What is the best way to position hinges on a heavy duty door design?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the design and positioning of hinges for a heavy-duty door measuring 1.5m in width and 2.5m in height, weighing approximately 300kg. Participants explore the optimal number and placement of hinges, calculations related to load distribution, and the structural implications of their choices.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes using 7 butt hinges equally spaced, while their production supervisor suggests clustering 3 hinges at the top and spacing the rest towards the bottom due to shear force considerations.
  • Another participant questions the necessity of using 7 hinges, suggesting that 2 or 3 properly sized hinges may suffice for a heavy door.
  • Concerns are raised about the lateral forces on screws in the door jam, particularly with a 300kg door, indicating potential structural challenges.
  • A participant mentions that the door will be mounted on specially made door jams, affirming that 7 hinges is a customer requirement.
  • Calculations are presented to determine the radial load on the top hinge, with a derived formula suggesting that the distance between hinges should be less than 1690mm, leading to a proposed spacing of 282mm between hinges.
  • Another participant challenges the calculations provided, offering an alternative approach to calculating horizontal and vertical forces on the hinges based on the applied loads.
  • Discussion includes references to external guidelines for hinge design, indicating a reliance on established resources for calculations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the number of hinges required and their optimal placement. There is no consensus on the calculations presented, with some participants questioning the accuracy of others' methods and results.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific calculations and external guidelines, but there are indications of missing assumptions and unresolved mathematical steps in the discussions.

chrisya
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I working on a project to manufacture a door of size (W)1.5m and (H)2.5m that uses 7 butt hinges attached to the frame. The weight of the door is approx 300kg. Currently I have decided to position the hinges equally to each other but my production supervisor is advising against it. He suggest that about 3 hinges be placed closer at the top and the rest to be located equally at towards the bottom. How do I calculate the distance between hinges. Please help!
 
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Why not just use 3 properly sized hinges?

I think what your supervisor is getting at is that when the door is open and hanging from the hinges, the greatest shear force will be applied at the top-most and bottom-most hinges, so he wants you to goup the hinges such that there are more hinges where the shear force will be greatest.

However, I don't think you need to use so many hinges (unless that is some sort of requirement). I have seen some pretty heavy doors hanging from 2 or 3 very big hinges.
 
Mech_Engineer said:
However, I don't think you need to use so many hinges (unless that is some sort of requirement). I have seen some pretty heavy doors hanging from 2 or 3 very big hinges.
The loading on the top hinges by 300 Kg (660 pounds) is a lot of lateral force to put on 3 or 6 #10 screws in a door jam.
 
Bob S said:
The loading on the top hinges by 300 Kg (660 pounds) is a lot of lateral force to put on 3 or 6 #10 screws in a door jam.

I seriously doubt this 300Kg door is being mounted on a standard residential or commercial door jam, but I could be wrong. I was imagining a big door for a secure room or safe, or walk-in freezer or something...
 
thanx for your replies. The door will be mounted on specially made door jams and yes 7 hinges is the requirement from the customer. I referred to some notes & did the following calculations to justify my theories but am not sure if I missed anything!


The radial load acting on top hinge (Fradial) = [Weight of door (W) x dist to ctr of gravity(d1) + External force (Fext) x door width (d2)] / dist between hinges (dhinge)
= [(300*9.81*0.75) + (1800*1.5)]/dhinge
= 4.9x10^3/dhinge

Presuming the top hinge holds the weight of the door when opened;
Fradial should be > weight of the door
4.9x10^3/dhinge > 2.9 x 10^3
dhinge < 1.69m

So, if the distance between the hinges should be less than 1690mm, distance between all 7 hinges provided they are equally spaced = 1690/6 = 282mm.

Is this correct?
 
chrisya: Your calculations in post 5 don't look correct to me, so far.

If you have seven equally-spaced hinges plus a vertical, external applied load of 1800 N at 1500 mm, then the horizontal force on the top and bottom hinge would be F = M*c/summation(y^2) = [(300*9.81)(750 mm) + (1800 N)(1500 mm)](1071.4 mm)/(3 571 430 mm^2) = 1472 N. And the vertical shear force on each hinge would be V = (300*9.81 + 1800)/7 = 677.6 N.
 
Last edited:
How did you derive to that formulation. I referred to the guideline provided at this site
http://www.allegiscorp.com/docs/hingeDesignGuide.pdf
 
Last edited by a moderator:
M = applied moment, c = extreme fiber distance from neutral axis, y = distance of each hinge from neutral axis.
 

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