Drawer Slides: how do you choose the right one?

Ovesco stocks a range of locking and non-locking drawer slides from 15kg up to 227kg made from strong zinc plated aluminium. One of the questions customers ask us most is how to pick a drawer slide for their project. So, let’s take a look at the differences between different types of drawer slides.

WEIGHT RATINGS

The weight capacity or ‘rating’ for a drawer slide varies depending on its usage. The profile or end view of a drawer slide changes both in physical size and material thickness as the intended load increases. Industry standards give a certain profile a weight capacity, however, movement, vibration and exposure to elements all affect the function of a slide. Each slide on our website has 3 ratings: moderate use, frequent use and transporation use - remember to keep this in mind.

LOCKING OR NON-LOCKING

There are drawer slides that include their own locating stops for all the way extended or back in the closed position. Whilst these are called locking drawer slides we always recommend a secondary locking device like a shot bolt in a mobile environment.

BASE MOUNT OR SIDE MOUNT

Some slides mount to the side of the drawer and others to the base/bottom edge.

FULL EXTENSION

Some slides only have a 2-part design where the slide is not able to extend its complete length.

Others have a 3-piece setup that allows a full extension.

LONG LENGTHS

A popular drawer slide for long lengths is our OCCO Track which is a simple extrusion and wheel combo that allows complete flexibility in the owners’ design. It is excellent for hefty loads that need to be spread out over a long distance.

EXAMPLE:

Imagine working on a slide-out drawer in the back of a 4WD. It is to be used as a utensil storage space. The maximum weight it will carry is about 40kg and the drawer itself weights approximately 20kg including fittings etc. so the total weight is 60kg. The drawer length is 720mm and we wish the drawer to come out to its complete length.

The drawer slides can be mounted on the side of the drawer and do not need to be locking.

We can determine then that we need to look in the non-locking drawer slide section. As we search through, we find that the 125kg slides can offer us a 712mm slide with a transportation rating of 70kg.

Also, remember to take into account the depth of the slide for fitting purposes, these are generally marked on the product diagram.

For help selecting the best drawer slides for your project, just give us a call 1300 290 359 or shoot us an email.

Image by Newcastle Van Fitouts