Successful SLIDE Selection

Choosing the correct drawer slide for a product might seem to be a mundane task. However, slides play an important role in providing consumer access in appliance applications and warrant a design engineer's attention. Slides should operate trouble-free the entire life of a product and that is why it is important to analyze slide specifications, features and available options before making a decision. Most design engineers are familiar with the basic criteria that affect slide selection: drawer length, width, height and dynamic load rating. Design engineers will determine a dynamic load rating for a given drawer based on application-specific criteria. Product reliability departments determine the product life testing requirements for each application. A design engineer must be sure that the slides being evaluated offer features that account for the environmental effects of the application, such as temperature extremes and moisture.