We applied our knowledge of bath room doors to the “famitto” series of interior doors. Take a peek behind the scenes of the renewal that also created easy installation.
You might think of YKK AP as a window company, but we manufacture and sell interior and exterior residential products and commercial products such as curtain walls in addition to windows.
In November 2021, we renewed the "famitto" series of interior doors.*1 For this article, we asked Shinji Seino, Head of the Interior Product Planning Office in the Residential Business Division, who was responsible for product planning, and Megumi Koishi, Head of the Interior Product Development Office in the Research & Development Division, who was responsible for development, about the path they took as they worked to renew this product, making the most of the skills they had cultivated previously on other products.
Table of Contents
Retaining the characteristic “slim frame” while proposing new value
Examples of styling with the famitto series of interior doors: (Left) famitto/R wood veneer type; (Right) famitto/G glass type
famitto, characterized by its excellently designed doors and slim frame that fits into spaces well, was launched in 2017. We initially released the cloth type, which customers can design freely by adding their preferred wallpaper, and the following year we added the glass type, which grants interiors an overall sense of space and a high-quality appearance.
When it was first released, famitto was a hot topic, even within the company, and expectations were high. However, sale numbers were sluggish. One reason for this was that this product's characteristic slim aluminum frame meant it was very hard to install when compared to the standard wooden frame, so it was easy for professional users to shun it.
Seino, responsible for product planning for the famitto renewal
Another factor was that the glass type, which gives interiors a sense of space and light and creates a stylish appearance, was popular, but was only available as a sliding door. People wanted window and door products that corresponded more to various different house plans, so we needed to develop a hinged door product in addition to a sliding one. We started planning based on the idea that we could provide new value by retaining famitto's characteristic slim frame while overcoming the issues to date.
(Left) Standard 24 mm wooden door frame; (Right) famitto's 2.5 mm aluminum door frame
Developing a product that can be installed by one person, in response to the personnel shortage
When it came to product development, it was especially tough to come up with a good way to make the slim frame easy to install. The construction industry faces the problem of a personnel shortage, so for this renewal we came up with the theme of a frame that can be installed by a single worker. We listened to the real opinions of our on-site business partners and created a prototype that reflected these, then used this prototype to verify actual installation together with professional users at YKK AP's facility, the Value Verification Center, and made repeated improvements.
Koishi, responsible for product development for the famitto renewal
As a result of the verification with professional users, we created a method to assemble the frame one part at a time to ensure that one person can easily install a large window or door frame. However, because of the slim frame, lots of professional users said it was incredibly difficult to align a four-sided frame while picturing it in three dimensions (height, width, and depth).
So, we designed a new mechanism that ensures the joints of the vertical part of the frame and the horizontal part of the frame do not end up out of alignment. The larger the door or window, the more likely it was that the frame would misalign, because holding one side meant the other side would bend, but with this mechanism, users can quickly and accurately assemble each frame on site, and this can be done by a single person.
Verifying installation with professional users at the YKK AP Value Verification Center
Reducing the likelihood of the vertical and horizontal frame positions slipping with a part attached to the top frame.
This mechanism contributes to a single person being able to install the product on site.
A magnetic catch that makes the most of the unique transparency of glass
Originally, famitto had a sliding-type door in the glass design, but with this renewal, we introduced a hinge-type door in the same glass design. However, there were unique difficulties in developing the opening-closing form of the door.
Normally, entrance doors and interior doors stay closed due to the function of a triangular latch attached to the side of the door. With this mechanism, the latch is drawn back when the handle is pressed down; the visible component is the small triangular part, but the latch is present inside the door.
However, with a glass design, the transparency of the glass is important, so embedding the normal latch inside the door would obstruct the design. As a result, we came up with the idea of patented technology: a magnetic catch. By inserting a magnet in the inner part of the door stop, we were able to keep the door closed without damaging the design.
(Left) Latch attached to a normal interior door (Right) Magnetic catch
Completed using our experience developing bath room doors
Thanks to the magnetic catch, we were able to add an opening-closing mechanism that made the most of the glass design, but there was a problem here too... With a triangular latch, the physical frame and the door are hooked together, so the door won't open and close unless the handle is pushed down. But with the magnetic catch, the frame and the door are brought together by the pulling strength of the magnet alone; if the pulling strength is too strong, the door will be difficult to open, but if the strength is too weak, it might, for example, lose to the negative pressure*2 that occurs in the room when the entrance door is open, and the interior door will open by itself.
We were able to understand the issue of the door opening and closing due to negative pressure from experience developing bath room door products. We designed a latch for bath room doors so that the doors don't open due to the negative pressure from ventilation fans. As we had decided on a magnetic catch for this renewal, we thought that a similar phenomenon might occur here.
So we installed an entrance door and a famitto prototype with a magnetic catch in an experimental facility, and investigated the optimum latch strength that would not lose to the negative pressure when the entrance door was opened and closed. We also used a pressure gauge to measure the negative pressure level that affected the interior door when the entrance door was opened in our homes. Through such trial and error, we were able to succeed in renewing famitto.
Testing to check famitto does not open due to negative pressure by actually opening and closing the entrance door
As someone who is involved in interior product development, I worked on developing famitto with the desire to create products that can contribute to the creation of comfortable spaces. In addition, to ensure the comfort of the people who are going to live there, I think we should have products that are easy to install. We investigated and verified the door's opening and closing capacity, pushing forward while taking in the opinions of professional users, and so I am proud that, in this sense, we achieved a product with value to both the resident and the installation technician. I hope to continue developing products with this attention to detail.
*1. Interior door series: A series of interior fittings such as interior doors and sliding doors.
*2. Negative pressure: A phenomenon that occurs in a closed room, in which air is drawn into the room when the entrance door is open, etc.
Shinji Seino
After joining the company in 1989, he was responsible for developing interior products until FY2019, and moved to planning interior products in FY2020. He used his knowledge and experience of product development to work on the famitto renewal.
Megumi Koishi
She was responsible for developing bath room door products from when she joined the company in 2004 until FY2020. She became responsible for overall product development for interiors, including bath rooms, in 2019, and strives to develop products by making the most of the knowledge she has gained during her time at YKK AP.
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