If you are weighing up automatic door glass, MC Automations, our parent company, can help: it supplies, installs and services automatic doors. To quote accurately, we need to know:

  • The opening. The width and height of the clear opening, with photos of the existing frame or shopfront.
  • Sliding or swing. The MC-125 automatic sliding door system is R27 590 and the MCW-100 swing door operator R15 900, excluding VAT.
  • Traffic. How many people use the entrance, and whether trolleys, prams or wheelchairs pass through.
  • Power. Whether there is a power point near the head of the door.
  • Installation. Installation is included in Gauteng; outside Gauteng it is quoted per project.
  • Service and warranty. We recommend a service every six months, and the operator carries a 24-month warranty.

Questions about automatic door glass? Call 010 412 0062, WhatsApp photos to 076 613 4418, or price an automatic door in the online estimator.

How the safety side actually works

Two sensor types work together on automatic door glass requirements: motion detection to open on approach, and presence detection to hold the door while somebody stands in the opening. Add safety beams and a force limit and the door reverses rather than pushing. Most call-outs we attend are sensors knocked out of alignment by a trolley or a delivery, not motors that have failed.

We walk the opening with a trolley and at normal walking pace before handover, then record the speed, hold-open and force settings.

What maintenance on automatic door glass requirements involves

We recommend a service every six months, with more frequent visits for very busy entrances. Each visit realigns sensors, inspects belt, rollers and guides, re-checks opening and closing force and swaps wear parts before they fail. Because we hold operators, sensors, belts and control boards in stock, most repairs happen on the visit rather than waiting on an import.

Servicing runs nationwide, and Gauteng call-outs are attended within 24 hours.

What changes the price

Pricing for automatic door glass requirements follows the opening width, the glass, the sensors and any access control, so a figure quoted without seeing the opening is a guess. Every project starts with a free site measure, which confirms the opening, the power supply and the traffic flow before a fixed price is quoted. Glazing is 6.38 mm laminated safety glass as standard, and frames are powder-coated to suit the building.

Do automatic doors work during load-shedding?

Only if that was specified. A battery backup keeps the door operating through a slot; without one, the door should be set to fail open or fail secure, with a manual release staff know how to use.

Is installation available nationwide?

Yes — installation and service cover the country, with a technician on site within 24 hours in Gauteng and within 48 hours elsewhere.

What the entrance is made of

Glass and frame decide how automatic door glass requirements looks and how it behaves in use. The standard is 6.38 mm laminated safety glass; performance and tinted glass are options, quoted separately, where heat or privacy are a factor. Frames are powder-coated to the building colour, and slim sightlines keep more of the opening as daylight rather than aluminium.

Can the existing opening be used?

Most retrofits work. We check three things for automatic door glass requirements: the head and its support, how square the opening runs, and where the power is. If all three are workable, an operator goes onto the opening you already have. If they are not, we say so before quoting rather than discovering it on installation day.

When something goes wrong

Describe what the door is doing and a technician can usually name the cause before travelling: held open points to sensors or a detection zone problem, reversing points to an obstruction or force limit, and noise points to rollers, belt or guides. Because the operators, sensors, belts and control boards we fit are held in stock, most of those are fixed on the first visit.

Can the hold-open time be changed?

Yes — it is adjustable at commissioning and afterwards, which is how sites run a longer hold during deliveries and a shorter one at quiet times.

Automatic door glass at a glance

  • Pricing for automatic door glass follows the opening width, the glass and the sensor layout.
  • Ask us to confirm the opening before ordering automatic door glass.
  • Every enquiry about automatic door glass gets a written specification, not a verbal estimate.

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