I’m always facinated on how things work. What prevents slow closing drawers/ cabinets from closing abruptly?
What happens to the momentum of closing and slowing it down doesn’t cause it to get stuck?
Why are they not used on regular house doors, refrigerators, etc? This would save a lot of accidents.
In: 6
They use hydraulics.
Refrigerators could have it, but it’d be expensive and require one of those [bars you see some exterior doors](https://www.lcnclosers.com/en/products/surface-mounted/1250-series-closers.html) have but also with hydraulics. Many commercial doors are self-closing, I don’t know how many slow-down an attempt to fast/quick close the door.
Since I’ve never heard of a cabinet doing this, I’m going to assume you are talking about things like outer metal doors to your house that automatically close, but do so slowly. (And if you try to force them to close faster, it resists you.)
Those doors have a spring that always tries to shut the door (that’s easy to overcome, but firm enough to fully shut the door) and an air canister that’s open on end, but only has a small hole at the other.
When you open the door, the canister easily fills with air. But when you close it, the air can’t go back out the big hole it came in, only the little hole it can only hiss out of slowly. So it compresses under the spring’s strength. (And compresses more if you push against it.) while only gradually releasing the trapped air.
As for other appliances, they could have them, but it would add to the cost, and having a refrigerator door that automatically closes would often be a nuisance. (When opening these doors, you want in or outside completely. In the fridge, you’re grabbing a couple items. Often with both hands leaving you to awkwardly prop the door open with your foot.
They aren’t free and the cost adds up.
You’re talking about stuff like https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Cabinet-Hardware-Drawer-Slides/Soft-Close/N-5yc1vZc2bqZ1z0jp6o ?
There is a mechanism that acts as a brake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashpot#Linear_damper It resists fast motion. It’s kind of like trying to stir a thick syrup. The energy is dissipated as heat. There may be a spring system involved so the drawer doesn’t slam hard against the damper.
Here’s a video I found by searching “how do soft close drawers work” https://youtu.be/Rb0Z8FJDccU and more https://www.hardwaresource.com/resources/the-science-behind-soft-close-doors/ https://www.bostoncloset.com/blog/soft-closing-drawers-home-improvement-boston-closet/ https://www.accuride.com/en-us/blog/how-to-install-drawer-slides/easy-close-vs-self-close-whats-the-difference
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