Types and characteristics of furniture hinges

There is cabinet furniture in almost every home. But its quality depends not only on the material from which it is made, but also on the accompanying accessories. Furniture hinges of the variety allow you to satisfy any needs aimed at opening the cabinet door or bedside table in the right way.

furniture hinges
Furniture hinges are one of the most important elements of fittings, since the practicality and durability of furniture modules and their aesthetics largely depend on them.

For cabinet doors

Many do not know what hinges are for cabinet doors. There are a lot of them. Each of a separate species can perform its own function, which is assigned to it. A wardrobe is a piece of furniture that is found in various residential and office premises. Hinges are accessories that primarily provide the mobility of some structural components.

overhead furniture hinges
The choice of these products should be given special attention, since manufacturers produce different types of loops and each model has its own purpose.

This type of product is created in accordance with the accepted European standardization. It is selected for each type of furniture individually. The choice is influenced by the possibility of its operation, purpose. Installed inside the product. Today these fittings are made of steel and brass. It is not affected by high humidity, which is not subject to corrosion, rust. Long lasting to use.

cabinet hinges
Furniture hinges are a device that fixes the sash of the door structure to the facade of the furniture block.

Overhead hinges

This type of buttonhole is classic. It is used in many furniture products. Possesses the following properties:

  • This fixing element can have various shapes and sizes.
  • Withstands various loads.
  • Designed for opening and closing doors of various furniture sets.
  • Opens flaps 90 degrees.
  • Does not allow the parts attached to it to skew, keeps them at the desired level.
overhead loop
Hinges of this type are four-pivot mechanisms that have become widespread among users.

This variety has such a name due to the way it is installed, namely the overhead type. The hinge consists of a cup located on a strip that will be mounted to the inner wall, a fastening loop, a hinge. Its installation does not require drilling the facade surface. This advantage distinguishes the overhead hinge from other varieties, it helps out when it is impossible to cut into the facade due to its thickness. The disadvantage is that they have a tight fastening. This prevents three-position adjustment.

overhead furniture hinges
They are usually mounted on cabinets with swing doors.

90 degree hinges

This hinge is quite common among the creators of furniture fronts. Its name is more common than real. It can open doors at a greater angle than stated. It has several types:

  • External hinge 90 °. Has no bend. It is used for installation on doors that, when closed, will not have a gap. In other cases, this distance may be 1mm.
  • Semi-external. There is a medium bend. Not often used in the furniture industry.It can be seen in kitchen units, which consisted of two rows of horizontal drawers. This hinge is attached to the lower door.
  • Internal. Has a large bend type. When the door is opened, it is taken out of the frame. Used to accentuate the thickness of facade details.
furniture hinges 90 degrees
Such designs provide the door with an opening angle of 90 degrees.

180 degree hinges

Has two types: crocodile and straight loop. The first type has a complex subspecies of a cup, due to the characteristics of which the door opens in an expanded form by 180 degrees. It also has a distinctive shoulder shape. The second type is applicable for false panels, the facade of which is attached to the sidewall, which is on the same plane.

furniture hinges 180 degrees
This type of hinge is used on kitchen corner units.

Varieties of kitchen hinges

Each of the proposed types has its own purpose, it is used to open / close doors of different types in kitchen sets:

  • Heel loop. Attaches to the corner of the facade. Not used for doors made of heavy material. Cannot withstand heavy loads. Recess inside the facade is possible.
  • Mezzanine. Suitable for attaching to canopies with the door of cabinets with horizontal opening. There is a spring mechanism in its design.
  • Lombernaya. This type of hinge is used on folding front parts. They can fix the door. They can open moving elements 120-180 degrees. This type is often used on folding tables.
  • Reversible. It has a large opening angle, while subsequently returning the facade to its previous position.
  • Closer hinge. Self-adjusting mechanism that prevents damage to the front parts when closing.

Inner loop

It is very often used for fastening the inner part of the door, located in the middle of any niche. The adjacent wall is not closed by the opening sash. Base bend - 0.16 cm.

interior hinges
Used to install facades that are deepened relative to the body.

They also have different opening angles. The standard hinge opens the door 90 degrees. In other types, this value is decreased or increased by a few °. They are very often used for corner facades, non-standard products.

Four-hinge

The versatility of these hinges makes them quite popular and often used. Their advantages include the ability to withstand increased loads. They are durable.

four-hinge furniture hinges
The most common type of furniture hinge is the four-hinge hinge.

They are able to open the sash 92-175 degrees. Can be adjusted in 3 planes. Usually the cup has a diameter of 26, 35, 40 mm. In their production, stringent test measures for the strength of the product are applied. This part has to withstand over 60,000 openings / closings. But many manufacturers can increase these figures, making them the leaders in the furniture fittings market.

furniture hinges four-hinged photo
The four-hinge furniture hinges familiar to cabinet furniture consist of a cup with a knee and a counter (fastening strip).

The four-hinged hinge has several types, but the most popular of them is the overhead type. When you close the door to which this subspecies of the hinge is attached, the end part of the adjacent furniture facade overlaps.

For specific facades

For this, special types of loops are used. Facades in the production of which a frame made of aluminum of various sizes is used must be installed on a reinforced type of hinge. They can be overhead or internal type. They are used for corner cabinets. They open to a different radius. When using overhead hinges, additional drilling is not required, which is important for these facades due to the thickness of their walls.

furniture hinges with a closer
They are characterized by ease of installation, durability and practicality; they can serve for a long time even with intensive use.

Corner

This type of loops is divided, in turn, into 4 subspecies:

  1. 30 degrees. It has the ability to press the façade at an appropriate angle. It can be used for beveled type kitchen cabinets, wardrobes.
  2. 45 °. Used for cabinets with a specific shape. It is hung on a facade with 1 or 2 doors.
  3. 120 degrees. It can be seen on accordion cabinets. This is a special type of façade that can open up to 270 degrees.
  4. Furniture hinges with negative opening angle. They are used in certain design projects in which it is necessary to open the last wardrobe in a row from a certain side, which is not usual for these models.
corner hinges
The main types of corner furniture hinges are with an opening angle of 30 and 45, 60 and 90, as well as 135 degrees.

Adit

This type of hinge is quite popular in the interior when it is necessary to connect a false panel to the facade. The design features will provide any door mechanism to close / open silently. Can be fixed on folding forms of furniture elements. It can be used to fasten various parts on an expandable structure, which will ensure that they can be tilted 180 degrees.

adit hinges
Adit furniture hinges - are applicable for attaching facades to false panels and uprights located against the wall.

Piano

Used to form a straight line between the door and side post. The possible turning angle is 180 degrees. Most types of these hinges are used on built-in facades. Appearance - two perforated type plates connected to each other.

piano hinges
Piano hinges, due to their strength and durability, are excellent for installation on intensively used doorways.

For glass doors

To connect the glass door to the facade, four-hinge hinges are used. For such products, you will need not only to insert a high-quality device, but also a loop, which has a beautiful external shape. The ability to open moving parts in three planes is one of the advantages of these hinges.

furniture hinges for glass doors
Glass door hinges are manufactured and assembled taking into account the fragility of the material.

For glass in the construction of the connecting device, a cup made of plastic material. There is a seal ring. From the visible side, you can pick up a hinge with a decorative plug. It can be semicircular or round. Also, currently in the implementation there is a product with a different color.

furniture hinges for glass doors photo
According to the installation method, furniture hinges for glass doors are available with and without drilling.

The manufacturer of this type of goods equips them with high-quality connections that can withstand a large number of opening / closing cycles. It is important that there are no defects on such furniture hinges, they have an aesthetic appearance.

If the glass is tinted, you can pick up a dark hinge. When selecting for a certain facades, you can stop your own on any of the types: internal, external, semi-applied, screwless, self-closing, fastened at the desired angle.

Which furniture hinges are best for kitchen cabinets

It should be borne in mind that when choosing this product for a canopy on the doors of a kitchen set, you should adhere to the following criteria:

  • When buying a furniture hinge, you need to take into account the design of the cabinet on which it is selected. A standard type of kitchen set is equipped with overhead, semi-overhead products. For built-in wardrobes, you need to purchase inverse ones. If the type of opening of the moving parts occurs horizontally, for example, top, then you should opt for mezzanine hinges, which have automatic snapping.
  • Planting cup diameter. This is a defined notch in the hinge. It should cut into the facade in the previously outlined markings. When choosing this item, you need to take into account the weight of the door, its dimensions. For conventional opening parts, you can use a 35 mm cup universal hinge.For lightweight - 26 mm, for heavy - 40 mm.
  • Installation angle. These types of hinges can be divided into standard 90 degrees, which are installed on more cabinets. For corner facades made according to individual drawings, it is worth buying furniture hinges with a changed angle or fitting overlays for them to reduce the possibility of opening the door.
  • The material from which the fittings are made. Various alloys are used for this type of product: aluminum, copper, zinc, brass. Experts advise you to familiarize yourself with the durability characteristics of these materials. Brass, steel hinges are considered the most reliable. They do not corrode, do not rust in an environment with high humidity.
  • Designate for yourself the required number of loops per sash. Usually these are two products. A distance of 0.50 m should be maintained between them, and 15 cm from the edge. If furniture made from a heavy array should be present in the kitchen, then it is worth distributing the load over 3-4 loops.

When the front hinges are purchased, then the installation can be entrusted to specialists and carried out independently, taking into account the basic installation rules.

furniture hinges varieties
To choose the optimal model, you need to familiarize yourself with the main technical and operational parameters of each type.

Video: types and applications of furniture hinges

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