Glossary: the industry's vocabulary, translated

A–D

ANPR — Automatic Number Plate Recognition; camera entry that opens for whitelisted vehicles. See access control.
Articulated arm — a jointed-arm swing operator suiting wide piers. See automation.
BS EN 12453 — the safety standard governing powered gate forces and protection. See standards.
Cantilever gate — a sliding gate suspended from rear carriages, with no ground track. See cantilever gates.
Collar — a wrapped band joining bars in traditional ironwork, in place of a weld.
Declaration of Conformity (DoC) — the legal document declaring an automated gate compliant, issued by whoever automated it.
Dog bars — closely spaced short verticals in a gate's lower panel, closing the gap pets slip through.
Drop bolt — a vertical bolt securing the closed leaf into a ground receiver.
Duty cycle — the proportion of time a motor can run before it must rest; the spec that separates residential from shared-entrance kit. See motor classes.

E–L

Entrapment zone — any point where a moving gate can crush, shear or draw in — each must be protected under the standard.
Finial — the decorative top of a bar: spear, ball, fleur-de-lis.
Force testing — measuring a gate's impact forces with a calibrated meter against legal limits. See explainer.
Galvanising — zinc coating steel against rust; hot-dip immerses the whole gate, zinc-spray applies it to blasted steel. The lifespan decision in any steel or iron gate. See steel gates.
GSM intercom — an intercom calling your phone over the mobile network. See GSM vs video.
Leaf — one moving gate panel; a pair has two leaves.

M–Z

Manual release — the keyed mechanism disengaging the motor so gates move by hand in a power cut.
Photocells — paired infrared beams that halt a closing gate when broken.
Rack and pinion — the toothed strip and gear that drive a sliding gate.
Rising hinges — hinges lifting a swing leaf as it opens, buying clearance on rising drives. See swing gates.
Run-off — the clear boundary length a sliding gate needs to open into. See sliding gates.
Safety edge — the pressure-sensitive rubber strip that reverses a gate on contact.
SWA cable — steel wire armoured cable; the correct buried supply to a gate.
Telescopic gate — a slider with nesting leaves, compressing the run-off requirement.
Underground motor — automation buried at the hinge in a foundation box, invisible in use. See comparison.
Wrought iron — historically, hand-worked puddled iron; today, mild steel worked with traditional techniques. The honest definition matters: see wrought iron gates.