Automatic bifold gates: motor and control

The Automatic Bifold Gate Drive & Control package is the part of a CAIMEN folding gate you never see, and the part you'll hear about first if it ever goes wrong: the motor, the gearbox and the brain telling both leaves when to move. On our automatic bifold gates you get a 24 V DC brushless motor with the 10th Gen Smart Control System. It sits inside the post. Wiring reaches each leaf through protected conduit.

Why bother with low voltage? Because it's easier to live with. You run the whole thing off a 24 V / 10 A power supply, the motor pulls 6 A, and mains voltage stays well away from the moving parts your kids, staff or visitors walk past every day. Want the frame, the leaves and the patented top-bottom axis? That's all on our bi-folding gate page. Here we stick to what makes it move.

24 V DC brushless motor

Rated power is 200 W, with 120 to 200 W of output. Through a 300 reduction ratio, the gate goes fully open or shut in 6 to 12 seconds. There are no carbon brushes inside to wear out. That's the reason makers like Advanced Motion Controls call brushless designs longer-lived and lower-maintenance than brushed ones, and it's why we rate this unit for at least 5,000,000 cycles.

10th Gen Smart Control System

Response is faster, and smart devices hook up more easily. Plug in what your site already uses: LPR cameras, a face or fingerprint reader, keypads, the mobile app, video intercom, RFID, radar, ground loops or Bluetooth. You also get soft start and soft stop as standard. No slamming.

Stop-and-reverse safety

If anything breaks the infrared anti-collision beam, the gate halts and then backs off. That's standard on every unit. DASMA's gate systems safety brochure treats entrapment protection of this kind as a basic requirement for powered gates, and we'd go further: check it before you even think about the finish color.

Electrical protection

A 10 mA leakage detector kills power in under 0.1 s. The housing is flame-retardant. Thermal protection on the motor and an emergency stop device both come fitted.

Power cuts and manual use

Power's out? Pull the manual clutch and walk the leaves open. When the motor's idle, the mechanical self-locking drive holds them shut, so a gusty night won't push your gate ajar.

Protected wiring to the leaf

We run the cable through 304 stainless steel flexible conduit, and the cable itself is a custom four-core build in 99.99% oxygen-free copper. Small detail, sure. Cable damage at the hinge is a common failure point on folding gates, though, so the conduit earns its place.

Think of any opening where a folding gate has to cycle often and fast, and there's no room for a long side track:

• Residential driveways. Tap the remote or the phone app and the leaves are already moving before your car stops.
• Commercial and office entrances wired to LPR or RFID, so staff cars aren't stuck queuing at the kerb.
• Public facilities that want a warning light, and maybe a spoken announcement too, each time the gate moves.
• Light industrial yards with heavy cycling. Picture a delivery van rolling through every few minutes, all shift long.

It's built to work from -30 °C to +70 °C, at up to 85% humidity and up to 1000 m altitude. Is your site outside that range? Tell us before you order, not after.

Honestly, most buyers never pick the motor on its own. You choose the gate and the drive comes along with it. The real decision is how people get in.

Getting a quote is quick if you send us:

• Clear opening width and the gate height you want
• Single or double folding layout
• Which access devices from the table you'll use
• Power available at the post, plus the cable run length
• Site photos of the ground and both sides of the opening

First, we draw it up in CAD for you to approve. Production typically takes 15 to 20 days after drawing approval. You'll find the install steps on our installation page. Questions? Use contact or write to [email protected].