Furniture hinge

The customer

• Size: Small-medium enterprise
• Sector: Furniture equipment
• Country: United Kingdom

The Project

• Size: 18-25 man-hours
• Duration: 1 week

The Problem

• Evaluation of maximum load for a new hinge design
• Different hinge layouts and door weight need to be assessed.

Proposed solution

• Stress analysis under different scenarios of load and position (angle)
• Optimal position and number of hinges for different pieces of furniture

The simulations

• Stress analysis to find mechanical hotspots of the structure elements in different opening angles (FEA analysis)
• Layout sensitivity analysis for different pieces of furniture (FEA analysis)

Project overall results

• Nominal load limits were learned for the different hinge positions. Layout recommendations were given for different pieces of furniture.
• Savings over £8,500 for the customer in prototyping and testing (estimate).
• Savings of more than 4 weeks in development time (estimate).