Order in the court
The Challenge
Invented 50 years ago in Mexico, the racquet sport padel tennis is now played all over Europe. In Sweden, sport floor specialist Unisport is riding the hype, having built around 60 padel courts so far. However, the harsh spring storms in Malmö, in the south of Sweden, created an unexpected challenge by battering the courts’ glass walls and causing the bolted joints to vibrate loose. At the very worst, the walls could collapse.
The Solution
Unisport’s tool supplier recommended Nord-Lock, who suggested using NL10spss washers to lock the nuts to the frame and then use adhesive in the threads between the bolt and nut. To secure the bolt with Nord-Lock was not an option due to the shape of the bolt head, as it would have affected how the ball bounces against the surface.
The Result
The padel court has not experienced any problems since, and padel tennis has become safer for players as the risk of collapsing glass walls has been eliminated. The solution also saves money for Unisport because the court needs less maintenance. After this success, Nord-Lock and Unisport are discussing changes to padel court construction by securing the bolt with a mechanical lock instead of the adhesive, increasing safety even more.
