Telescopic slides or Drawer Slides for drawers are modern fittings that allow you to effortlessly open even massive structures. Even though in almost any piece of furniture you can find drawers that are pulled out by installing special fittings, telescopic (or as they are also called ball) guides have gained tremendous popularity only in recent years.

Today we will take a closer look at their features and types, talk about how such fittings work, and their advantages and disadvantages. We will also tell you step by step about installing telescopic drawer systems and a simple repair of guides that you can do yourself.

Features of kitchen cabinet telescopic drawer slides systems

Ball guides have a fairly simple design, their mechanism is the main and auxiliary parts - these are metal skids and balls, as well as stopper elements and other limiters, which are metal or plastic.

To understand the mechanism of their work, we will consider the simplest version of two-section non-separable telescopes. In this case, two rails differ in size and have a U-shape, so that one part can fit into the other.

In the upper or lower part (between the parts) there are small balls, and the stopper is represented by the protruding edge of the rail. So in a certain area, its movement stops.

There are two types of Telescopic Drawer Slides available at Parko Hardware

1. Zinc Telescopic Channel ( Telescopic Drawer Slides)
2. Black Telescopic Channel ( CED Coated)

What are the types of ball guides of Parko Telescopic drawer slides ?

Depending on the purpose, telescopic channel rails are distinguished by shape and other functions. They are divided according to the following characteristics:

• collapsible and non-collapsible mechanisms;
• two-section or multi-section (number of steps);
• multi-level or single-level.

The difference between non-separable mechanisms is in a rather low cost compared to analogs. This difference is due to some difficulties in the production of collapsible rails and a specific way of fixing the balls because the design must be arranged in such a way that it is possible to disassemble the guide, but at the same time not lose small elements.

Of course, the number of steps of the mechanism also affects the cost. This is also due to the peculiarities of the production of more complex parts.

Drawer Slides rails of this type come in a variety of colors, including black channel, steel, and yellow zinc channel. Balls are made of steel, and nylon. It is worth noting that plastic balls are the most silent.

Advantages and disadvantages of ball guides

Advantage

reliable design, long service life;

these are universal systems that can be used not only for boxes;

for extension, you will have to make minimal efforts, which eliminates the possibility of jamming;

fittings allow you to organize a retractable system into several levels at once;

guides withstand even heavy loads.

Disadvantage

high price;

the mechanism is quite difficult to disassemble;

the box can be difficult to remove.

The role of ball guides in furniture production

Even though ball guides are used in various industries, such fittings have received the greatest popularity in the manufacture of furniture.

Most often they are installed in various wardrobe systems, chests of drawers, and cabinets. This means that they can be found in any type of furniture that is designed for comfort and space-saving. It should be noted that the presence of such a system greatly simplifies the use of sliding cabinets.

Installation of telescopic drawer slides 

We will consider the option of mounting telescopes using the example of the bottom of a kitchen table with drawers.

Calculation

At the very beginning, we need to determine the length and types of guides that will be used during further installation.

The first type is a two-row partial extension design, and in our case, such a mechanism will not work. The second type is the four-row full extension slides, which are ideal for this table.

Next, you need to determine the length of the sidewall, in this case, it is equal to 520 millimeters, and the type of back wall is invoiced. Even if the design assumes the presence of an inset wall, a guide of 500 millimeters will still fit. Therefore, in any case, it will be optimal to choose just such a length, but the method of fixing the back wall must be taken into account.

In this case, we will have 3 facades of 140 millimeters and 1 facade - of 292 millimeters. Calculating the length of the facades is quite simple. It is enough to know the height of the case, which in this case is 720 millimeters.

In this case of ball bearing telescopic channel, it should be borne in mind that each manufacturer has its standard range of parts and most often the changes relate to the height of the facades.

Now you need to figure out how to calculate these dimensions. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the value of the lower indent, which is 17 millimeters. So, the distance from the floor to the first box will be 25 millimeters, now the height of half of this box should be added here, in this case, it is 50 millimeters. The result was 75 millimeters.

The next dimension can be obtained by taking into account the height of the lower facade. Here you should already add 2 millimeters to the gap and another half from the other box. This is based on the fact that boxes 100 millimeters high are located in the central part of narrow facades, the height of which is 140 millimeters. Thus, 140 should be divided by 2 - it turns out 70 millimeters, which we add.

This means that 142 millimeters will need to be added to the dimensions that we have already received. Most often, the guides are installed even before the body itself is assembled, so you can simply subtract 16 millimeters from previous calculations or determine the values ​​u200bu200b for the entire chain.

Next, we will look at how to calculate the width of the boxes. In this case, we have a table length of 600 millimeters. Since in most cases in the manufacture of furniture, chipboard or MDF is used with a size of 16 millimeters, we will need to subtract 32 millimeters from the total width of the structure.

In addition, from the resulting value of 568 millimeters, you will need to subtract another 26 millimeters for gaps.

Mounting

Upon completion of all preliminary calculations, it is already possible to proceed to the practical part - the installation of telescopic guides.

It is important to note one more deviation - if you use guides on rollers, then the bottom of the fiberboard can be fixed on furniture nails. In the case of ball guides, it is recommended to use self-tapping screws as fasteners, even in this case, you can make an inset bottom.

Step-by-step instruction

Step one: The first thing we need to do is detach the inner part and attach it to the axis that divides our box into two parts. The rail has many holes for adjustment. In this case, we will start with a longitudinal adjustment.

Step two: it is necessary to make a longitudinal adjustment so that the edge of the guide from the front is flush with the front edge of the sidewall. After that, you can already adjust the height.

Step three: after the work is done, it is necessary to proceed with the installation of the main part of the guide to the side of the table. The principle of fastening is the same here, but in most cases, there is no way to adjust the height. That is why, when buying guides, this principle must be taken into account, because mechanisms with additional adjustments have a higher cost. Budget options were used here.

Step four: the last step is to fix the boxes in place, and check their functionality. You can insert all four boxes at once or one at a time.

Step Five: The last step is to fix the facades. This should be done using double-sided adhesive tape and self-tapping screws

Between the facades, there should be a gap of two millimeters. To make it, you should take a PVC edge tape of this diameter or any other object of the same width.