Weber Knapp Blog

For commercial furniture designers, functionality is just as important as aesthetics. 

Inspecting several high-end refrigerators quickly reveals the widespread use of hidden hinges in premium models. As the name suggests, these hinges are invisible to the casual glance and therefore create a more seamless look in the kitchen.

If you want to design a product with a heavy lid or door, it’s useful to research how engineers have solved similar problems with other products.

Heavy-duty gas spring hinges may be currently installed on your product. However, now the hinge is malfunctioning because the strength of the gas spring has weakened over the lifespan of your product.

Today’s hinges make life much easier and more comfortable. We have progressed so far from just a plain, 'ol door hinge to advanced solutions for kinematic motion, mechanical spring counterbalance, and spring assist technologies. 

Customer expectations can certainly change in a 112-year span.

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. 

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.

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