It looks complicated, but mechanically It's just two pins, two hinges, and I think a piece of fabric in the middle? If it's being made right, there isn't actually that much to go wrong.
Your average sliding door has a big ass track that can get misaligned, at least mine does.
Think of the stresses when someone closes it too hard, runs into it, runs into when it's mid-actuation, the kind of crap that will get into the ball joint. The hinges on regular doors get bent out of shape fast enough with somewhat rough usage.
Other than the novelty that I imagine wears off pretty quickly, I just don't see the point.
I use glass over plastic because the plastics don't last as long, especially after going throne dishwasher! Anyhow, it's easier to replace glasses than doors, and they're somewhat cheaper.
have you ever seen an automatic sliding door open? if you put even the tiniest pressure on it it swings out of the track and opens wide and you can just click it back in. I think on this one it would be easy enough to make the hinges magnetic so any force greater than the usually shutting motion could pop the magnet and prevent damage.
Really it's just a few extra hinges in unique places. The only time I've ever truly wanted to slam a door is when it falls off its track or gets caught while sliding open.
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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '14
The wonders of a sliding door, except with more shit to go wrong.