Roxtec designs pipe and cable transits the modern and sustainable way.
Roxtec has sponsored this post.
For Londoners, “Mind the Gap” is a warning to metro riders to not get a foot or bag caught between the train and the station platform. For Roxtec, the gap of concern can be just as dangerous: specifically, the hole made in a wall, floor or roof to allow for the passage of mechanical systems, electrical cabling and pipes. Roxtec is a leading supplier of transits, which are products that close this gap and can make the difference between a sealed connection and a leaky one that could let in damaging rain, rodents, flooding—or, especially dangerous, fire.
Roxtec has 822 employees worldwide. The company got its start 32 years ago in Karlskrona, Sweden, Silicon Valley-style—in a garage. In that time, Roxtec has grown to become a world leader in the manufacture and sale of transits, also known as cable and pipe sealing products.
More than a third of Roxtec’s staff at the company’s headquarters are doing engineering and use the latest design and online tools. This includes the test engineers who work in a cutting-edge fire lab (more on that later).
Roxtec’s products take form digitally before they are manufactured. A digital model of the transits enables them to be planned for during the design phase of a building. An engineer can insert a 3D model of a transit, complete with part data, into the BIM or CAD model. The cutout details and measurements are included, placing the cutout precisely where it needs to be within the building model. Enabling the engineer to plan transit placements at this level of detail on the digital model provides considerable advantages over leaving it to a construction worker to cut the hole on-site—such as efficiency, lower cost and better quality.
Engineers have long considered transits for people and light in the form of doors and windows, and include them in the BIM and CAD model. Therefore, doors and windows are carefully specified and just as carefully placed. Their functionality is assured, and the building’s occupants are able to get in and out, are kept safe and the building’s structural integrity is preserved. But more than people and light must be able to enter and move around a building. The design engineer needs to add cables and pipes, for example, and include them in the BIM or CAD models.
Not considering the hole that needs to be cut for cable or pipe during the design phase of a building leaves cutting that hole in the hands of the contractor. The first contractor will make holes, then the next contractor will do the same, with no overall plan guiding placement. That first contractor will be able to cut their holes freely, but each contractor who follows will have less choice and will have to work around the holes and hardware previously installed. This can lead to a downward spiral of rework, increased lead times or delays and, of course, increased cost—a spiral the building industry is always trying to save itself from.
Adding the placement of transits for pipes and cables, including their cutouts and seals, into the digital model in the same manner as windows and doors can greatly improve the efficiency of construction. This would remove the improvisation done onsite by construction workers to accommodate all the transits required by the design and replace it with an overall plan.
As an added bonus, a more sustainable product selection can occur during the design phase, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions during the building phase. Such a plan would guarantee the building will work and the building occupants will be safe. And this goes further than construction and operation, through to the building’s decommissioning and recycling.
Making even the smallest cable and pipe transits a design decision elevates the awareness of cutouts to the level of doors and windows. This has an advantage in time and cost compared to leaving the size and placement to the construction crew. In addition, the architect or engineer will have more confidence that the cutout will be properly sealed and not result in a leak.
Fire in the Hole
Of all the possible risks, fire is perhaps the most frightening. A cutout that is not sealed properly will let fire jump from one room to another, or let smoke and harmful gas spread. To protect against fire spreading, Roxtec tests their products against all the leading standards of fire rating. They have their own state-of-the-art fire lab which is used to test the cable and pipe transits.
“We have our own fire lab,” says Jörgen Landqvist, senior design engineer at Roxtec. “It’s super modern, and very clean. You can’t say that about other fire labs. It’s a flagship. We can test all kinds of materials and seals. Whatever we make here, we can have tested ourselves.”
“In addition to fire testing, we have facilities to test watertightness, airtightness and protection against electromagnetic interference,” adds Landqvist. “A large amount of testing is also performed by the external certifying institutes.”
Initial Design to End of life
Many of the big suppliers of cable and pipe sealing solutions offer their designs in a digital format that is ready to be inserted into the building model. This provides a digital path from the building’s initial design to the end of life of the building.
Modern configuration of cable and pipe transits can be done with online tools. The user provides a list of cables and pipes that need to go through a wall, the capacity and rating of the system, and the online tool returns the size of the seal and the corresponding cutout with the information becoming a dynamic part of the model. This also depends on having flexible and uncomplicated ways of revising the design and accessing the latest documentation whenever needed, be it drawings, certificates, BIM/CAD models or installation instructions.
After construction and during the service life of the building, the digital transit design can be turned into a registry of all transits and their status, providing a clear dashboard of the entire asset. Each transit is shown on the building’s blueprint layout and has a unique identifier for easy location. Roxtec has made it possible to create a digital twin that will carry the full maintenance history of installation and additional work, with access to photo documentation and customizable tags.
Using a digital twin to facilitate new work or re-installation means work can be done online. Technical consultants and contractors can review changes together without having to go on site. Less travel and less downtime will also provide greater sustainability gains over the life of the building.
How Does it Work?
Roxtec’s free digital design tool, Roxtec Transit Designer, simplifies the design work and provides everything from cable and pipe schedules, drawings, certificates and BIM or CAD files. Users start by downloading the BIM or CAD model files from the suppliers’ website. The BIM application will integrate the models and their functionalities, and the cutout will appear automatically for the cable and pipe transits at the specified location.
Users can be very efficient by using drag-and-drop for placement of the cutout; the sealing system can also be placed in this manner. Should the number or sizes of the cables and pipes change, the seal and cutout in the model will change automatically. Once the design is ready, the correct hole cut dimensions will be in place along with all the associated metadata, including weight, material, article numbers and links to the supplier’s website for further information.
Roxtec Software Suite aims to simplify work—everything from design, drawings and certificates through to installation, quality checks and mandatory documentation. Users can save time, increase quality and optimize safety throughout the entire building lifecycle. Roxtec’s set of interlinked applications is made for anyone working with sealing solutions for cables and pipes. Users can select the proper seal, buy it, document the process of installing it and report transit status in accordance with official standards and regulations.
The Roxtec online tool for routing cables and pipes takes only minutes. Utilizing the cable lists, in addition to the capacity requirements for a system, the tool will take care of all the cable and pipe transits on a project. Users can always go back in and update the information, giving them time and flexibility to optimize the routing of cable and pipes. Once satisfied, they will have a full set of digital documentation.
Sealing suppliers have made the above process available, which brings the cable and pipe transits into the building design phase where there will be the biggest return on investment. This provides a way to keep track of all the transit seals and make their placement visible on a CAD and BIM model—something that would otherwise be hidden from sight. This can help to ensure quality and ease approvals down the line. The finalized and approved cable and pipe transits can then be handed over to facility management or the owner to provide a full up-to-date overview of cable and pipe transits throughout the life of the building, helping with maintenance and upgrades.
To learn more, visit Roxtec.
