Hinge Masters

[uGlay]

Okay this is my call to those of you who consider yourselves well-versed in the field of hinged assemblies.

I am working on a project which has an access panel.
- Sized 10"(H) x 15"(W)
- Total load on the door is about 10lbs.
- Material 6061-T4 .063" sheetmetal.

I had originally spec'd out 2 Southco R6 Hinges attached with threaded PEM studs and Lock Nuts.

http://www.southco.com/product/class.aspx?cid=7457

However after the assembly was put together we found that the SOuthco hinges have too much "slop" and are not able to function as advertised on the website. Our choices now are:

1. Reworking Soutco hinges to meet our tolerance and tighten up the assemblies.
2. Find an alternative hinge assembly to use.
3. Create our own hinge assemblies from scratch. (Considerable work compared to the other 2 options, more p/n's and added cost to our project! dont want to go this route is possible)

I am open to suggestions, comments or stories from projects that you worked on that required use of hinges. If you feel there is a product out in the market that could function in this instance please share with us.

Regards,

UgLay.


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[MadMango]

Are the hinges for vertical or horizontal panel? Does the hinge needs to keep the panel in the open position?

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Did you look at the Alternative Products link on that page?

http://www.southco.com/product/class.aspx?cid=7455

 

[TheTick]

I used to design hinges for E.R. Wagner.

How much slop is too much? What kind of slop? How much are you willing to pay?

In most hidden-hinge applications, the required "gooseneck" results in a hinge that has a long cantilevered beam that feels shaky due to the amount of moment the door is able to exert.

The most important aspect of a hinged assembly is how it closes. If it consistently closes your hatch correctly, then reconsider how much slop you can live with in open positions.

Too often, hinges are an afterthought when they should have been the foremost thought. After all, that's what the performance of a hinged assembly hinges on.

 

[uGlay]

MadMango: The hinges are mounted horizontally. Yes, it needs to hold the door in the open position.

CorBlimeyLimey: Going through that list again just in case I missed an alternative.

TheTick: I have a tolerance of 1mm gap between all 4 sides of the access panel, and I am having the access panel rub against the enclosure in certain spots.
The closing aspect is pretty good. It closes very solid. Maybe what I need to make are delrin guides for the door to slide into place correctly? I am ordering a new set of R6 hinges to see exactly how much slop they have and what can be done to remedy this.

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[MadMango]

Since you selected this hinge design, I'm assuming your panels have flanges with welded corners or the like? Are you sure your formed panels are square? Delrin guides could work, but you are back to adding more hardware and assembly labor. It will probably be no more cost that a simple piano hinge and door stay though.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[uGlay]

Your assumption is correct, my panels have 0.350" flanges on all sides and welded corners. The panels are dead-on square, but with 0.063" material it isnt really the most robust structure ive created.



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[dgowans]

uGlay,

How is the enclosure fabricated? Maybe the problem stems not from the hinges themselves, but from the structure to which they are mounted. If you've got any deflection in the panel the access door is, um... accessing, you could see some rubbing between the panel and the opening, could you not?

 

[MadMango]

You might be able to replace your hinges with these:

http://www.hardwaresource.com/Store_ViewProducts.asp?Cat=1017

You can also find these on McMaster-Carr: p/n 14785A51


"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[TheTick]

I like the idea of guides. I wish more of my former employer's customers were willing to use them. There's definitely a point where it is not economical to engineer a hinge to where it seats the lid excessively precisely.

 

[uGlay]

DGOWANS: The enclosure is made out of sheetmetal which is riveted together then brazed, primed and painted.

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[drawoh]

uGlay,

Aluminium 6061 is not a good material for sheet metal fabrication. Most of the sheet metal shops I know, prefer 5052-H32. The material is stronger in its as-welded state. Using your fabricator's favorite material, whatever it is, might improve your tolerances.

Another problem with sheet metal is that it is not accurate when you bend it. You should not rely on bending tolerances tighter than ±.015".

How is your mating part fabricated? Is it sheet metal too?

Solutions...

[ol]
[li]If it absolutely has to look good, machine both pieces. There is no free lunch. If it has to look good, it is going to cost more.[/li]
[li]Can you engineer your part so that the bending does not affect the tolerances around the hinge?[/li]
[li]Mount the hinges on an adjustable sub-structure. Production adjusts the hinges into the correct location. Obviously, this costs more. As noted above, there is no free lunch.[/li]
[/ol]

Let us not forget that bad styling is uglier than no styling.

JHG