Understanding side space

Understanding side space

The distance between the cabinet and drawer is critical if you intend to use a ball bearing drawer slide. Most slide manufacturers refer to this as ‘side space tolerance’ and it will vary depending on the slide you chose. Always refer to the manufacturers’ installation guides; we can only talk here about the side space slide has slide has room to move freely.

However, it is also important to understand that ball bearing slides cannot absorb large gap deviations between the cabinet and drawer. Space must

be consistent along the whole length of the slide. Also, it must not be too large; this will pull the slide members apart and cause movement problems and early product failure.

Side space must always be greater than the slide thickness

We recommend that you allow between +0.2mm and +0.5mm over the slide thickness.

For example, the 4503 slide is 12.7mm thick, therefore the side space should be between 12.9 and 13.2mm. However, there are some slides that will need a different formula for working out the slide space.

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