Home Articles Hardware A Low Profile Soft Close System from Blum

From the Rockler Woodworking Blog

Here’s yet another reason to use Blum European hinges: a new soft close system that installs in seconds and is virtually invisible.

The Blumotion system has been around for years, sparing the savvy cabinet owner from the typical self-closing hinge slam-bang scenario and the unnerving sound of an over-zealously closed drawer rebounding off of a cabinet front. The Blumotion’s unique system senses the amount of force applied to the door or drawer and adjusts its speed dampening resistance accordingly. The Blumotion for Tandem Drawer Slides, for example, takes affect when the drawer is 2’’ from the cabinet front and gently eases it closed. The contents of the drawer, the drawer itself and your nerves stay calm and intact.

The recently introduced Blumotion for Doors model 973A improves on the original system by making cabinet door soft-close practically effortless to install, and so well integrated into the hinge itself that you’ll hardly know it’s there. The mechanism simply clips on to any 120 degree opening Blum Clip Top Hinge and silently works its magic from the hinge side, instead of protruding from the handle-side cabinet wall like its predecessor.

For hinges that won’t fit the 973A, there’s a “Compact” version. The Blumotion Compact is essentially the same technology, but attaches with a special bracket to the hinge side wall of the cabinet. It’s a great retrofit for cabinets with any other type of self closing hinge. It will also come in handy for 170 degree hinges and other specialty applications where an incompatible Blum Clip Top Hinge is used. Both the 973A and Compact system also add an overload safety feature that protects the mechanism from accidental damage, and like all of Blum’s meticulously designed products, are built to last a lifetime.