Unlocking Safety And Security: Camax UL10C Fire-Rated Electrified Mortise Locks

When it comes to protecting lives and property in commercial buildings, few components are as critical as properly certified door hardware. Electrified mortise locks with UL10C certification stand at the intersection of three essential building systems: access control security, fire safety compliance, and emergency egress. These sophisticated devices aren't simply door locks. They're engineered life-safety components that must perform flawlessly under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

For architects, facility managers, and hardware consultants working on commercial, institutional, or high-occupancy buildings, selecting the right electrified mortise lock for commercial doors requires understanding complex regulatory requirements from the International Building Code (IBC) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about UL10C certification, how these locks integrate with modern access control systems, and why choosing certified hardware from manufacturers like Camax ensures both compliance and performance.

What Is an Electrified Mortise Lock?

An electrified mortise lock represents a significant evolution from traditional mechanical door hardware. While it maintains the robust mortise lock body that's been trusted for decades in commercial applications, it incorporates sophisticated electromechanical components—typically a solenoid or compact motor—directly into the lock chassis. This integration allows the lock to communicate with building access control systems (ACS) in real-time.

The electronic components control the outside lever or handle, enabling or disabling access based on credentials, schedules, or manual override commands. This means a single electric mortise lock can enforce complex security policies: granting entry to authorized personnel during business hours, restricting access to sensitive areas, logging all entry attempts, and providing instant lockdown capability during emergencies.

1. Key Benefits Of Electrified Mortise Door Locks

Compared to purely mechanical locks or surface-mounted electric strikes, electrified mortise locks for access control offer several compelling benefits:

Enhanced Security: The electrified mortise lock with deadbolt configuration provides multiple locking points, making forced entry significantly more difficult than single-point locking systems.

Flexible Access Control: Integration with card readers, keypads, biometric scanners, or mobile credentials enables sophisticated access management without changing the physical hardware.

Audit Capabilities: Many models include monitoring switches that report lock status, door position, and access events to the central security system, creating detailed audit trails.

Fire Code Compliance: When properly certified, these locks maintain fire door integrity while allowing electronic access control—a critical requirement that's difficult to achieve with other hardware configurations.

Egress Safety: The inside lever always remains mechanically unlocked, ensuring occupants can exit freely during emergencies without requiring power or special knowledge.

Why UL10C Certification Is Important for Electrified Mortise Locks?

The UL10C test protocol represents a major advancement over older testing methods. In actual fire scenarios, burning generates hot gases that expand and create positive pressure within the fire compartment. This pressure actively pushes flames, heat, and toxic smoke through any gaps or weaknesses in the door assembly. Earlier test standards like UL10B didn't adequately simulate this pressure differential.

During UL10C testing, the commercial electric locks and door assembly face a brutal three-hour ordeal. Hot gases and flames are actively forced against the door system, with the neutral pressure level positioned no more than 40 inches above the floor within just five minutes of test initiation. This creates maximum stress on the locking hardware, door seals, and frame connections—precisely mimicking the most dangerous real-world conditions.

Camax Electrified Mortise Lock Solutions

Camax has engineered its electrified mortise lock product line specifically to meet the demanding requirements of modern commercial construction. Built on ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 platforms, which is the highest durability rating available for commercial door hardware, these locks combine mechanical robustness with sophisticated electronic control capabilities.

Both product lines integrate seamlessly with all major access control platforms and support multiple voltage configurations. Each lock includes factory-adjustable options for fail-safe or fail-secure operation, door position switches, and request-to-exit monitoring, eliminating the need for additional hardware in most installations.

Fail Safe and Fail Secure: Which One Fits Your Project?

The terms fail safe and fail secure describe how an electrified mortise lock behaves when electrical power is interrupted. This seemingly simple distinction has deep implications for both life safety and security, making it one of the most critical specifications in hardware selection.

Fail-safe operation means the lock automatically unlocks when power is removed. The electronic components actively hold the outside lever locked during normal operation; when power fails (or is cut during an emergency), the lever immediately releases. This configuration prioritizes egress—ensuring people can always escape even during power outages or when fire alarm systems cut power to door hardware.

Fail-secure operation does the opposite. The lock remains locked when power is lost. The electronics consume power only during unlocking; in their de-energized state, the mechanical components maintain security. This mode is essential for high-security areas where maintaining protection during power failures is paramount, such as server rooms, pharmaceutical storage, or areas containing valuable assets.

Custom Manufacturing and OEM/ODM Solutions From Camax

Architectural hardware increasingly demands customization—whether for aesthetic coordination with interior design, functional adaptation to unique door configurations, or branding requirements for large installations. Camax has invested heavily in OEM/ODM capabilities precisely to address these needs without compromising the certification and quality that makes their hardware reliable.

1. Tailored Design Solutions

Camax's engineering team can modify virtually every aspect of their electrified mortise lock products while preserving core mechanical and electronic functionality. Customization options include aesthetic modifications, functional adaptations, master key systems and special compliance.

2. Maintaining Certification Through Customization

One of the most significant challenges in custom hardware is maintaining essential certifications. Camax explicitly preserves ANSI/BHMA Grade 1, UL10C fire rating, and CE marking throughout the customization process. This is possible because customizations are carefully engineered to avoid compromising tested components or assemblies. Color finishes, trim variations, and electronic modifications are implemented without affecting the core lock body that underwent certification testing.

3. Scale and Technical Support

With nearly two decades of experience since the company's founding in 2006, Camax possesses the production capacity to support projects of virtually any scale. Camax's R&D team manufactures to specification and provides technical consulting on product selection, access control integration strategies, and installation methodologies.

This consultative approach proves especially valuable for wholesalers and large contractors managing multiple simultaneous projects. Rather than simply fulfilling purchase orders, Camax functions as a technical partner throughout the specification and procurement process, helping ensure the selected hardware truly matches each project's functional and regulatory requirements.

Contact Camax to Secure Your Project with Certified Solutions

Specifying electrified mortise locks for commercial applications requires balancing security functionality, fire safety compliance, egress requirements, and access control system integration. UL10C certification isn't simply a checkbox on a specification sheet. It represents rigorous third-party validation that the hardware will perform as needed during the most critical moments.

Camax's commitment to manufacturing Grade 1, UL10C-certified commercial electric locks while offering extensive customization capabilities provides architects and facility managers with a rare combination: door hardware that meets the highest standards while adapting to project-specific requirements. Whether you're specifying standard catalog products or require custom solutions, the underlying quality and certification remain consistent.

Ready to specify certified electrified mortise locks for your next project? Contact Camax today to discuss your specific requirements, explore OEM/ODM possibilities, or receive technical consultation on hardware selection and system integration.