Tactile Indicators: Frequently Asked Questions

A tactile indicator (tactile ground surface indicator, TGSI, or detectable warning) is a raised stud, bar or tile installed on a floor or pavement so that blind and vision-impaired people can detect hazards and follow routes by foot or cane. Warning studs mark stairs, platform edges and crossings; directional bars lead along a safe path.

Yes. Warning buttons, tactile buttons, tactile domes and truncated domes are regional names for tactile warning studs: raised domes fixed to a floor in a 50 mm grid to warn of stairs, platform edges and crossings. MetalX supplies them in stainless steel, brass, aluminium and polyurethane under any of these names.

Studs are individual round warning domes (Ø35 mm) installed on a 50 mm grid. Strips are individual directional bars (280 × 35 mm) installed at 75 mm centres. Tiles are 300 × 300 mm plates carrying 36 studs or 4 bars, installed as one unit for speed and uniform alignment.

MetalX manufactures them in stainless steel SS 304 and SS 316, brass, aluminium, polyurethane (PU) and porcelain. Stainless steel is the standard for exteriors and transport; brass for premium interiors; aluminium for weight and cost; PU for colour and quiet interiors; porcelain for tiled floors.

Studs: Ø35 mm top, 4.5 mm high, 50 mm centres. Strips: 280 mm long, 35 mm wide, 4.5 mm high, 75 mm centres. Tiles: 300 × 300 mm with 36 studs or 4 bars. Ø25 mm and Ø30 mm studs, 300 mm bars, ADA truncated domes and custom sizes are available.

The dimensions align with AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009 and fall within ISO 23599:2019 ranges. ADA 2010 §705 truncated-dome profiles are available. Products are supplied to Indian Harmonised Guidelines 2021, DMRC and airport drawings on request.

Three ways: a stem set in epoxy in a drilled hole (most durable); a factory-applied 3M self-adhesive base pressed onto a clean smooth floor (no drilling); or a screw fixing for carpet and timber. A fibreboard template is supplied for spacing.

Yes on clean, smooth, dense floors such as vitrified tile, polished stone, terrazzo and sealed concrete. Surface preparation with isopropyl alcohol and a 24-hour dry period are essential. They are not recommended for dusty concrete, carpet or exposed exterior pavements.

SS 304 for indoor and inland outdoor sites. SS 316 for coastal, marine, pool and de-icing-salt environments, because its molybdenum content resists chloride pitting.

Use PVD colour coating (gold, rose gold, black, bronze), coloured polyurethane inserts, black carborundum inserts, anodised aluminium, or a contrasting band of paving around the tactile field.

Typically 600 mm in the direction of travel (610 mm ADA; 600–800 mm AS/NZS 1428.4.1), across the full width of the hazard, starting about 300 mm before a stair nosing or platform edge.

For a 600 mm-deep field: 240 studs per running metre at 50 mm centres, or 6.7 tiles per metre. For a 300 mm guiding path: about 13–14 bars per metre or 3.3 bar tiles. MetalX prepares take-offs from drawings on request.

There is no fixed minimum. Small orders ship from stock; project quantities are quoted with volume pricing.

Standard sizes are held in stock in Mumbai. Non-stock items are manufactured in 3–4 working days. Urgent orders can be delivered worldwide within 7 days by air courier.

Yes. MetalX is a Government of India recognised Export House and has supplied more than 142 countries including the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Singapore and Australia. Export packing, invoices and certificates of origin are handled in-house.

Yes. Samples of any stud, strip or tile are available on request so you can test adhesion, check contrast and feel the pattern.

Use the inquiry form, email tarun@metalxind.com or WhatsApp +91 92233 66922 with the product, material, quantity and delivery location. We reply with a quotation and technical datasheet, usually within one working day.

Yes. A fibreboard template pre-cut for 50 mm stud centres and 75 mm bar centres, and written instructions, are included free with every order.

Yes. All MetalX products share the same stud and bar geometry, so stainless steel outdoors, brass in a lobby and PU in corridors feel identical underfoot.

Yes. Alongside tactile indicators, MetalX manufactures road studs, pyramid road studs and cycleway marking studs. Contact us for details.

Head office: 13/1, HAR C Bhavan, 9 Khetwadi, Girgaon, Mumbai 400004, Maharashtra, India. Factory in Mumbai. Open Monday to Saturday 8 am to 8 pm and Sunday 9 am to 7 pm IST.