Locks

About Locks and Lock Suppliers Including: Cabinet Lock, Cable Locks, Cam Locks, Combination Locks, OEM Locks & Vending Machine Locks.

Lock manufacturers and lock suppliers provide locks that may be controlled by a key, keycard, combination or with keyless entry. They are used on any door, window, cabinet, drawer or other item that needs to be secured or closed. Most often, a lock will be made up of a pivoted, rotary or sliding bolt protected either by a movable or stationary item. Different locks require different keys for opening such as magnetic, electronic or mechanical keys. Most of today's locks and keys are made up of steel.

One of the oldest types of locks to be made by lock manufacturers is the warded lock. It has a notched key that slides the bolt backward and forward, the notches matching up in order to open it. Another type of mechanical key lock is a tumbler lock. This lock has pieces of metal that prevent the bolt from moving by falling into place. The key is serrated to raise the metal pieces, or tumblers, to the appropriate place for the bolt to move and open. Combination locks were the first keyless locks invented, and they consist of disk tumblers that must be aligned properly for the spindle to slide out. The majority of these locks have a dial that turns both counterclockwise and clockwise to certain numbers in order to be opened. They are often seen on padlocks, strong room doors and safes. A newly developed lock mechanism distributed by lock suppliers is the magnetic-key lock. Magnets repel spring-loaded pins when the key is inserted, and this works similar to the serrated key of a tumbler lock. Some locks now work with a person's finger or handprint scan.

Locks are used for homes, personal possessions, businesses, computers, bikes, motorcycles, automobiles, luggage and many more. They can provide security, and also safety. There are refrigerator locks, cabinet locks and drawer locks so that children or animals cannot gain entry to dangerous materials and places. Card-keys and electronic card access locks are often used in buildings (hotels, offices, etc.) because the keys may be changed without changing the locks. Keyless entries are often used on automobiles and garage door openers, and they use radio signals that go from a remote-control to a receiver that activates a microprocessor, unlocking the door.

In order to pick out the correct lock from a lock supplier for a specific application, a few things should be taken into consideration. An electronic lock with access keys or codes might be better than using traditional mechanical locks and keys when involved with a number of people, so that keys won't disappear or get misplaced. Secondly, the purpose of the lock is very important as to which one should be used. Some applications require very high security or durable locks, while others need a less reliable lock, or the application may need either a door or portable lock. Lastly, when selecting a lock, the convenience of it should be taken into consideration. How often will it be used? How quickly will access be needed? For example, a fingerprint scanner may be fast, but if hands are not free, it will prove difficult to use.

Lock Types

• Bicycle Locks are portable locks that are used to secure a bicycle to a stationary object and may be padlocks, combination locks or cable locks.
  
• Cabinet Locks secure file cabinets, drawers, boxes and chests of a variety of sizes. They may be disc tumbler locks, plunger locks, replacement cams, cam locks, showcase locks and more.
  
• Cable Locks are usually resistant to cutting techniques while still being small and lightweight. They are often made of steel and used as bicycle locks.
  
• Cam Locks have a metal locking arm that slides across the non-moving part of the item to which it is attached, and can be used in small doors, drawers and storage cabinets.
  
• Child Safety Locks are used on cabinets, drawers, doors and bottles in order to prevent children from getting their hands on dangerous substances.
  
• Combination Locks can be opened only by turning dials in a special sequence, they are often used in safes and padlocks.
  
• Cylinder Lock is a lock in which tumblers are pins that lift as the key is inserted, allowing the cylinder to rotate and the bolt to release.
  
• Disc Tumbler Locks are made up of rotating slotted discs, which take special keys that open the lock by rotating the discs, aligning the slots and dropping the sidebar.
  
• Electronic Locks use some form of electronics, either remote or keypad access, to authenticate the user. They are thought to have higher security since they are more difficult to pick and they can track failed attempts.
  
• Lever Tumbler Locks use levers to hold the bolt in place, and lifting the tumbler will open the lock by allowing the bolt to slide.
  
• OEM Locks include locks such as cam locks, vending machine locks, padlocks, cabinet locks, electronic locks, parking meter locks and more, and they are used for original equipment manufacturing applications.
  
• Padlocks are U-shaped locks that consist of a bar hinged on one side, with the other side passing through the link of a chain or another item and locking shut.
  
• Pin Tumbler Locks use pins of different sizes that move accordingly when the correct serrated key is inserted. They are often used in cylinder locks, radial locks and tubular locks.
  
• Vending Machine Locks are used to keep vending machine doors and money collectors locked so that only the machine technician may have access.
  
• Wafer tumbler lock uses flat wafers that do not allow the lock to open without the proper key being inserted.
  
• Warded locks use barriers, otherwise known as wards, to stay locked until the proper key is used.

Lock Terms

Automatic Deadlocking - Allows a gate or door to deadlock as it closes.

Deadbolt- Part of lock that moves from locked position to unlocked position when the key is used.

Detainer - Option besides a lever that allows more key variations than a lever does.

Differs - Amount of key combinations possible with a certain lock.

Dual Control - Type of lock with both electronic and mechanical unlocking options.

Escutcheon - Plate surrounding keyhole

Lever - Part within a lock that moves out of the way if the correct key is inserted, conversely, it blocks the wrong key from opening the lock.

Snib - Knob used to hold a deadbolt in locked or unlocked positions.

Throw - Distance the bolt moves from locked to unlocked positions.

Tumbler - Part within a lock that when moved with a key, releases the bolt and unlocks the lock.

Ward - Represents the ridge part of the lock that does not allow a key to turn if it is not the correct one; also refers to the part of the key that is cut to fit into the ridge.