Using Accuride Heavy Duty Drawer Slides to make Sick Children’s Lives Better.

The JET PRESS team love seeing the innovative ways that Engineers and Designers are using the Accuride Linear Motion Tracks we supply. This project for a hospital in the UK was both fascinating and heart warming

How can you help a child in hospital with a drawer slide?
When the NHS commissioned the building of the brand new Alder Hey in the Park Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, they carried out their biggest ever public consultation to find out what families wanted. The kids wanted rooms that were like home. They wanted to get out into the park and let lots of light and fresh air in.

The solution was large, double glazed doors. They had to be very safe and robust, with integrated blinds for privacy, so each door ended up weighing up to 180kg. But they had to be opened and closed by small children, which meant a low movement force was essential.

Accuride engineers worked closely with the door manufacturers to come up with a friction reducing solution using recirculating ball carriages. It’s so effective that the 180kg doors require less than 20N movement force. Dampers have been fitted to avoid slamming when opening or closing.

More than 200 door sets of various configurations have been installed and everyone is very happy with the results. Especially the kids.