Name
Corey Juarez
Discipline
Mechanical Engineer — Design, Build, Integration & Test
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CNC'd Sliding Door Hinge

Personal — sold to customers · 2023
Five assembled hinges laid out.

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Background

While I had learned how to operate manual mills and lathes in both high school metal shop and my undergraduate degree program at Oregon State — I had always wanted to learn CNC programming. So I bought a small Tormach PCNC 440 to learn the basics (see Fig. 1).

The most ambitious project I took on was designing and manufacturing a custom sliding door hinge for the Mitsubishi Delica L300 community. Many people in the community put oversized tires on their vans, and the stock door hinges don’t provide enough outward travel for the sliding rear door to clear the rear tires. These hinges provide the additional outward travel that is required for oversized tires.

I went through a few different iterations in fusion360 (see Fig. 2) and experimented with OnShapes underwhelming FEA capabilities. The biggest challenge was coming up with a solution that not only met the load requirements but could be manufactured within the constraints of the capabilities of the CNC, my available fixturing, use of off the shelf components, and my skill level with the CNC.

I identified the highest risk interface and machining process. I then prototyped that interface and assembly process to de-risk it (see Fig. 3).

The finished project worked – the customers were happy. I now want a larger, more capable machine with an automatic tool changer.

Tearing down the old diesel engine.
Fig. 1A used Tormach PCNC 440 that I bought on Craigslist. It would have been nice to start with a more capable machine, however I was limited by the available power in my garage. This is a great machine to learn on though.
Final hinge design in Fusion 360.
Fig. 2The final hinge design modeled in Fusion 360. Fusion 360 was also used to generated the tool paths for the Tormach.
Prototype of critical interface
Fig. 3Developing the tool paths and operations for the press-fit bushings were the highest risk. I prototyped them, and the process for press-fitting the bushings to de-risk them.
Machining a part of the hinge.
Fig. 4Tormach in action.
Most machining operations complete but still in process.
Fig. 5Several setups were required for each part in the assembly. I batched processed the parts at each setup. A few more setups to go in this photo.
Completed assemblies on display
Fig. 6Five completed assemblies.
Photo from inside a van looking out and back at installed hinge.
Fig. 7This is a customer supplied photo of a hinge installed on their van.