With this article, I will introduce you to a very special category of industrial hinges. That is the concealed piano hinges. This type of hinge is widely used in commercial and industrial applications and is the type of hinge that IHINGES has focused on producing in the last few years. Let’s get down to business.
What are the concealed piano hinges?
The concealed piano hinge is a type of industrial hinge in the form of a long bar. It is installed at the joint between the door and the door frame. When the door is closed, the hinge can be hidden, so this kind of hinge is called a concealed piano hinge.
Concealed piano hinges are made of iron or stainless steel and are manufactured using a stamping process. Bolt or welded installation is used. This long hinge provides a very stable support for the door and door frame. Because it is fixed with the whole length of the door fit together.
Can a piano hinge be concealed?
The piano hinge is also known as a continuous hinge. It is a long hinge. It is usually installed on cabinets, cases, piano lids, and industrial case doors. A concealed piano hinge can be used as a concealed hinge or as an exposed hinge mounted on a surface. Similar to heavy-duty strap hinges.
You can also install them where the door meets the frame, and when the door is closed, the hinges are hidden for a concealed effect.
Is a piano hinge stronger than a regular hinge?
Commonly, butt hinges are installed at regular intervals on the door. A concealed piano hinge is mounted on the entire door. It provides more stable support. And it can distribute the weight of the door evenly over the entire hinge, greatly extending the life of the hinge.
Because piano hinges distribute the weight of the door evenly over itself. So they are stronger and more durable. The service life of the door is also greatly extended. This achieves a maintenance-free effect to a certain extent.
Is a piano hinge the same as a continuous hinge?
A piano hinge is actually a continuous hinge. They are the same type of product. There are just two different names for them. They are called piano hinges because they were first installed on the lid of a piano. For convenience, people directly call them piano hinges.
And the so-called continuous hinges. It means that this kind of hinge is long, while some ordinary hinges that we usually see are very short. In comparison, it seems to be connected by more than one of these docking hinges. So it is called a continuous hinge. And actually, if we cut the hinges at a certain distance, we can also get a single-butt hinge.
What is concealed piano hinges used for?
As you can see from their name, these hinges are often used on pianos. This is why they are called piano hinges. But they are also used in a wide range of other industrial applications. For example, the connection between metal frames, industrial machines, and equipment. They are also used in continuous installations where a high degree of stability is required.
Also concealed piano hinges can be used on any door that needs to be folded. Such as desks, storage boxes, etc. Since piano hinges can be very long and heavy, they can also be used on heavy doors, such as outdoor folding applications for large frames.
Advantages of concealed piano hinges
The length of these hinges can be customized at will. It can be completely determined by the length of our door. During the hinge installation process, it can be cut to the length you need. Since the hinge is completely fitted to the entire door, the door has an even load distribution along its length. Because of this, it is usually easier to determine how and where to place the hinge door hinges.
Piano hinges can be screwed in place or welded in place. Piano hinges can have no screw holes, which provides the convenience of welding for your particular application.
How to maintain concealed piano hinges
If the hinges are used outdoors, they need to be maintained every once in a while. We know that these hinges are usually made of iron or stainless steel. Therefore, if they are used outdoors for a long time, there is a possibility that the surface of the material will rust or bend. Especially for piano hinges made of iron, it is necessary to add rust inhibitor and lubricant regularly.
In addition, if the piano hinge is installed with screws, then the screws used here are generally small. So it is easy to be torn off. This also requires us to observe whether the screws are loose or fall off and repair them.
If the welded installation is used, it is basically maintenance-free. All that is needed is a customs check of the door’s activity. If there is a strange noise, it is necessary to add some lubricant.
How much weight can piano hinges hold?
The amount of weight a hinge can hold depends on the material and size of the hinge and the thickness of the hinge core.
If it is a very heavy box door, it will require a stronger material and a larger size, and a thicker hinge core. We generally use stainless steel 304 material and the size will be determined by the size of the door, especially the length. The thickness of the material is a very critical dimension that will directly affect the load-bearing performance of the piano hinge.
In addition, the thickness of the hinge core is also very important. When the hinge is working, almost the entire weight of the door acts on the core. So if the hinge core is too thin, even if the hinge block size is large, it will not be able to support the weight. If you are not sure about the size of the hinge, you can contact a piano hinge manufacturer or IHINGES, who can give you a professional answer.
Although it may seem that this is a professional job. But if you have the experience installing it, then it is actually very simple. We just need to prepare the tools beforehand and do the right measurements.
If you haven’t purchased the hinges yet, then you can first consult the salesman about the specifications of the hinges. If you have already purchased the hinges, then you can just install them according to the hinge opening size. We highly recommend purchasing piano hinges beforehand and then installing them. This will ensure to the maximum extent that the installation will not go wrong.
