HARDWARE & SECURITY
The most ‘ fabricator focused ’ SBD letterplate
» MILA HAS LAUNCHED WHAT IT IS calling ‘ the most fabricator focused ’ Secured by Design ( SBD ) accredited letterplate on the market , designed to look great and meet all the requirements of the Door & Hardware Federation ’ s TS008 : 2015 security standard .
With TS008 now part of the updated PAS24 : 2016 test required for SBD accreditation , manufacturers like Mila have been working hard to develop solutions which meet the very real challenges the standard presents , without compromising on style or ease of fitting . The new Mila letterplate , available in both stainless steel SupaSecure and standard ProSecure versions , has been developed in response to direct feedback from fabricators on what their ideal TS008 / SBD letterplate would look like . As a result , it is slimline , stylish , leakproof an easy to fit in standard apertures .
TS008 was introduced to tackle the rise in opportunist thieves using the letterplate for fishing to steal keys and valuables , and as an access point to manipulate the locking point of the door from the inside . However , it has proved testing for many hardware designers to get to grips with - and some of the letterplates which have come onto the market previously have sacrificed style for functionality , with bulky cowls and cumbersome add-ons . By contrast , Mila ’ s solution shows what can be achieved when some of the most experienced product designers in the industry set out to solve a problem .
The Mila letterplate incorporates clever , patent-pending anti-fishing fins which open with a smooth concertina action to allow mail to be posted through . Crucially , they restrict the internal flap opening to 80 ° and this , in combination with an angled postal ramp which deflects items upwards , makes fishing impossible .
The big advantage of the design is that it projects internally by just 45mm . That means it ’ s neat and unobtrusive and can be fitted to doors even in narrow hallways without any risk of the letterplate striking the wall on the inside .
The innovation from Mila doesn ’ t stop with the aesthetics though . Customers said that they wanted a TS008 letterplate which was quick and easy to install , so Mila ’ s design team has ensured that it can be fitted straight from the box , with no need for it to be disassembled first . It fits into standard apertures with no special screws or routing required and , as a new animation on the Mila website demonstrates , typical fitting time is less than two minutes .
There is also an integrated drainage channel and a combination of external foam and internal nylon brushes which addresses the problem which some customers had experienced of other letterplates leaking . The Mila version has been successfully tested to BS6375-1 and achieved an impressive 150Pa water penetration score – which is equivalent to withstanding 2 litres of water a minute being sprayed onto the door in gale force conditions .
The TS008 is available in six colours and finishes including polished and brushed stainless and polished and brushed gold
PVD stainless , as well as black and white options . These can all be mixed and matched on the inside and out to suit both the door and the décor . Mila has even added an interactive colour selector to its website so that customers can try out the combinations online before they buy .
As customers would expect from Mila , the new letterplate has been extensively tested to all the latest industry standards and it comes with a 25-year mechanical and surface finish warranty . Operational reliability has been proven to 20,000 cycles , it has a passed a 100kg flap pull test and corrosion resistance has been tested to 1056 hours in a salt spray booth ( way beyond the 480 hours required for a maximum Grade 5 rating on the BSEN1670 scale ). It is also , of course , covered by Mila ’ s BSI quality Kitemark which guarantees consistent levels of performance thanks to regular independent auditing of its production and performance .
www . mila . co . uk / supasecure-ts008- letterplate /
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MAY / JUN 2021
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