When it comes to installing hardware, it is important to weigh the ease of installation and the speed of assembly against the bottom line cost of the hardware itself, say industry representatives. In today’s manufacturing climate, where speed is everything and labor is hard to find, wherever production time can be cut makes all the difference.
“Any product that saves time and is convenient is going to cost more money,” says Marte Yerkins, marketing manager for Julius Blum. “In the woodworking industry we are all familiar with drills. When hand drills were invented, they had a chuck that had to have a key. But now in the last five years, a keyless chuck has been invented. You pay more for it, but look at what you gain. You gain speed and convenience. You never have to fumble for the key. You pay extra for that convenience, but because labor is so expensive, convenience usually will pay for itself.”
The same can be said about cabinet hardware. “Let’s look at the undermount,” Yerkins says. “For years, the standard side mount epoxy-coated European drawer runner has been the norm. Introduced in 1980, it was new, it was more expensive, but it was a better feature. Now, the trend is toward the epoxy-coated undermount system. It is a very simple system that is basically like standard side mounts under the drawer, but it has extra parts. There is more material and more processes, so it has to be more expensive. If you want to have this look, which is perceived by the consumer as a premium look, then it is going to cost you extra. It may have taken a while, but the industry is getting the message.”
Hardware technology is important to production speed, as is the technology used to install cabinet hardware. “Every hardware company offers jigs and fixtures for the smaller shop,” Yerkins says. “However, some cabinet makers do not want to pay $2,000 for a mini press. The improvement in jigs today is that they have become multi-functional—which also economizes production time.”
| Here are some common problems and their solutions |
P: Matching fastener head sizes with internal slide clearances. S: Many hardware manufacturers package the proper screw styles in distributor packs for each model.
P: Contamination of slides during the finishing process. S: Protect slides with clip-on protective covers available from many hardware distributors.
P: Drawers and pullout trays scratching door backs. S: Try the protective bumpers offered by many accessory companies. Some hardware manufacturers package door guides called pivot blocks in distributor packs.
P: The screw holding shortcomings of MDF and particleboard. S: Change from using fine-thread screws, which don’t hold well, to fast-lead, deep-flute screws.
P: Screw heads stripping under the torque required. S: A recessed drive will solve the problem and simplify handling during installation.
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Tom Reinbold, national sales manager for Grass America, agrees that production speed is the greatest consideration when installing hardware. “The speed of assembly and application of the door and drawer are viewed as the most common concerns when buying cabinet hardware,” he says. “Some hardware manufacturers have countered this problem by offering boring and insertion equipment that automates the assembly of dowelled hinges to the door.
“In drawer construction, the drawer slide can be integrated into the actual construction of the drawer. The drawer slide becomes the drawer side,” Reinbold says. “Today, assembly equipment is offered to automate the actual assembly of the drawer. This accomplishes two things. It increases the speed and accuracy of the assembly installation of the hardware and in turn speeds the placement of the hardware to the cabinetry.”
“There is also a concern to have adjustment flexibility during and after the installation of the cabinetry,” says Reinbold. “After the final installation is complete, the homeowner needs to ‘tweak’ his cabinet doors. Hinges are now available with side, height and depth adjustments. Drawer slides have the capability for the drawer fronts to be adjusted side to side or up and down. Self-aligning drawer sockets ensure smooth operation during the open and closing cycles of the drawer while keeping the drawer slides parallel.”
The manufacturer needs to know the true cost of his product, according to Reinbold. “He must take into consideration the time of assembly, labor and the cost of material used. To just compare the cost of a hinge or a drawer slide is not enough. It has become much more detailed than that. There are hidden costs in all manufacturing processes. A manufacturer needs to consider the speed and accuracy of applying a hinge to a door and accurately installing the door to the cabinet. Adjustment of the door after installation is a cost consideration. These benefits often outweigh the cost of adjustable hinges vs. non-adjustable hinges.
“These factors can be applied to drawers as well,” Reinbold says. “Using a metal-sided drawer slide system eliminates the need for machining component parts. This dramatically speeds up the time involved in drawer assembly. The adjustment of the drawer after installation also outweighs the cost of general drawer hardware.”
In almost all cases, installation speed is far more critical than hardware unit cost, according to Art Lammens, director of technical services for Accuride. “The ‘easy-install’ versions of commercial products, even if slightly higher priced, reduce worker fatigue and can end up being quite cost effective. Most hardware manufacturers are developing easy-install products in many commercial categories to serve the emerging needs of cabinetmakers For example, press-in hinge cups feature ‘Christmas tree’ plastic bushings on the screws, allowing installers to just press in the hinge cups. Another trend is toward integrating interlock systems with drawer slides for multiple-drawer cabinets. Interlock systems provide ‘anti-tip’ safety along with the ability to add a gang lock with only a few additional parts or machining operations.”
Hardware demands for face frame cabinetry
“The challenge that we are facing with hardware installation is the way that American cabinets are built,” says Yerkins. “I would say that over 70 percent of cabinets built today are still face frame cabinets. The larger OEM companies do not want to put any money into these cabinets in terms of wood, so they want to put the least expensive material in the back of the cabinet. In a face frame cabinet, that is where the drawer is connected and where the support of the drawer is. The challenge is to secure a top of the line drawer runner with full extension into the back of a cabinet that only has a 1/8-inch back and make it function properly. It should function as if it were mounted to the side of the cabinet and rigid. This is a challenge that all hardware manufacturers have to face.
“You can’t just take a bracket that would mount to the back of the runner and connect it to the back of the cabinet. Nor can you take a bracket and just screw it on because there is nothing to screw to, and even if you have a quarter inch back, the screw will protrude out. It is not only the stress of the drawer on the cabinet when it is installed, it is the stress on that drawer runner mounting on the back when the cabinet is in transit — the bouncing that takes place when the cabinet is shipped on a truck.
“A solution is to develop rear mount sockets that plug into the back of the cabinet. Hardware manufacturers are giving these OEM’s a solution, but now they have to drill a series of 8 mm holes in the backs of the cabinets. It is very well known that face-frame cabinets are not built to the tolerances of frameless cabinets because they are mass-produced. Without finding any fault with the face-frame cabinets, it is just a fact of cabinet making. So, in order to have a running system work with these cabinets that have these thin backs, we build a lot of self alignment to these sockets.”
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