Concealed cabinet hinges - types, features and application

I. Selection of hinges for cabinets vs door position.

First of all, specify the type of material from which the furniture will be made and the thickness of the door. We distinguish hinges for wooden doors made of chipboard, with aluminum frame, wooden frame or for glass doors. Normal cup hinges are available with a standard 35 mm cup or 26 mm mini version. The hinges also differ in their opening angle. One of the criteria for dividing hinges is the type of door location. In this regard, we distinguish:

1. Full overlay hinge - colloquially called zero is one of the most commonly used furniture solutions. It is used when the cabinet door is located outside the furniture body. On the sides, only the free minimum spaces necessary for the correct opening and closing of the door remain.

2. Half overlay hinge, otherwise known as twin (referred to in technical naming 08) - we will use it when two adjacent wings share one body. Two doors are located outside the furniture body and rest on a common central partition.

3. Hinge for flush doors (colloquially called "15") - we will use when the cabinet door is located inside, i.e. between the side walls of the furniture body. The whole partition of the body is then visible, completely different than in the case of overlay doors.

4. Bi-fold corner hinge - we use it when the cabinets have two separate fronts. In this situation, we should use two hinges: one with a wide opening angle of 165° / 175°, and the other so-called. "complementary", which connects two fronts. Folding doors of this type are most often found in L-shaped corner furniture.

5. Corner door hinge - here we use 35° and 45° angle hinges for the front, which is attached to the body at the right angle.

6. Hinge for parallel doors - this is a hinge that, after closing the door, is placed parallel to the front and the cabinet's frame. This solution is most often used in kitchen furniture, where the use of so-called masking blend allows you to separate cabinets from the wall or adjacent opposite furniture, so that the fronts or cabinets can open freely.

II. Hinges with a wide opening angle.

When designing cabinets with internal or cargo drawers, it is worth using hinges with a negative (zero) step with a wide opening angle. They will allow you to pull out drawers freely without having to install spacers. Hinges with a wide opening angle are also models for use in corner cabinets. An example would be the Furnica 165° Soft-Close Hinge which guarantees safe use of furniture even for small children due to the small gaps between moving elements that do not exceed 7 mm.

III. Hinges with a built-in soft-closing system.

Increasingly, manufacturers are introducing additional functions that significantly increase the comfort not only of use, but also the assembly and disassembly of hinges. The Furnica company introduced the clip-on function, i.e. quick disassembly without the need for tools. According to other manufacturers, this system is sometimes called "clip-top" or clip. Another feature distinguishing selected models is the function of quiet and delicate closing, which brakes the door closed with a flourish. From now on, the door will no longer hit the cabinet body.

IV. Mounting plate for hinge.

To install the hinge you will need a mounting plate (guide), which is available in different heights known as distance D. For overlay doors, a larger distance D reduces their overlap. A larger distance D for inset doors increases the gap between the body and the door. Currently, manufacturers not only care about the high comfort of using hinges, but also about their aesthetic appearance, which can be additionally enriched with accessories such as end caps.