Friction hinges’ characteristic duality of fluid motion and angle retention sets them apart from other hinge varieties. Friction hinges are valued because they can be opened and closed easily even though they rigidly retain their angle of openness when not in motion. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
Marlboro Manufacturing, Inc.
Alliance, OH | 330-935-2445We take our customer evaluations as our only measure of success. If our customers are not happy, we are not happy! We will work with you until we find the right hinges solution for you.
Sierra Pacific Engineering & Products (SPEP)
Long Beach, CA | 800-433-5554Our company is the true hinges expert. We own over 50 patents for fasteners and we are completely ISO 9000 certified. Our products are made with the customer in mind, and we take your requests as requirements for service.
S & D Products, Inc.
Bartlett, IL | 800-989-6365We are here to provide you with any hinge you could ever possibly need! We are the hinge specialists committed to bringing you a level of customer service that is unmatched by the competition.
Hardware Mfg.
St. Louis, MO | 314-436-0432Hardware Mfg. supplies stock inventory parts in addition to creating custom components for OEM and resellers. We work with a number of different industries such as agriculture, drug tablet, livestock, truck equipment, conveyors, and more.
S & S Hinge Company
Bloomingdale, IL | 800-332-1227Since 1932, the S & S Hinge Company has been providing customers with the best-quality continuous hinges possible. We have accomplished this by implementing a Lean manufacturing strategy that allows our company to do more with less.
Jefco Manufacturing
Fort Lauderdale, FL | 800-684-4643Jefco Mfg. has been a leader in the industry for over 40 years. With our experienced engineering and production team coupled with cutting edge technology, Jefco produces quality products for the Industrial, Marine, Aerospace, Defense, and Medical industries. We work closely with customers to meet/exceed their needs and design specs. Jefco has the ability to produce practically any design in any Mat. gauge, pin size, width, or length, in a variety of materials including Carbon fiber and Titanium.
Larsen & Shaw Limited
Walkerton, ON | 800-265-3078We’ve been manufacturing custom hinges in various metals and finishes since 1919, and are known by our customers as “The Hinge People®.” Larsen and Shaw offers custom hinges, enclosure hinges, heavy equipment hinges, light duty hinges, architectural hinges, industrial hinges, stop hinges, furniture hinges, and the new revolutionary R2 Hinge and PermAlign hinge. With manufacturing facilities in both the United States and Canada and our in-house design team, we are your one-stop-shop for all of your quality hinge needs.
Friction Hinges - Sierra Pacific Engineering and ProductsLaptop screens, movable vehicle sun visors, portable DVD player screens and many other hinged, planar objects would not be useful if they could not be positioned according to the needs of their users. Other hinge designs like simple butt hinges or even continuous hinges would not be appropriate for use in such products; a laptop computer fitted with a butt hinge would slam closed unless propped up by something. Friction hinges can also be used in some building door applications. They can be especially useful in loading docks and other settings in which a continuous stream of traffic passes through a doorway.
Friction hinges are alternately known as "constant torque hinges," which is descriptive of the mechanism of a friction hinge's operation. Torque is the measure of the force necessary to cause an object to rotate. In very basic terms, friction hinges require more torque to rotate than do most other hinges, but they do not require so much torque that they are difficult to rotate.
While friction hinges offer many benefits not offered by other hinge varieties, friction hinges fail more easily and sooner than simpler hinges. The frequent opening and closing of friction hinges can wear down the inner mechanisms that create friction, eventually to the point where they are not usable. In recent years manufacturers and researchers have investigated ways to slow the aging process of friction hinges.
Especially as laptop computers become more affordable, demand for sturdy friction hinges has risen. Some manufacturers have developed friction hinge products that are protected by guarantees, which indicates that friction hinge improvement efforts are advancing.