Scandinavian winters are perhaps the most extreme climatic conditions any of our customers encounter here in the Roto Western Europe region. Such prolonged periods of cold are just one of the many environments our hardware must be able to endure without any negative effects on its ability to function or resist corrosion.
In order to assess the long-term performance of hardware products, we use a specialised test developed by Roto engineers. Here’s why.
Salt spray hours
In the industry, hardware is often marketed on the basis of how many hours it has lasted in a salt spray test. This is because the only industry standard for corrosion resistance of window hardware is EN167, which defines a series of tests on components in a neutral salt spray environment in a closed cabinet.
The maximum level achievable, Class 5, is for 480 hours. At the conclusion of the procedure, the hardware must not show any signs of rusting of the base metal.
Exceptions to the test
There are however a number of components that are not covered by the standard. Parts such as rivets, bolts and sliding components are not assessed, so it is possible for them to corrode and the test still be passed.
Another important aspect is that the standard test does not take into account different environmental conditions such as high humidity, extremes of hot and cold, and rapid changes in temperature. All of these could potentially affect the ability of the surface coating to resist corrosion.
Therefore, although all of our product range comfortably meets the requirements of EN 1670, in order to prove its ability to last out in the real world we need to test it further. This is not just a case of adding more hours to a salt spray test.
Global extremes
With Roto hardware being sold on every continent, it needs to be able to stand up to the most extreme environmental conditions it could meet anywhere around the world, from the chilling cold of Siberia to the scorching hot sunshine of Dubai.
This is why our engineers designed a special “changing climate testâ€. This procedure combines the effects of a corrosive salt spray with fluctuations in temperature.
All types of climatic conditions are covered. The test replicates temperatures from polar cold to arid desert heat and at varying degrees of humidity.
Everything covered
The objective is to make sure that all parts of the hardware, even those components not assessed by EN 1670, can withstand these conditions. This is how we know our hardware is more than capable of withstanding the worst of the winter in Finland, Norway or Sweden.
The changing climate test was a major part of the research and development of our RotoSil Level 6 surface coating, which is now the standard coating on all new Roto product lines.
When you choose Roto hardware, you can be assured that it has undergone the most stringent and realistic testing for long-term corrosion resistance.
Sources: roto-more.com