| W&WP June 2004
Hardware manufacturers will showcase an innovative array of hinges and slides at the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair in Atlanta. By Jo-Ann Kaiser
Hardware manufacturers will display an interesting array of hinges and slides with features that offer new functionality. Quiet closing mechanisms continue to be an important feature for the market. Other features include hands-free operation and concealed hinges offering multiple adjustment features. Following are 10 products that will make a splash at IWF: Accuride's Pro Pocket Overlay Door Slide "Achieving a full overlay has always been a challenge, especially when it comes to custom cabinetry with raised panels or applied mouldings," Luce says. "The Pro Pocket eliminates those tedious calculations and redesigns, making full overlay installation easy. The partition brackets have also proved to be a big timesaver for installers." The reverse mounting of the Pro Pocket creates a pocket between the cabinet side and internal partition. With this configuration, slide rollers run across the backs of cabinet doors and never touch door faces, which is especially helpful when using cabinetry doors with sculptured fronts, applied mouldings or raised panels. An auto-open function pushes the cabinet door open to the last 1-1/4 inches for full extension and prevents the door damage that can occur when doors are rotated closed. Another feature for improved productivity is the partition channel - the attached brackets allow for easy addition or removal of internal panels. The door slide will accommodate doors up to 42-inches tall and loads up to 30 pounds. It is available in electroplate black, in even lengths of 16 to 28 inches. Phone: (562) 903-0200 Grass Tec 864 Concealed Face-Frame Hinge "The Tec 864 is a face-frame concealed cam hinge offering six-way adjustment. This is beneficial to both the manufacturer and installer for easy adjustment during the production process and for the on-site installation," Fitzpatrick says. "The Tec 864 is available in a variety of overlays," she adds. In addition to having six-way adjustment, the one-piece hinge and baseplate combination of this 3-D hinge has an opening angle of 105 degrees. The all-metal hinge has a cup drilling depth of 10.5mm and is available in a standard Grass 42mm boring pattern and 45mm pattern. The Tec 864 works on door thicknesses from 13mm to 19mm (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch). The baseplate features locating tabs for ease of mounting and height adjustment in the elongated screw hole. Phone: (800) 334-3512 Blumotion for Wood and Metal Drawers Wolfgang Branner, vice president of marketing for Blum Inc., said Blumotion works with both metal and wood drawers, but wood is especially popular with the U.S. market. Only the slightest touch is required to activate Blumotion on a Tandem-equipped drawer. When the drawer is 2 inches from closing, the device engages, causing resistance to be applied to the self-closing mechanism on the runner, resulting in a soft, controlled closing of even fully loaded drawers. "By creating Blumotion for Tandem concealed runners, we have made it possible for contractors and cabinetmakers to offer this to customers who prefer wood drawers," Branner says. Blumotion can be assembled quickly by hand; its housings are marked for right- or left-hand use for easy installation. The components attach to the runner by hand, making tool use unnecessary. Blumotion kits for use with new Tandem-equipped drawers include two-housings (right and left) and two trigger mechanisms. "The devices offer quiet closings and eliminate the rattling of cutlery in drawers. Drawers equipped with Tandem runners and Blumotion can be removed easily by consumers for cleaning," Branner says. Phone: (704) 827-1345 Mepla-Alfit's 3-D Cam Adjustable Base Plates Functionality is a main feature of the cam plates along with ease of installation, with pre-mounted screws on the cam plates together with tool-less twin hinges. The material is made of die-cast zinc/steel with cam height adjustments of ±2mm (up/down) and an overlay adjustment via screw of ±2mm (side to side). In/out cam depth adjustment is ±1.5mm. Phone: (336) 956-4600 Hands-Free, Soft Close Hinge from Wood Technology "There's absolutely no noise with this hinge, because of the pneumatic activator, and no door is left open," Applegate says. The hands-free operation is especially important for businesses and places like doctors' offices. Phone: (800) 231-9522 Hardware Concepts' Self-Closing Slides "This is ideal for mobile carts, kitchen cabinetry, residential furniture, casework drawers and high-end cabinets," says Henry Sanchez, sales manager of Hardware Concepts. "Customers and manufacturers don't need to worry that drawers will open by themselves because the automatic self-closing mechanism prevents this type of action." The hinges are available in 14-, 16-, 18-, 20-, 22-, 24- and 26-inch sizes with a 100-pound capacity. Phone: (305) 685-1101 Häfele's Hinges & Adaptor Piece for Slides "The process of UV glass bonding allows manufacturers the ability to create elegant and unique furniture pieces with a simple UV adhesive glue bond suitable for glass/glass, glass/stainless steel, glass/granite or glass/wood combinations," says Philip Martin, director of marketing for Häfele America. "UV bonding now enables manufacturers the flexibility to produce glass components in-house without going to a glass fabricator." A variety of door hinges and an adaptor piece for drawer slides are among several new components the company will exhibit. The hinge options are suitable for both glass/glass and glass/wood constructions and the adaptor piece allows drawer slides to be easily attached to the glass construction. "Drill holes in the glass are not necessary for functionality with the stable glue bond," Martin says. Phone: (336) 889-2322 Salice's New Face-Frame Hinges "Vertical, frontal and lateral adjustments are done by a turn of the wrist," says Matteo Fregosi, general manager of Salice America. "Each adjustment is independent from the others and allows for precise positioning of the door. It also allows for correcting warped doors and racking problems without shims or spacers and once an adjustment is made, it stays in place with no possibility of movement." The hinge design features one-piece, stamped steel construction with two-screw fixing on any frame. The screws are positioned in the middle of a 3/4-inch frame to minimize the chance of splitting the wood. "The product completes our face frame line of hinges with the added advantage of eccentric cam adjustments and is available in the most popular overlays," Fregosi adds. Phone: (800) 222-9652 Ferrari's Concealed Hinge Series Doug Edgerton, sales manager for Ferrari America, says the C60 concealed hinge provides six-way adjustment for partial overlay, face- frame cabinet construction. "It offers independent, side-to-side adjustment of ±1.5mm and continuous front, in and out cam adjustment of ±1.5mm along with vertical and up and down adjustment with a fixing screw of ±3mm. It is available in two overlays, 1/2 inch and 5/8 inch," he says. Other features include a smooth-action spring design patented by the company, and a 10mm cup depth for 105-degree door opening. The hinge is made of copper and has a nickel-plated finish for high corrosion resistance. The C85 series provides independent side-to-side adjustment of ±2mm; -0mm/+ 3mm in-and-out adjustment via a cam; and ±3mm up-and-down adjustment with a fixing screw available in 1-1/4-inch and 1-7/16-inch overlays. Phone: (800) 664-4872 Terry Hinge & Hardware's Institutional Hinges "The hinges have 32mm hole spacing and Teflon-coated pins," says Elizabeth Wang, the company's marketing specialist. "They are designed for schools, hospitals, and other architectural applications where durability and reliability are needed. Our institutional hinges are available in a variety of colors and are ANSI/BIFMA Grade 1 approved." Phone: (800) 228-3779
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