Weber Knapp Blog

We just returned from an exciting weekend at the NRA (National Restaurant Association) Show 2017. This show is the largest annual gathering of the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry. Just like they do every year, the NRA packed McCormick Place in Chicago with over 2,000 exhibitors and countless non-exhibiting attendees. The place was buzzing with people making new contacts, learning about new and innovative products, greeting old friends, and inhaling the aromas from all the amazing food that was being prepared by the celebrity chefs in attendance.

If you’ve been following our blog you’re already familiar with Vectis™ Springloaded Counterbalanced Hinges and what they can offer but, maybe you still aren’t sure what applications they can really be used for or, maybe you’re just landing on our website and getting to know Vectis™. So, in the spirit of sharing our counterbalance knowledge, we’ve tasked our very creative Design Engineers with imagining an application using Vectis™ Hinges and bringing that application to “life” in order to show you some of the countless applications these counterbalance hinges can be used on. Following you’ll find four applications that are perfect for Vectis™ hinges as imagined by our engineering thinkers, dreamers, and inventors:

The Dresser with a Hidden Surprise

The Vectis™ team traveled to Atlanta, GA to attend the 2017 Hearth, Patio, & Barbecue Associations HPBExpo – North America’s largest indoor-outdoor living showcase.

It’s the beginning of a new year and we’re full steam ahead here at Vectis™. But, we know we’re not the only ones readying ourselves for the busy year ahead. All of the industry trade associations are making themselves ready for upcoming trade shows – their main goal, to facilitate interaction between manufacturers in their trade and distribution channel members. We know these folks have their hands full coordinating all the details that make shows like these possible for all of us to attend.


So, where might you see Vectis™ and our line of Springloaded Counterbalance Hinges amid this hustle and bustle of salespeople, suppliers, buyers, engineers, and all other manner of inquiring minds as they hit the trade show floors? Well, you may run into our Director of Sales and Marketing, Marsh Brugge and one of our Account Managers, Jody Osgood, walking the floor at the NAFEM Food Service and Equipment Supplies show being held in Orlando, FL in February. This year the NAFEM show advertises over 500 equipment and supplies manufacturers exhibiting, as well as innovative trend galleries. Of course, we can’t forget to mention the most important aspect of the show – the countless networking opportunities that a trade show offers!


We’re also extremely pleased to announce that we will have a booth at the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association’s HPBExpo being held in Atlanta, GA in March! This show will allow us to display samples of our Vectis™ Custom Counterbalance Hinges. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to experience for themselves the difference a Vectis™ Custom Counterbalance can make for their product. Our display includes several Counterbalanced grill lid samples in order to give visitors the ability to actually feel the difference between a counterbalanced lid verses a lid with a standard hinge. We know that our visitors will not be disappointed with what Vectis™ Custom has to offer! So, stop by and visit Marsh Brugge, Director of Sales and Marketing, Warren Waxham, Technical Sales Manager, Rex McCray, Owner/CEO, and myself at the HPBExpo, March 1st – 4th, in booth # 1161. We look forward to meeting you!

The holiday season is upon us and boy have we been busy here with Vectis™! In today’s hectic work environment, it can be tough to find the time for reflective thought. Our energy has been focused on launching the website, developing marketing strategy, countless meetings with our engineers, and all of the other necessary steps it takes to hit the ground running with a new product line. But, the Holiday season tends to lighten the “business as usual” mood around here. It sparks a change in our day to day routines and brings forth a more festive and light hearted atmosphere. This, in turn, allows us the opportunity to look back on the past year, assess the present, and take a glimpse into our future.


When I sat down to write this holiday reflections blog, I had so many different ideas in mind to write about, but at the end of the day, my reflections on the past year brought me directly to the amazing team behind Vectis™ Counterbalance Hinges. Because, without every single person employed at Weber Knapp Company, there would be no Vectis™ to blog about in the first place! We are truly blessed to have such an amazing group of people, truly a family, who whole heartedly and proudly stand behind the products that are made here. I find it a blessing to be able to spend my work days with people who care as much about the company they work for and the quality of product they produce as I do.


My reflections also directed me to our clients and friends who continue to place their trust in us. I know I speak for everyone at Weber Knapp and Vectis™ when I say we appreciate your business and look forward to another prosperous year. We look forward to growing stronger relationships with our current customers and forging new friendships and business associates in the year to come.
From all of us at Weber Knapp and Vectis™, we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you may celebrate at this time of year! You are all such an important part of our past and our future! We look forward to growing with you in 2017!

Last month we began our series on technical considerations in order to help prepare you for your visit to the Vectis™ DYO app. We are confident that this series of blogs will help you make technical decisions in order to design the ideal counterbalance for your project. This month we’re going to discuss how lid gaskets can effect springloaded counterbalance hinges and what that could mean in regard to the ultimate function of your project.


Lid gaskets often require a significant downward force to provide a good seal. If you are using a latch or some other means of providing this downward force than you can have the Vectis™ Counterbalance fully neutralize the lid weight through all or most of the travel range. Also, the Vectis™ Counterbalance could provide a small pop up force that would allow the lid to travel upwards a small distance when the latch is released.


When using only the force from the weight of the lid to compress the gasket, careful consideration needs to be taken when specifying a Vectis™ Counterbalance. The counterbalance works to neutralize the lid weight, thus limiting the available gasket compression force. To achieve the needed gasket force you will want to have the Plus Friction curve on the Vectis™ DYO graph below the Lid Torque curve at the closed 0⁰ position. You will need to know what force is required to provide full gasket compression to determine the exact position of the Plus Friction curve. Start by multiplying the required gasket compression force by the Horizontal Distance to the center of gravity (in the closed position). Subtract that number from the known lid torque at the 0⁰ closed position. The resulting value will be the required position of the Plus Friction curve at the 0⁰ position to achieve the theoretical gasket compression force.


If you are not able to gain the needed gasket compression force with our standard Vectis™ Counterbalances, we can address your needs with a Vectis™ Custom Counterbalance.


If you’re having difficulty gathering all the data you need to design your own Vectis™ Counterbalance and we haven’t covered the topic you’d like more information on, just give us a call, our sales and engineering staff are ready to answer your questions and walk you through the DYO app.

So, you’ve decided that a springloaded counterbalance hinge is the ideal way to take your project to the next level. And, you already know that a Vectis™ Counterbalance Hinge can address your specific design challenges and that a Vectis™ counterbalance hinge will outperform and out last a gas spring. But, what technical considerations do you need to make before you click the DYO tab?


To help prepare you for your visit to the DYO app, over the next several months we’ll be discussing some of the technical decisions you’ll need to make in order to design the perfect counterbalance for your project. This month we’re going to discuss the effects of vertical distance to the center of gravity and what that could mean in regard to the ultimate function of your project.


The vertical distance to the center of gravity can have a big impact on how your lid acts near the open position. The greater the positive vertical distance the greater the tendency for the lid to self-open at larger open angles. Conversely, a negative vertical distance allows the lid to be potentially counterbalanced up to the maximum 90° opening angle. If you do not want the lid to coast open at larger angles, consider reducing the maximum opening angle to something close to the balance angle of the lid. The balance angle is the angle of the lid at which the center of gravity is directly above the pivot. If you are looking at the torque chart on the Vectis® DYO app, the balance angle is the point where the lid torque drops to zero.


For applications where the vertical distance to the center of gravity is sizeable, a large opening angle is required, and minimal coast towards the full open position is desired, rest assured that we can meet your needs with a Vectis® Counterbalance Hinge or a Vectis™ Custom Counterbalance.




If you’re having trouble specifying a Vectis™ Counterbalance Hinge for your project, give us a call, our engineers are ready to assist you!


Jeremy Redlecki

Product Design Manager

and

Leila Bell

Business Develop Manager

Weber Knapp Company

 


I’ve been excited to get started on writing blogs for our newly launched Vectis™ line of counterbalance hinges and the vectiscounterbalance.com website.  With so many topics I could cover, it occurred to me that the most important feature and the driving force behind each Vectis™ counterbalance is actually quite simple – Motion Control.

Business success stories begin with empowering leadership that instills a culture of collaboration, productivity and a strategic vision. In 2011 current President and CEO Rex McCray and Senior Vice President of Engineering Donald Pangborn brought ownership of Weber Knapp Company from a British-based investment company back to Jamestown, New York.