Everything you need to know about Commercial Door Hinges: Manufacturing a Commercial Hinge
Hinge manufacturing refers to the production process. Both hinges and latches are typically made by the same manufacturer, and they begin the process the same way.
To start off, the chosen metal material for the hinge is melted. Once it’s at the right temperature, the manufacturer puts it through several machining processes.
After the hinge is created, it’s put through secondary processes to perfect the thickness, size, and shape. These processes include painting, coating, polishing, plating, rust-proofing, smoothing, or galvanization. These are determined based on the application for the door hinge.
The manufacturer must consider several things when choosing what product mix to manufacture. These include budget, required production volume, design complexity, and required production speed.
Custom Hinge Design
When designing a hinge, manufacturers begin with the main components which are typically the leaves, knuckles, and hinge pin.
The leaves are plates that fold outward, and they are held together by a knuckle or hollow joint. The knuckle is joined to the hinge by a pin.
When installed, the leaves are attached to the separate surfaces that will be held together. Screw holes are drilled into the leaf so that they can be fastened to the door and frame.
Standard Fabrication
The parts of a door hinge are quite simple to fabricate. These include:
Leaf
This is also called the wing of the hinge, and it’s the flat piece of the hardware that’s screwed into the frame and door.
Pin
This long pin slides into the knuckle holding the two leaves together. If you pull the pin out, you can remove the door from the frame. Some doors need removable hinges so that they can easily be lifted and removed.
Knuckle
The middle part of the hinge is called the knuckle, which is a cylindrical case that allows the leaves to rotate causing the door to move.
Sleeves
These are the cylindrical pieces that create the knuckle and hold the pin together.
Special Application Hinges
There are a variety of hinges depending on the application and industry. Hinges may require galvanized steel or other material depending on the temperature and chemical exposure around the door.
Some specialty application hinges include:
- Slip-in hinge
- Flag hinge
- Power hinges
- Friction hinges
- Weld-on hinges
- Bi-fold hinges
- Case hinges
- Off-set hinges
- Overlay hinges
- Panel box hinges
- Take apart hinges
- T hinges
- Decorative hinges
- Knife hinge
- J-bolt pivot hinge
- Barrel hinge
- Invisible hinge
These have a wide range of uses for standard use, high traffic and extra heavy doors.
Example: A welded hinge installation is best when you need to suspend a heavy door. These are capable of holding doors of extreme weights. Bank vaults and blast doors typically use these types of hinges.
Unique Hinges
For certain industries, warehouses and other businesses in heavy-duty applications need their own unique types of concealed and durable application hinges. A few unique hinge examples include:
- McKinney Five Knuckle heavy weight hinge
- McKinney StormPro® Tornado Resistant Hinges
- McKinney ElectroLynx® Power over Ethernet Hinge (PoE)
Unique hinges can take care of a variety of technical needs, and they can combine various characteristics such as specialty materials, electrification, or convenience features.