3 Reasons To Use Guide Shoes In Your Design

If your design relies on a cam for closure, users may run into the common predicament of the cam scraping against the side of the enclosure. The friction cause by a piece of steel hardware being dragged over a steel surface can cause numerous problems for your design, including:

• Scraped paint
• Scratched steel
• Damaged cam
• Increased closure torque

These issues can be avoided simply by speccing a plastic guide shoe into your design. This addition to cams can solve many common issues users may have with steel enclosures while adding very little assembly time.

Here are a few of the benefits to implementing a plastic guide show into your design:

LOWER RISK OF DAMAGE

Steel-on-steel contact can scratch or significantly damage an enclosure’s surface over time. Using a slide shoe on your common steel or stainless steel cam provides a protective barrier between the cam and the surface of the design. 

Because the plastic of the guide shoe causes significantly less friction than bare steel, this simple amendment to your design can keep your enclosure’s appearance looking newer for a longer period of time. Additionally, adding a guide shoe can prevent paint on your enclosure from getting scratched off.

REDUCED TORQUE

The same friction that can cause steel cams to scratch the enclosure walls they’re attached to can also create additional and unnecessary torque when closing the cabinet. Using the guide shoe, however, can reduce this problem.

The anti-friction properties of the plastic shoe enable the cam to slide into place with less force than would be required without the addition. This facilitates the use of the cam and improves the user-friendliness of the overall design. By reducing the closing torque, this small piece of hardware can significantly improve your design’s ease of use.

EASY ASSEMBLY

While different guide shoes may attach to cams in different ways, many offer simple assembly options that require few or no additional tools. EMKA’s new slide shoe for cam (article number 1000-U892) offers an easy slide-on, tool-free assembly that makes it easy to add to or remove from existing enclosures.

This hassle-free assembly is less expensive and time-consuming than other options, and it also facilitates repairs and replacements of both the shoe itself and the cam. If a part on your design needs to be altered, a slide-on shoe serves as one fewer part to worry about when the enclosure is put back together.

A SMALL CHANGE THAT PAYS OFF

A plastic guide shoe is one of the smallest pieces of hardware you can spec into your design, but it can do a lot of work in reducing damage, torque, and assembly hassle. This tiny part can ultimately pay for itself over time, making it a valuable addition to any design that features a cam.

Contact us today to learn more about how small parts like guide shoes can add value to your design.