Concealed hinges carry a huge amount of appeal for everyone from cabinet makers to interior designers seeking a pristine finish on interior doors . Hide away the hinges , and the simple act of opening and closing a door takes on a magic of its own .
How do they do that ?
There are many ways to pull off the trick . In fact , concealed hinge mechanisms can vary considerably from one application to another . Most noticeably , the types used for furniture and for doors are quite distinct from one another . They have evolved into separate markets , with certain manufacturers known for specialising in concealed cabinet hinges , others in hidden hinges for doors .
Sugatsune ’ s HES3D range changes everything . With a groundbreaking concept , Sugatsune has become the first manufacturer to offer a single concealed hinge design suitable for doors of all sizes , from small cabinets all the way up to full size interior portals .
Elegant , compact , durable , the HES range captures everything we strive to achieve in our product designs - the perfect marriage of form and functionality , delivering premium performance wherever it is applied .
Different challenges
For all the benefits of concealed hinges - the neat , tidy finish , the ability to reduce the gap between door and frame / cabinet body - they do present certain design challenges . For full length doors , the standard solution for hiding away a hinge mechanism has been to embed it in a carved groove in the frame .
Not only does this make installation trickier , it is not a suitable solution for most furniture . Many cabinet doors are overlaid in front of the face frame rather than tucked away inside it . And even when they are inset , the walls of a typical kitchen or bathroom cabinet are too thin to cut a suitable slot into .
Concealed cabinet hinges therefore have to be mounted flush on the interior surface . This in turn creates the need for a double pivot , allowing the door to move ‘ out and open ’ to swing free of the face frame . That has led to the development of the elongated multipivot hinge arm that is now a familiar property of most concealed furniture hinges on the market .
It ’ s a design that marks concealed cabinet hinges out from the equivalent products for doors . While these long hinge arms are hidden from sight inside a cabinet when the door is closed , on a two-way door there is no such place to hide them .
Simple ingenuity
The Sugatsune HES3D series brings the twin tracks of concealed hinge development back together . From the HES3D-70 to the HES3D-190 , the range provides a solution for small cabinet doors weighing no more than 9kg all the way up to heavy duty doors weighing a maximum of 125kg . Ten products , one stunning design concept - a concealed hinge for every purpose .
The secret to the trick ? A design built around a reimagined butt hinge , with the single central pivot replaced by three or five rotating pivot points and shortened in length . In opening , this multiple pivot ensures the door clears the frame however it is mounted . When closed , this shortened barrel tucks neatly away into recesses on either side . Rather than protruding , the re-engineered barrel is hidden from sight between stile and frame .
A deceptively simple solution to a longstanding problem . Just the kind of design challenge we thrive on .
Mounting made easy
As any carpenter or cabinet maker knows , hanging a door is a skilled business because of the precision needed in positioning both sides of a hinge . Getting this right when one half is already attached either to a door or frame / cabinet interior is tricky .
HES3D hinges allow the hinge mechanism to be unclipped from one side of the base , meaning you can install the frame plate without having to hold the door in position . The two halves of the hinge then just slot back together .
Once installed , HES3D hinges also offer three-way adjustment - hence the ‘ 3D ’ in the name - providing precision control for the perfect finish .
Style as well as substance
As with all of our products , the HES3D range is built with aesthetics in mind as much as functionality . Sure , the purpose of a concealed hinge is to remain hidden from view when the door is closed for a flawless finish . But what about when the door is open ?
The compact , symmetrical nature of the HES3D ‘ butterfly ’ design lends itself perfectly to situations where appearances matter , at all times . Stylistically , HES3D hinges are a step forward from the elongated arm concealed cabinet hinge types , providing furniture manufacturers with a premium option .
To support this , we offer HES3D hinges in three colours as standard - nickel , gold and black . We can also arrange for custom finishes to suit special design requirements .