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I am designing a 25 x 21 x 13 inch toybox with an electric solenoid-actuated spring-release lock that pushes the lid up slightly when activated.

I am concerned that a soft-close hinge might resist the spring release. Does anyone know if these hinges do also resist opening?

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  • Hi, welcome to Woodworking. Um, maybe? I've interacted with few soft-close hinges so I don't know if this is the norm or even whether they're all like this by necessity but there was definitely some resistance to overcome when opening. No idea if it would be enough to cause you an issue (although my gut feeling is no, for what little that's worth). Commented Mar 3, 2023 at 17:11
  • It depends on what you mean by soft-close hinges. There are ones that dampen the last bit of travel to keep a door or such from slamming shut and some that function more like the hinges on a laptop where they resist movement across the entire travel of the hinge. The key is which kind of soft-close hinge are you using? The first kind, not so much. The second kind, yes...but probably not enough to make problems. This is all just speculation without more information about the hinges and the latching mechanism, etc. Commented Mar 4, 2023 at 4:37
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    @gnicko, it's my understanding that the term only refers to the first type. Commented Mar 4, 2023 at 6:27
  • Soft close hinges (and hard close, for that matter) will usually have a little bit of resistance at the closed position. You’ll have to see if your spring will move the door. Commented Mar 4, 2023 at 21:30
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    @Graphus I agree, but it's conceivable that some people would use the term casually to refer to either/both kinds.Since we don't know what specific hinges P Schmurr is referring to (or what hinges might be leading future readers here) I thought it was worth mentioning both varieties in a comment (as opposed to an answer.) Commented Mar 6, 2023 at 14:48

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Of the (few) soft-close hinges I've interacted with there was definitely resistance to overcome when opening — more than the free-swinging action of a simple butt hinge for example, but not enough to be immediately noticeable versus more standard cabinet hinges (which have been nearly ubiquitous where I live for the past 40 years).

There are multiple manufacturers of numerous soft-close hinges; the most popular seemingly falling into two types, one with an overlaying piston or other mechanism (such as in Blumotion from Blum) versus other designs with a spring-loaded damper inside a portion of the hinge body itself:

Soft-close hinges, two main types?

I think it goes without saying that individual hinge designs will have slightly different opening resistance, in the same way they have slightly different soft-closing speeds, and while there may be some numbers out there I've been unable to find any (although there are multiple references to "minimal opening resistance" or "low opening resistance" which does confirm the impression that there is some).

So, unless you can measure the opening resistance to a set of hinges in a showroom or somewhere, I think you will just have to buy a sample hinge or pair and just try it and see.

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