HES 3D ARCHITECTURAL HINGES WITH HIDDEN DEPTHS

The appeal of concealed hinges to cabinet makers and furniture designers is well established. By fashioning them so they attach to the interior surface of both the door and the cabinet (rather than to the cabinet face frame), hinges can be tucked away completely out of sight when a door is closed This lends itself to a neat, seamless, pristine finish. With careful alignment, concealed hinges allow cabinet makers to reduce the gap between door and casing to an absolute minimum. The result is a premium aesthetic effect much sought after in modern interior design. Sugatsune more than appreciates these benefits - we manufacture an extensive selection of these concealed cabinet hinges, boasting some of the best regarded and most popular products available on the market. We also understand only too well some of the technical difficulties that have to be overcome - for example, the need to build multiple pivot points into the hinge mechanism so that doors attached to the interior surface can move freely around the face frame, whether inset or partially or fully overlaid. Our HES3D range began life as a bid to solve this problem. Never shy of taking on a challenge, our expert team of engineers set themselves this puzzle - is it possible to build a concealed hinge that doesn’t use a long hinge arm? Their solution was a typically brilliant piece of applied design thinking, equally elegant and deceptive in its simplicity. At its core, the HES3D concept re-engineers the familiar ‘butterfly shape’ butt hinge, extending the leaves (think of the ‘wings’ of the hinge/butterfly) above and below the central barrel, and replacing the single pivot with a triple pivot mechanism - one attached to each of the leaves, and one in the centre joining the two halves together. Just like a traditional butt hinge, our HES3D hinges are mounted on the door stile and frame, and operate in just the same way - the hinge leaves pivot apart when the door is opened, and move towards each other when the door is closed. But whereas a standard door mechanism has to leave room for this pivot (the barrel), meaning it is always visible even when the door is closed, HES 3D hinges feature a recess next to both of the outer two pivots. When the door is closed, the triple barrel tucks away into these, hiding the hinge mechanism from sight completely. It might sound complex, but there is a beautiful simplicity in how it functions. With no protrusion of the pivot mechanism at all, the door sits fully flush with the frame when closed - no gap, just perfect, pristine alignment. And to ensure every door fitted with a HES3D hinge hangs just right, our talented engineering team built in a temporary detachment feature for safe, straightforward installation, along with three-dimensional adjustment (hence the 3D in the name) for vertical, horizontal and depth alignment once installed. Originally conceived as a solution for heavyweight interior and exterior doors, the first product in the range, the HES3D-E190, is capable of holding doors weighing up to 125kg when deployed in three’s. But over time, and prompted by requests from our customers, we recognised the benefits the concept could deliver for all types of door. We started to add versions for successively smaller, lighter doors, eventually launching HES3D products that serve as an alternative to the more established concealed cabinet hinges. But why would we need to offer a second type of concealed hinge for cabinet doors? Well, functionality wise, there’s little to choose between a conventional concealed hinge and a HES3D hinge when either are fitted on a cabinet. But where HES3D hinges have the edge is that they look great, too. Beautifully balanced, flawlessly engineered, built to work to perfection - all the hallmarks of a design classic. Nowadays, we manufacture HES3D products for everything from heavy duty security doors to the smallest cabinets with a minimum thickness of just 19mm. We offer shallow bore recessed and surface mounted varieties, wide angle opening varieties (up to 180 degrees) and options for steel frame and glass doors as well as standard timber doors. Understanding the aesthetic appeal the HES3D blueprint has for our customers in the architectural design and furniture making sectors, we also offer a range of styles to suit every situation. With a choice of colours - steel, bronze and black as standard, plus nickel for the E-190 hinge and the option for custom finishes on request - we aim to ensure our HES3D hinges fit in just as well with your overall design when the door is open as they do when they are completely hidden from sight.

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