IKEA Lack Enclosure Offset Hinges (Easy remove door and refit)

thingiverse

During my journey to build a Lack enclosure, I discovered that conventional hinges wouldn't allow a door to open fully past 90 degrees and be easily removed for greater access without spoiling the enclosure's lines. This led me to design these offset hinges which enable 180-degree opening of the door along with simple lift-off and replacement if more access is needed. The hinges were specifically designed to work seamlessly with 4mm Acrylic sheet doors. The door half of the hinge features two holes threaded M3 to a depth of 6mm, allowing an M3 x 10mm screw with a thin washer to be passed through the 4mm acetate sheet and tightened from the inside, making the fixings virtually invisible on the outside. The frame half is screwed into the leg of the Lack using 4mm countersunk woodscrews. I designed these hinges to complement my Lack leg mountings, which are remixes from Thebeetleuk found at www.thingiverse.com/thing:2776584. These should work well with either setup, as long as you ensure that the hinge pin centre is sufficiently beyond the outer face of the leg, allowing the hinge to open flat against the outer face. To use these hinges effectively, note that you will need to notch the door to allow the frame half of the hinges to pass through. This should be approximately 20mm x 8mm, cut accurately with a junior hacksaw and filed to finished dimensions (see drilling jig for marking out dimensions). Update: I've added a drilling jig to the files section to assist in getting the door drilled and cut accurately, enabling a good fit. The jig should be placed against the hinge edge of the door at desired positions for the hinges. Fit the jig on the inside face of the sheet as it is orientation-sensitive. Keep the stepped edge against the edge of the sheet and drill through the jig using a 3mm drill. At the same time, scribe around the jig from the stepped profile onto the acrylic. Remove the jig and scribe a line to join the two inset scribes, resulting in a marked area of approximately 16mm x 20mm which should give an accurate marking to cut the clearance notches in the sheet. Beware that the jig is slightly asymmetric to provide a little extra clearance to the lower portion of the hinge (frame element). This is not noticeable to the naked eye but will ensure the correct profile for cutting. Before fitting the hinge to the acrylic door, drill the acrylic sheet screw-holes out to 3.2mm to allow thread clearance. Update: I've added a left-handed set for those who prefer to hinge their door on the left. If you have any issues or feedback, please feel free to comment. Positive or negative feedback is welcome.