Discover the Convenience Potential of Drawer Slides
Drawers are a thing that we all take for granted, but believe it or not, there was a time when they didn’t exist and people relied on simple chests for storage. The drawers we use today for storing anything from socks to all kinds of tools and what not, only appeared in the 17th century. They started as something called a coffer which was basically a crude box raised off the ground with a bottom drawer which became really popular, really fast. The drawer was a practical solution to the problem of losing small items in the bottom of their coffers.
For a long period of time, drawers featured wood-on-wood slides but furniture manufacturers later turned to metal slides for their drawers for the many significant advantages. Mainly because they are resistant to wear and tear, don’t bind, and don’t become sloppy due to humidity changes. Another great advantage is that they can carry significant loads with ease. Some of the heavy duty slides can carry 200kg or more. Also metal drawer slides can extend from three quarters of the way, or completely out of the cabinet. And finally, thanks to the advances in technology, the prices have come down significantly and most of them are quite easy to install.
Of course, there are different types of drawer slides available on the market today. Some are simple, some more complex, some look better than others, however, for industrial uses, aesthetics is probably not your primary concern. Instead, you need something that is durable and functional. What you probably need is heavy duty side-mount drawer slides.
Industrial drawer slides are able to carry more weight that any of the other types. They are mounted on the side of the drawer and they are fully visible when you open the drawer which is why they are rarely used for domestic furniture. But as I mentioned before, this doesn’t matter if you are after maximum storage, carrying capacity, and accessibility.
Industrial grade drawer slides have a considerable number of ball bearings, which allows them to operate very smoothly. Most of the quality heavy duty drawer slides provide a lock in and a lock out feature, making them perfect if you don’t want your drawers to be moving around while you are working. All this makes heavy duty drawer slides the ideal solution for a wide variety of applications including tool boxes,under tray boxes, industrial drawers, electronic cabinets, fire units and many more.
Make sure you consider the dimensions of your drawers in order to get the maximum carrying capacity of the slides. There are drawer slide calculators that can help you get that right or you can always ask the sales team for help if you are not sure about the drawer slides you need.