Enclosure Hinges – A Design Engineer’s Guide

Enclosure Hinges – A Design Engineer’s Guide To meet the functional and ergonomic requirements of modern industrial enclosure and cabinet design, enclosure designers will want to identify the ideal hinge for their application. With so many variations in hinge design, material, and function, how does the design engineer identify the ideal hinge? Beyond some of the more obvious design considerations, like hinge size (hinges should be large enough to hold the weight of the door but not so large as to hinder its use), and hinge colour (probably black, occasionally white, any other colour can be produced but won’t be available off-the-shelf), there are some hinge characteristics which are less obvious and require more consideration. Read our guide to find out how to choose the ideal enclosure hinge for your application. 1. Enclosure hinge material Enclosure hinges are normally manufactured from metal or plastic. Zinc is a common choice for metal enclosure hinges, thanks to its high strength-to-weight ratio and favourable resistance to corrosion. Plastic hinges are generally injection moulded thermoplastic, with nylon and acetal being the most common material. Nylon and acetal are strong, reliable plastics, and under most circumstances are perfectly capable of providing a long service life and ample resistance to chemicals, solvents and heat. While plastic hinges have the advantage of lower weight and cost, metal hinges are stronger, more durable, and better able to support larger and heavier doors. 2. Enclosure hinge installation and mounting type As you might expect, enclosure hinges are installed either on the exterior or interior of the cabinet door. Some hinges can be installed both internally and externally, and some hinges can only be mounted internally or externally. Mounting a hinge externally is the most straightforward method and gives the enclosure designer a wide choice of hinge type, size and material. Designers should note that some features, such as detents and adjustable torque, are only available with externally mounted hinges. Mounting hinges internally has the advantage of greater security, thanks to the hinge and mounting hardware being concealed by the enclosure door. Internal mounting also shields the hinges and mounting hardware from the environment and in some circumstances will increase reliability and service life. 3. Enclosure hinge function Many hinges have functions beyond simply connecting a door to an enclosure. In some cases, a hinge can take the place of additional components such as gas struts. Incorporating multiple functions into the hinge saves on cost and improves access. 4. Lift-off enclosure hinges Lift-off hinges provide a quick and easy method of removing a door panel from an enclosure, allowing maintenance to be undertaken without the door restricting access. 5. Detent hinges Detent hinges feature an integral locking mechanism which holds doors and panels open at predetermined angles (e.g. 0°, 120° and 170°). Detent hinges are designed to give hands-free access to the interior of enclosures and cabinets. The hinge ensures a door remains in a fixed, open position, without the need for secondary mechanical support such as a gas strut. This reduces the total number of components required and prevents additional hardware from taking up space inside the enclosure or cabinet. 6. Positioning hinges Positioning hinges (also known as friction hinges) fall into one of two categories, constant torque hinges and adjustable torque hinges. Constant torque hinges feature a constant rate of torque throughout their range of motion. This constant torque provides sufficient resistance to hold lightweight cabinet and enclosure doors open at a position that is convenient to the user. Adjustable torque friction hinges provide similar functionality to constant torque friction hinges but with the added benefit of an adjustment screw which gives fine control over the frictional holding torque. Adjusting the screw changes the level of resistance required to open and close the hinge and allows lids, doors and panels to be held open at any angle. Once adjusted, the positioning torque stays consistent throughout the full range of motion and will hold doors steady in position. 7. Surface mounted enclosure hinges The common type of enclosure hinge and that which most closely resembles traditional hinges. Strong, simple and durable, surface mounted hinges are the default choice when specialist features like lift-off and detent are not required. We manufacture hinges in die cast zinc, thermoplastic and stainless steel. Some variants are dimensionally suited to enclosures constructed from aluminium profiles, as is common on some machines and manufacturing equipment.

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