Zinc
Furniture
Zinc furniture bracket
A joining fitting die cast in zinc. It has to hold two furniture parts together through repeated assembly and disassembly, and feel solid in the hand when the customer unpacks it.
Furniture
Zinc die cast furniture fittings
Fittings for furniture production, cast in zinc. The surface is part of the product, and the thread has to survive the furniture being assembled and taken apart more than once.
Common failure points
- The surface is the product — parting line and ejector marks cannot sit in the field of view
- Colour must match from batch to batch, across years
- Threads that survive repeated assembly and disassembly
- Hard import competition on price per fitting
- Weight in the hand is read as quality by the end user
Why casting
Zinc die casting usually gives a fine surface straight from the tool, sharp detail and long tool life. That is one reason many furniture fittings are cast in zinc, and one of the few processes where the part is often finished as it leaves the tool.
What the industry needs
Joining fittings: leg mounts, corner fittings, hinges, connectors. Visible fittings: handles, decorative fittings, end caps. The first are hidden and only have to work. The second are part of the design.
What makes the requirements special
The surface is a specification. On a visible furniture fitting the parting line is not a detail — it is either hidden, or it is a deliberate design line. The same goes for the ejector points. This is decided when the tool is designed, and it cannot be corrected afterwards without rebuilding the tool.
Colour over time. A furniture range sells for many years. The fitting delivered in year five must match the one delivered in year one. That places demands on the colour reference, on the coating supplier and on nobody changing the powder without saying so.
Threads that survive the flat pack. Furniture is assembled, moved, taken apart and assembled again. The thread in the fitting has to survive that. Zinc suits it well: soft enough for the thread to form cleanly, hard enough for it to hold. If the fitting will be unscrewed many times, a threaded insert is worth considering.
Weight as perceived quality. Zinc weighs more than aluminium. In the hand that reads as solidity. It is a real reason a furniture fitting is cast in zinc rather than aluminium, even though aluminium would be lighter.
Why we fit
- We have supplied furniture fittings. Our product examples include a zinc furniture bracket and a furniture fitting machined and coated before delivery.
- Zinc die casting and machining in house. The fitting can be cast, threaded and finished in the same building. The coating is done by a sub-supplier we coordinate.
- The tool stays in Norway. If you need a change, the tool is a drive away, not a container away.
Honest about the price picture
This is a price-pressured market. On a simple fitting in high volume an importer will often be cheaper per part, and claiming otherwise does not help.
What we can offer is a short run, tooling in Norway, one point of contact and a fitting that can arrive threaded and coated. How batch sizes and call-offs can work is settled in the quotation. If none of that is worth anything to you, we are probably the wrong supplier, and it is better to establish that in the first conversation.
What has to be clarified
Which colour systems the coater handles, the minimum coating batch and how many days the finishing step adds to the lead time are stated in the quotation.
Case studies from this industry
Fittings and threaded parts made to drawing
Zinc furniture bracket
A joining fitting die cast in zinc. It has to hold two furniture parts together through repeated assembly and disassembly, and feel solid in the hand when the customer unpacks it.
Visible parts
Furniture fitting, machined and coated
A visible fitting that is cast, machined, blasted, coated at a sub-supplier and inspected before delivery. Nine steps, with the coating and the transport there and back running through the sub-supplier. We follow up all nine.
Furniture
The fitting has to look the same in year five as in year one.
Zinc die cast fittings with threads that survive the flat pack, and a surface where the parting line sits where nobody sees it.
Furniture fittings we have made
Furniture
Furniture fitting, machined and coated
A visible fitting that is cast, machined, blasted, coated at a sub-supplier and inspected before delivery. Nine steps, with the coating and the transport there and back running through the sub-supplier. We follow up all nine.
Send the drawing of the fitting
Include the colour reference and annual volume, and you will get an honest answer on whether we are the right supplier.
Send the drawing
We look at the part and the requirements before we work out a price, and tell you if casting is not the right method.