Weber Knapp Blog

You’re an innovator who loves solving problems.

You have a mechanical aptitude and a drive to be creative.

You find challenges exhilarating.

If you find yourself nodding your head so far, we’d love to show you how your ingenuity and creativity can produce engineering solutions for ergonomic and motion control products.

If your goal is to reduce your carbon footprint, then investing in a tiny home is the way to go. This, along with lower heating and electricity costs, mean you can reduce your impact on the environment around you. 

Motion control has made a lot of tasks easier in a number of industries. New products incorporate counterbalance or spring-assist hinges to provide a new, improved solution to an old or long-standing problem. Weber Knapp offers a series of case studies to provide you with a better idea of the potential solutions to any hinge-related problems you may encounter. 

Motion and perceived quality are closely linked. When a lid, cover, or door moves smoothly with just the “right” amount of effort, users can tell it's a high quality product.

When talking about today’s motion control solutions, engineers tend to think in terms of motors and cylinders. True, those can provide movement, but so can mechanical motion control, which has come a long way in terms of complexity and quality. 

Ergonomics is a recognized factor in employee health, productivity and workplace safety. Facilities that do not budget for and pay attention to ergonomics see employees with repetitive stress injuries, distracted from their work, and less than thrilled to be there.

Staff efficiency is improved when priority is given to ergonomics. For example, investing in an ergonomic keyboard means a typist can improve speed, cut back on mistakes and spend more time typing and less on breaks. 

If you’re designing a product with a hinge, there’s a decent chance you want it hidden away from the world.

The user experience for a product with a heavy lid or cover can range from awkward to annoying to downright dangerous.

Picture holding an industrial toolbox lid in place while reaching in one-handed, maybe twisting your back in the process. Or what if it comes down suddenly when your arm or fingers are in the way? The bruises won't be pretty, and the damage might be much worse.

This is why many designers add gas spring lid supports to their lid design. Others lean toward using counterbalance spring mechanisms or other mechanical spring solutions.

As a kid, you might have marveled at the flip-up bar countertop at your parents’ favorite restaurant. But a lot has changed since then, and bar lift gates have improved significantly.