R-FIX helps you carry out complex or large projects by providing technical support and design and production of project-based products.
Often, a standard product is not suitable for use in specific projects either because of price, complexity of the installation or the specificity of the fastening.
In such cases, customisation of a standard product to fit a project usually helps, for example, by using specific fixing apertures or by using railing profiles with special anodisation.
In some projects there are fixing assemblies, in which case it is not enough to change a standard product. In such cases a custom solution must be designed.
Over many years, we have helped both designers and builders create safe and cost-effective glass-metal structures, and we can make the right recommendations based on this experience.
Together with the customer, we map the requirements of the fastening fittings according to the project drawings and requirements. From our side, specialists with extensive experience are involved in finding a solution that is beautiful, safe and competitive at the same time.
We choose suitable standard products or design project-based products. We choose the most cost-effective solutions for the customer.
In the design process, we perform strength calculations on the glass and fastening fittings based on the weight of the glass pane and the loads imposed on the glass, such as the operating load and wind load. Based on the complexity of the design, we perform manual calculations as well as FEM calculations with Autodesk Nastran.
We suggest suitable fixing assemblies for the design and provide the customer’s designer with instructions on how to use our products correctly in the design.
We produce the fastening fittings approved for the project and, if necessary, we will carry out load tests in the laboratory to demonstrate their compliance with the requirements.
We deliver the products as agreed, either to the site or to the customer’s production facility. We issue the documentation needed for the project with the products – DoP certificates and user manuals.
We will always be there for the customer after the sale, and we will help resolve possible issues.
Our client needed technical solution for glass viewing platform that is protruding from facade. While the project gave glass floor thickness, we had to design whole glass structure and choose right fixings. Along that we made FEM strength analysis to be sure of maximum safety.
Photos: YIT Lietuva
The architect envisioned a facade for the Alma Tomingas commercial building that hangs on glass fins over 20 m long. Such high glass fins are particularly susceptible to deflection due to the wind load and the weight of the facade itself. We therefore designed the glass fins to be 850 mm wide and 52 mm thick.
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Architecture and rendering: Arhitektuuribüroo PLUSS OÜ
Client turned to us with architectural drawings to get the solution for a glass fin facade and roof glass lanterns of National Forensic Mental Health Service building in Ireland.
The architect has designed three glass walls with glass fins for the Matinkylä swimming pool building, two of which are external walls and one partition separating the café from the pool.
The exterior walls are made of triple glazed units and the partition is made of double glazed units. All glazed units hang on the load-bearing glass fins by means of point fixings and spider fixings.
Our client participated in a tender of point fixed glass wind wall, ceiling and railing. As in the project the glass structures were only sketched up, our client turned to us for technical solution and price. We made initial design and gave the necessary glass thickness that we calculated according to wind load by FEA method.
Client turned to us to get the technical solution for point fixed double-skin facade of Innovatum Science Park building.
According to the values of wind load we conducted the glass strength FEM analysis to get correct glass thickness.
Our customer had to build a roof of ready-made glass units with an exceptionally high snow load requirement – 7.5 kN/m2. This requirement was due to the fact that the glass roof is located lower, between the other roofs, and there is a risk that a large quantity of snow could fall onto the glass roof all at once.
In order to determine the necessary thicknesses of the glass panes, we performed FEM strength calculations and the result was that the thickness of the glass panes in a glass unit should be 10 mm hardened + 1012.4 hardened-laminated. Fastening fittings – point fixings for glass and spider fixings are designed to be stronger than usual to be able to resist a large load of snow.
Our client needed to build a curved edged glass canopy with measurements of 7,2 m x 3 m. At the beginning they had an idea to fix the glasses to steel frame, but in cooperation with client we found the way to design the canopy without steel frame, using our standard RC1-model canopy system combining it with special-design details. The outcome is aesthetical full-glass canopy that harmonizes well with glass facade.
The Solna Beach parking house in Stockholm, with its 11 floors and unique, round form, fits well between the office buildings surrounding it. The facade of the parking house is made up of glass panes located both horizontally and vertically under different angles. The glass panes are attached to the bearing steel frame by means of point fixings specially designed and manufactured for the project.
Photo: Michael Perlmutter
In front of the main entrance to Tampere University Hospital, the architect had indicated a place for a glass curtain wall with glass posts which our customer had to build. The hanging glass posts are 8 m high and designed to resist a wind load up to 1.5 kN/m2.
We performed FEM strength calculations with the prescribed wind load and glass division to find the suitable thickness of the facade glass panes and the width and thickness of the glass posts.
A glass curtain wall was designed for Helsinki Otaniemi metro station to provide daylight to the underground passenger hall. This glass curtain wall is distinguished by the fact that, first, the glass units rest on glass posts; secondly, it is in a triangular shape; and thirdly, it is not vertical but at an angle to the ground. Our initial task was to refine the work design of the glass curtain wall together with the selection of suitable fastening fittings. The underlying information was the 3D measurement of the concrete aperture for the glass curtain wall made by the surveyors.
The Mono building in Stockholm was designed with bottom-profile glass railings with a U-strip on top of the glass pane. The desire of the architect was to get anodised profiles of glass railing in a special colour shade and handrails installed on the glass of the same colour shade. We sent samples of different colour shades of anodising to the customer, from which the customer chose a suitable colour shade. In addition, we designed custom-sized U-strips according to the customer’s request and made new aluminium matrices.
The building of the Estonian National Museum was designed with a point-fixed double-skin facade with a volume of 6,500 m2. For this, a point-fixed facade solution with a suitable price and design was required.
Standard swivel point fittings could not be used as they did not fit into the project budget and were of an unsuitable shape and size for the architect.
First, we made strength calculations for the glass according to the wind load. Based on the result, the optimal glass thickness is 8 +10 mm hardened-laminated.
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