Weber Knapp Blog

Summer is the season of grilling, sun, and -- for a growing number of Americans -- fancy backyard fun.

After living the hermit life in 2020, the entire world was ready to kick back and relax around the grill. However, innovation doesn't take breaks, and you've got work to do. Especially since 82% of American homeowners say they are more interested in updating outdoor living spaces than they were prior to the pandemic.

There are many opportunities to improve and innovate the functionality of an outdoor kitchen. Shoring up safety, reliability, and convenience will ensure that your designs don't just help an end-user relax, but also enhance the safety and convenience of entertaining and outdoor fun. If you’re a professional looking to take a custom outdoor kitchen design to the next level, hinges are pivotal for making the ordinary incredible.

If you’ve ever been to a military museum, you may have taken a tour of a tank or an armored truck. The huge hatches on those vehicles are very heavy -- if you’ve lifted one, you know what we’re talking about. 

Picking the right hinge for the right application can often seem like a difficult puzzle. You have to consider the cycle life, environment, and cost, which can often leave you at a standstill. 

But, there’s one hinge option that balances all three factors to provide a reliable and cost-effective hinge solution: spring-assist hinges. 

While some industries have been using motion control solutions for years, other industries could still benefit from modern hinge designs – ceramics being one of them. 

Not all manufacturers get to boast that they’ve been around for a century. But Weber Knapp can, and it’s thanks to our dedication to innovation and diversity. The technology has transformed since the 1900s, and so has the way we optimize your product. 

When people think of the term engineering, things like rockets or skyscrapers come to mind. But not all engineering is about building massive structures or traveling into space. 

Some engineers focus on the little details that take a customer’s product from ho-hum to high-end.

We spoke with Erik Dahlgren, the Director of Manufacturing Engineering at Weber Knapp, to find out how those little details can be a game-changer for a customer’s product.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in effect and winter fast approaching, it’s crucial to be prepared for the work-from-home holiday. 

When trying to include an innovative or safety-minded motion control design in your product, there’s a sneaky-confusing word you should know: torque. 

Torque is very important.

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.