Retractable metabox and tandembox systems for kitchen cabinets

Features of retractable metabox and tandembox systems for kitchen cabinets. Their advantages and disadvantages. Prices for drawers based on roller guides in the Hafele company store. Improved ball systems.

You can make your kitchen cabinet more convenient and functional and provide quick access to the contents by adding drawers to the traditional fixed filling in the form of shelves. To do this, you will need the drawers themselves, suitable in size, and, of course, a set of special fittings - guides and fastenings for them.

Another option is to speed up and simplify assembly by purchasing metabox or tandembox drawer systems. When the sides of the drawer are already attached to the guides, they are prepared for the installation of the bottom, back and front.

Convenient and functional solution.

Metaboxes

For kitchen cabinets and cabinets - a completely acceptable option. Metabox is a retractable system consisting of a pair of guides combined with the side walls of the box, and a pair of guides that are attached to the walls of the case. System based on roller guides.

For quick assembly of drawers.

Advantages of metaboxes:

• Durable metal side walls of the box;
• There is no need to drill holes for mounting the bottom, back wall and front;
• The ability to make the box more spacious, to increase the walls by installing metal tubes - rails.

There are also disadvantages of the system. They are connected with roller mechanisms. These are, first of all, incomplete extension, lack of smooth operation, noise, and a load-bearing capacity of up to 25 kg.

At the same time, metaboxes are inexpensive.

In the Hafele brand store of German premium fittings, prices for the metabox drawer system range from 400 to 800 rubles.

Plus, even a beginner can handle their installation.

The main thing is to correctly mark the guides that are attached to the walls of the case, along the depth and length of the box, and install them strictly at the same level.

Briefly about tandemboxes and legraboxes

March 13, 2022 1890 Blog

For comfortable operation, modern kitchen sets are equipped with a variety of systems and mechanisms. To increase the capacity of cabinets and rational use of their volume, kitchens are equipped with metaboxes, tandemboxes and legraboxes.

All these terms refer to drawers that are similar in design, but have a number of functional differences. Metaboxes (also called metalboxes or sidewalls for drawers) are metal sidewalls that are designed for pull-out boxes equipped with roller guides. Metaboxes are produced from high-strength metal alloys. that can handle heavy loads.

Advantages of metaboxes:

1. Ease of use;
2. Reduced noise when closing drawers;
3. Increasing the service life of furniture.

Metaboxes have a special device (hydraulic valve), which is designed to automatically return the box to its original position. Accordingly, to close a box equipped with a metabox with a closer, you don’t need to make any special efforts. Metaboxes are made from steel (usually 1.2mm thick) and coated with high-strength enamel of any color (but mostly white and metallic). The rollers themselves are made of high-strength plastic, designed to withstand thousands of openings and closings. The load that a metabox can withstand is inversely proportional to its length. When open, metaboxes can withstand up to 20 kg.

Tandemboxes are a collapsible box with a bottom and back wall made of chipboard, and the sides have a metal or glass wall and a tubular rail. The tandembox is equipped with guides that not only allow it to extend completely, but also withstand a much greater load than the metabox. Tandembox can be equipped with a built-in automatic closing mechanism, thanks to which the drawer closes softly and quietly. Even fully loaded drawers with the tandem system impress with their smooth gliding and high lateral stability. Tandembox is also a system for creating high, external and internal high-level drawers, ensuring the durability of the drawer, its high load capacity and softness of movement. The drawers open easily even without using your hands. It is enough to lightly press the front or pull the handle so that the drawer opens as if by itself. It doesn’t matter with what force and in what place you touch the facade.

Advantages of tandemboxes:

1. Smooth sliding of guides thanks to Tandem technology;
2. Soft and silent closing;
3. Full extension for good visibility and easy access to contents;
4. Easy installation, convenient adjustment;
5. Durability.

Legrabox. Is there an ideal of a perfect box? Free from everything previously known and functional like never before. Based on minimalism, clear lines, rigor, elegance. And an unusual elegant design. Legrabox has it all. Legrabox drawers are installed on a horizontal guide system; the system itself is sold in two types with a dynamic load of 40 kg and 70 kg, which is more than. If we translate from numbers to visual concepts, then you can put a bag of potatoes in such a box, but it won’t fit there. In addition, legrabox is equipped with a shock absorption system, so even heavily loaded boxes close softly and silently.

Tandemboxes

An improved system - based on ball (telescopic) guides - tandembox.

It includes metal side walls with rails combined with ball guides, as well as a bottom, rear wall, and chipboard facade.

Ball guides are more complex than roller guides; they may have several metal parts, one extends from the other; easy movement of the slats is provided by metal balls in the separator.

Also, the drawers are quick to assemble, but unlike the metabox system, they are full extension, low noise, operate smoothly, and are available with a load-bearing capacity of more than 25 kg.

But more expensive than modules on casters. Perhaps this is their only drawback.

Metabox, what is it? Advantages

Structurally, metaboxes look very simple

Metaboxes, what are they? Essentially, these are designs that represent a new generation of conventional roller guides. They are distinguished by a number of the following modernizations:

• The appearance of a bottom 15-18 mm thick made of laminated chipboard;

Chipboard is much more resistant to the humid climate of the kitchen than just chipboard

• Manufacturing of high side walls from thin metal;

Thin metal, and the structure already weighs much less

• The presence of a system for adjusting the facades relative to the body of the furniture set.

As a result, metaboxes for kitchen furniture receive important advantages:

1. Excellent capacity. After all, thin metal walls take up much less internal space than similar elements, for example, in boxes made of wood, chipboard or MDF;

Metaboxes are more spacious than wooden boxes

1. Significant load capacity. Thick laminated particleboard can withstand significant weight, ranging in different models from 20 kg to 30 kg, even without additional stiffening ribs;

The photo shows that the metabox can easily withstand a full load of bottles of liquids or cans of grains

1. Convenient and simple assembly and installation instructions. There is no need to drill technological holes or perform other tasks that require special tools. It will be enough for you to have a regular screwdriver on hand;

Any home craftsman can assemble a metabox with his own hands.

1. Light weight. Here again we have to thank the thin walls of the structure;
2. Low price;

I recommend buying metaboxes with incomplete extension, then the economic benefit will be maximum in comparison with competitors. But samples that extend completely, in most cases, are inferior in cost to, for example, ball systems.

1. No swaying effect of the drawer due to the top mounting of the guides;
2. The beautiful modern look goes particularly well with styles such as hi-tech, minimalism and modern;

Metaboxes look great in the interior of a modern kitchen

1. Quite a wide range of linear parameters. Typical sizes of metaboxes for kitchen cabinets:

1. High resistance to mechanical stress.

Fittings that improve the retractable system

A system with telescopic guides can be made even better, more functional and convenient. For this purpose, additional fittings are provided - a damper-shock absorber. Another improvement option is guides with a Push to Open mechanism.

Damper-shock absorber - closer, automatically retracts the drawer. Smoothly, without impact. It is attached with screws to the furniture wall, above the guide, its activator (keep plate) is to the drawer. Also compatible with roller systems.

Push to Open - a mechanism for automatically extending the drawer after pressing the front. Assumes pushrods with a spring. Used in full extension ball systems. Allows you to equip drawers with elegant fronts without handles. An unusual and attractive solution for cabinet furniture, not just kitchen furniture.

Advantages and disadvantages of metaboxes, tandemboxes

These devices (Metaboxes) have the following advantages:

• sufficient capacity created by the thin sides of the box;
• ease of use. Thanks to the guide located in the upper part of the structure, the possibility of breakage is eliminated;
• ease of installation. You can install this box yourself; no special skills are required.

The disadvantage is that it prevents the production of a deep structure. However, this drawback can be eliminated by using restrictive rails or perforated sidewalls.

Pros of tandembox:

• does not produce any extraneous sounds during operation;
• Full drawer extension;
• it is possible to equip it with additional elements to increase the comfort of functionality;
• design execution;
• long service life up to thirty years.

Minuses:

• difficulties encountered when independently determining the dimensions of a structure;
• installation requires special skills;
• high price for products.

Mechanical Tip-On System

This design allows drawers to be opened using pressure rather than a handle. Suitable for horizontal and hinged facades, which are equipped with NK and HF lifts.

There are various options that differ:

• power;
• method of fastening;

• shade.

No additional tools are required for adjustment.

What is Tandembox?

Firstly, Tandembox is a registered trademark owned by the Austrian furniture components giant Julius Blum GmbH. Boxes called tandem were first released onto the market back in 1977; since then they have been continuously improved and tandem boxes with a soft-closing system were already well known in Russia by the mid-2000s. In fact, today even many professional furniture makers, out of habit, call any drawer with steel sides and a soft-closing system tandemboxes.

There are often cases when, having bought an inexpensive kitchen in Ikea with tandembox drawers from Bloom, buyers do not want to hear anything about the products of other companies. Furniture makers shrug their shoulders - it’s hard to argue with each of the millions who have visited a furniture hypermarket, especially considering the aggressive advertising policy. And, nevertheless, an alternative exists, and has been for a very long time, differing favorably from the tandembox not only in reliability, design or range, but also in its “pedigree”. If the talented Austrian blacksmith Julius Blum started his business in 1952 with anti-slip bolts for horseshoes, then this German engineer, whose name today is used for perfect furniture components, invented a manual machine back in 1888 that automatically produces an anchor escapement for cuckoo clocks.

Metabox boyard. Popular manufacturers

When choosing a retractable system, it is equally important to decide on the manufacturer, since parameters such as:

• quality;
• reliability;
• term of use;
• maintainability;
• interchangeability of components.

The most popular manufacturers of retractable systems, including metaboxes, are:

1. Austrian company Blum. The main advantages of the manufacturer are:

• production of high-quality and high-tech retractable systems in accordance with the wishes of users;
• constant customer support. The manufacturer’s website contains convenient services for calculating retractable systems, instructions for assembling drawers, and an online consultant;
• variety of models. The most popular systems are 500 mm long;

Dimensions of Bloom metaboxes

• the presence of drawers with the possibility of full extension, which makes the process of using the system more convenient.

Among the disadvantages, one can highlight the relatively high cost of Bloom products, which is completely offset by the quality and duration of use.

1. German company Hettich. The price of retractable systems is also high, but the variety of models, high quality, and online customer support allow us to give preference to Hettich.

Accessories from a German manufacturer

High-quality furniture fittings at more reasonable prices are manufactured:

• Polish company GTV. The main difference is the production of metaboxes of increased length (up to 750 mm);
• Italian company Fgv. The advantage of the manufacturer is the ease of assembly of the metabox design;
• Russian companies Boyard and Firmax, which produce high-quality accessories at the lowest cost.

So what to replace the tandembox with?

Yes, the time has come to name that very box and the company we are talking about, of which we are official representatives and whose products we have the right to be proud of. This German company has been operating in Russia for almost 25 years, of which 13 (more than half the way) we go hand in hand, representing its products in the region of responsibility. This is no longer just an alternative to the tandembox and the company that produces it, but a truly new chapter in the book in the history of the furniture industry in Russia and the whole world, a book that began to be written 130 years ago - in 1888.

Clip-Top

Clip-Top hinges are used in expensive kitchen units due to their unique design and high quality.

1. Designed for installation in facades and hinged doors.
2. The doors close smoothly and without noise.
3. Provide different opening angles.
4. Wide range, different designs.
5. Reliability and durability.

The design includes a Blumotion closer, which turns off when you touch the surface of the lid. All components are covered with branded metal overlays.

An alternative with 130 years of tradition

So, what alternative to tandembox can the market offer today? Obviously, in order to win the attention of buyers, such a drawer must offer more reliability, comfort and style for the same money, ideally for less. And such drawers exist! In addition, the offer must be unique, have in its arsenal something that a Blum box cannot give to customers. Let's try to ask a few questions, the answer “Yes” to which implies a choice in favor of a new drawer, perhaps less known to the average person, but trustworthy among professionals.

• What would any housewife say if she were asked to increase the capacity of each drawer in the kitchen by 5%?
• Would you be happy if there were no fingerprints on the sides of the drawer and they were easy to clean?
• What about the durability provided by premium tool steel ball bearings?
• And finally, is a better price needed?

You don't need to be a Nobel laureate to understand that there is only one answer to each of these questions and that is “Yes.” The depth of the new drawer, which can replace the tandembox, is 470 mm instead of 450 for the tandem. Of course, there is a full line of other sizes, but 470 mm will ensure the fullest use of the module depth without fear of running into communications (water, gas) or distribution boxes for distributing power wires for equipment. On average, each kitchen has about 6 drawers, which means you can get almost half a drawer extra.

The specially selected smoky silver color of the sides (sides) of the new drawer does not focus attention on possible dirt, which cannot be 100% eliminated in any actively used kitchen. Coupled with the special composition of the paint, which seems to have depth and a glossy surface, fingerprints do not remain, but simply seem to evaporate without a trace. If necessary, a simple damp cloth will be enough to give the box its original shine and neatness.

If the Bloom tandembox drawers are based on guides with cassettes of nylon rollers, along which the steel profiles of the guides themselves move, the new drawer we are talking about is based on the ball bearing principle, proven on the most complex and heavily loaded mechanisms. Depending on the type of guide, four channels contain up to 180 tool steel balls, which ensure perfectly smooth and silent movement of even very heavy drawers. Regardless of temperature or humidity, these balls will never lose their perfect spherical shape and firmness, and the self-cleaning system means there are no oils, crumbs, sauces or food debris to interfere with their movement. Even sand is unable to jam them; you only need to open and close the guide a few times for the channels with the balls to return to their original functional state.

Thanks to an innovative approach to production, which was technically improved over four generations of engineers, it was possible to make each drawer not only perfect in terms of execution, but also cheap. In this case, cheap means the perfection of each stage of the process, the absence of unnecessary costs throughout the production cycle, logistics innovations that eliminate unnecessary expenses and, of course, moderate marketing, because a good product always speaks for itself.