Why are good drawer guides essential in your furniture?

The fittings are pieces that are found in almost all our furniture and drawers, allowing them to be assembled and the mobility of some of their pieces. However, they often go unnoticed despite being extremely important, as is the case with good drawer guides. These are pieces that make it possible for the drawers to go in and out of the furniture with total ease. Many times they do so by increasing their storage capacity, and allowing the objects stored there to be within reach by simply opening the drawer. At Emuca we tell you why drawer runners are essential for your furniture, and which ones are best for you in each case. Are you interested? Go for it!

Good drawer guides: different types

There are different good drawer guides, each one specifically created to cover certain needs and requirements. The three main ones are:

Guide for drawer T30: its movement is carried out by means of wheels, at the end of the route they have a fall that means that the drawer is always closed. Their greatest advantage is that they are cheaper than the rest and do not require mechanization.
Hidden guides: they have the peculiarity of not being visible in their assembly. In addition, they allow the incorporation of a piston for soft closing, which cushions the closing. However, these require machining on the drawer for assembly.
Ball guides: this type of guides allow the drawer to open completely, offering easy access to its interior. Thanks to their robustness, they can support up to 40 kg of weight. However, there are different models that adapt to each type of furniture, the load capacity, the closing and sliding required.

The latter are the most used, due to the advantages it offers and its enormous versatility. Therefore, we will focus on them in this article, as well as their importance for the assembly of furniture in your home.

Types of ball guides for drawer

There are 4 types of ball drawer guides on the market, each with its own particular style and purpose. These are the following:

Soft close drawer runners

The greatest advantage of this type of drawer runner is that it cushions its closing to avoid shocks or very sudden closings. The mechanism of this guide has an element that prevents the drawer from hitting the inside of the cabinet, minimizing the possibility of damage and thus lengthening its life. Another important advantage of this type of soft close drawer slides is that they are much less noisy compared to the other types. Thus, they do not allow the drawer and the cabinet to collide with each other.

Bottom, Center or Side Mount Drawer Slides

Drawer Bottom Ball Guides – These are usually stronger, however they have a lower weight limit due to their location.
Center Mount Drawer Ball Slides – These sit right in the middle of the drawer from the bottom. It is widely used in small furniture, since its design does not support much weight. On the other hand, it allows the drawer to open completely, making it easy to see inside.
Side Mount Ball Drawer Slides – Do not allow the drawer to open all the way, due to their location leaving at least two inches of the drawer inside the cabinet.

Essential uses of good drawer guides in different types of furniture

Ball drawer guides offer multiple functionalities. This makes them widely used in the assembly of furniture in different spaces of the houses. Here we tell you where it is best to locate them:

Kitchen

Without a doubt, drawer runners are essential in kitchens. This is because in these spaces the sizes of the furniture vary from each other and their functionality, too. That these have a high load capacity and that they also allow utensils to be within reach is a very important advantage.

Office

Office cabinets and filing cabinets are also pieces of furniture that benefit from ball-bearing drawer guides. Thanks to this, they support very well the weight of the papers and documents stored there.

Industrial

The drawers that store tools and machinery must have a high resistance to be able to support the weight of these elements. In that sense, ball drawer runners are the ideal option. The recommendation is also to add a soft close, to prevent it from hitting the cabinet when closing and the rails from loosening, damaging it.

Work tables

They are not only useful for drawers: architects, engineers, carpenters and craftsmen need a table with good support to carry out their activities. A huge space-saving benefit when not in use is that it can be folded down using ball tracks. The drawer guides you find at Emuca are manufactured to the highest quality standards, undergoing rigorous tests that guarantee that each productcto is reliable and works properly. Check out our digital catalog and take a look at the variety of sliders we have to offer you!