4 points help you choose right drawer slides
How to choose right drawer slides is a very difficult thing. If you make the wrong choice, the installed drawer may be difficult to open, jam, or even not fit. But what kind of information do you need to make sure you make the right choice? Here we introduce four factors in choosing slides to help you succeed in choosing right drawer slides.
Drawer load rating
The first factor to consider when buying slides is the expected weight capacity of your drawer. Each slide has a specific weight rating to support the drawers. You should know what your drawer is going to hold, if it is to hold documents, it is a relatively small load capacity, the general 45 kgs load capacity can meet your needs. If it is a more industrial application that needs a lot of weight support, you should consider heavy duty industrial slides with a higher load capacity, 227 kg load capacity or even 500 kg load capacity.
Generally drawer slides are rated at 35 kg, 45 kg, but some steel ball slides can have a load capacity of 115 kg and 227 kg. Knowing the load range you need will help you quickly choose the right slides. You can also refer to 227 kgs heavy duty drawer slides.
45 kg load rating is light duty drawer slides, that’s mean when the drawer slides’ length is 18 inches, the max loading capacity is about 45 kgs. These drawer slides are used in the furniture drawer and files cabinets.
115 kgs and 227 kgs are the heavy duty drawer slides. When you drawer need load lot of items and very heavy. especially when the drawer is fully opened, you still like put some items on the drawer, you choose these heavy duty drawer slides for your drawer.
115 kgs and 227 kgs load rating
115 kgs and 227 kgs are the heavy duty drawer slides. When you drawer need load lot of items and very heavy. especially when the drawer is fully opened, you still like put some items on the drawer, you choose these heavy duty drawer slides for your drawer.
Classification of drawer slides
How will your slides fit into your drawers? There are three options to consider, each with its own highlights and drawbacks.
Center Mount Drawer Slides
The first is a center-mounted drawer slide. The slides are centered underneath the drawer and the slides slide back and forth along the center. Since the drawer slides are underneath the drawer, you won’t be looking at the drawer slides when you open the drawer, and are usually suitable for lighter furniture use.
Side Mount Drawer Slides
The second is the side-mounted drawer slides. These side mounted slides come in pairs and are each mounted on the side of the drawer. This requires you to leave enough distance between the drawer and the cabinet, for example, we 45 kg load-bearing slides side mounted distance is 12.7 mm, 227 kg load-bearing slides side mounted distance is 19.2 mm. So choose side mounted drawer slides must pay attention to this distance.
Under mount drawer slides
The third is the drawer slides installed underneath. Bottom mounted slides also come in pairs, but they are attached to the bottom of the drawer.
Under mount drawer slides also ensure that you can’t see the slides when you open the drawer and are more aesthetically pleasing.
Extension Drawer Slides
How many drawers do you need to open? Generally there are 3 different options for drawer extensions, they are 3/4 extension, full extension and overtravel.
3/4 extension drawer slides
3/4 extension drawer slides are the typical choice for many office furniture. When the drawer is opened, 3/4 of the drawer is pulled out and 1/4 part remains inside the cabinet. This is an economical way to do it.
full extension drawer slides
When you use full extension slides, the drawers can extend to expose 100% of the drawer. This is sometimes called “100 percent extension”.
overtravel drawer slides
Overtravel slides are usually a custom-made slide. For example, with a 115% overtravel slide, the slide allows the drawer to be fully extended and then extended another 15% of the distance. These overtravel slides are also more expensive.
Drawer slides features
In addition to the above 3 points, you have to consider whether the slides need some functionality. For example, soft closed drawer slides, push to open drawer slides and bayonet drawer slides.
soft closed drawer slides
The soft closed drawer slides are when you close the slides, the drawer will eventually close very quietly and slowly by itself.
Push to open drawer slides
Push to open drawer slides are when you need to open the drawer, not pull the drawer by hand, but with a gentle push of the drawer, the drawer will automatically bounce open. Especially when your hands are occupied at the time, you can push the drawer with your knees, and then the drawer will open automatically.
Bayonet slides are usually used on metal drawers, and the slides are installed using snaps instead of screws.
Referring to the above 4 points can help you choose right drawer slides.
If you still have any questions, you can also refer to how to choose the drawer slides. or send your questions to us.
