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Chapter 14
Standard dimensions
The dimensions that hardware and machines assume: the 32 mm hole row, cup hinges, shelf supports, drawer slides, connectors, back panel, gaps and edge banding. A reference, with the source next to each figure.
Where these figures come from
A cabinet is sheet material plus hardware, and the hardware dictates part of the dimensions: where the holes go, how much clearance a drawer needs, how far a hinge cup sits from the door edge. This chapter lists those figures as the manufacturers state them (Hettich, Blum, Häfele, Egger, Rehau). Every table names its source. If a figure is missing, we could not confirm it with a manufacturer.
System 32: the hole row
Almost all cabinet hardware assumes rows of 5 mm holes, 32 mm apart, in the side panels. Shelf supports, hinge plates and drawer slides all fit them. The row is not a numbered standard but an agreement between hardware, machine and furniture makers, which is why every brand uses it.
| Dimension | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hole spacing | 32 mm | Hettich (Accura drilling jig) |
| Hole diameter | 5 mm | Hettich; Häfele (bolts for 5 mm holes) |
| Front row from the front edge of the side | 37 mm | Hettich; Festool LR 32 |
| Rear row from the back panel | 37 mm (measured from the fitted back panel) | Hettich |
| First hole above the bottom | half the bottom thickness: 8 mm for 16 mm, 9.5 mm for 19 mm | Hettich (connectors in the row) |
| Hinge mounting plate | on the 37 mm row, screw holes 32 mm apart | Blum; Hettich |
Starting the first hole at half the bottom thickness lets a connector in the row grip the middle of the bottom panel. If the row only carries shelf supports, it may start higher; then all that matters is that the left and right holes are at the same height. Manufacturers do not state a fixed depth for the 5 mm holes; in practice 12 to 13 mm is used, and the shelf support or bolt itself gives the minimum depth.
Cup hinges
The everyday cabinet hinge is the cup hinge: a 35 mm cup in the door, a mounting plate on the side panel. The figure you choose yourself is the distance from the cup to the door edge; together with the plate it decides how much the door overlays the carcass.
| Dimension | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cup bore | Ø 35 mm | Blum; Hettich |
| Cup bore depth | Blum: at least 13 mm; Hettich Sensys: 12.8 mm | Blum Clip top; Hettich Sensys 8645i |
| Cup distance to door edge (K) | 3 to 7 mm | Blum (B 3 to 7); Hettich (C 3.0 to 7.0) |
| Overlay at K (Blum 110°, plate 0) | K 3 → 14 mm, K 4 → 13, K 5 → 12, K 6 → 11, K 7 → 10 | Blum Clip top, overlay table |
| Door thickness | 15 to 24 mm | Hettich Sensys 8645i |
| Cup centre to top and bottom edge of the door | 60 to 100 mm | Hettich |
| Minimum distance between two hinges | 280 mm, and as large as possible | Hettich |
The number of hinges depends on the door height and the door weight. The two big manufacturers each give a table; they differ slightly. The cabinet designer follows the Blum limits: Auto follows the Blum and Hettich tables by door height: up to 900 mm 2, up to 1600 mm 3, up to 2000 mm 4, above that 5. Pick a number yourself for a heavy or wide door. Counted in the shopping list.
| Door height | Blum (width up to 600 mm) | Hettich (width up to 600 mm) |
|---|---|---|
| up to 900 mm | 2 (4 to 6 kg) | 2 up to 1000 mm (up to 7.7 kg) |
| up to 1600 mm | 3 (6 to 12 kg) | 3 up to 1700 mm (up to 13.7 kg) |
| up to 2000 mm | 4 (12 to 17 kg, up to about 2100 mm) | 4 up to 2200 mm (up to 17.1 kg) |
| above that | 5 (17 to 22 kg, up to 2500 mm) | 5 up to 2400 mm (up to 22 kg), 6 up to 2600, 7 up to 2800 |
Hettich explicitly calls its table a guide value. Blum: up to 650 mm door width add one hinge. A heavy door (solid wood, glass, mirror) falls outside both tables; choose the number yourself in the Door card.
Shelf supports
Loose shelves rest on shelf supports in the hole row: Ø 5 mm, 37 mm from the front and 37 mm from the back panel, every 32 mm in height. Two rows per side, four supports per shelf. Manufacturers give no minimum distance from the hole to the shelf edge; with the row at 37 mm the support sits well within the shelf anyway. If the back panel sits in a rebate or groove, measure the 37 mm from the face of the back panel, not from the rear edge of the side.
Drawer slides
The full mounting dimensions per slide type are in the i-window at Side-mount: ball-bearing slide 45.7 mm high with the axis at 23 mm; all screw holes sit on that axis (Accuride 3832, Hettich KA 4532 side-mount). Cabinet member 2 mm behind the cabinet front (inset front: front thickness + 3), first hole at 37 mm. The box hangs with equal clearance above and below. Roller slide: cabinet member screw axis 16 mm above the compartment floor, drawer bottom 11 mm above the lower edge of the box side (Hettich FR 402). Undermount: cabinet member on the compartment floor, top of drawer bottom 37 mm above it, first hole 37 mm, at least 7 mm free above the box, box depth = nominal length minus 10 (Blum Tandem). Length = box depth rounded to 50. in the Drawer card, with a drawing. Here only the fixed figures that recur across brands.
| Dimension | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Front screw hole of the cabinet member | 37 mm behind the front edge of the side, then every 32 mm; the cabinet member itself 2 mm back | Accuride; Hettich KA 4532; Blum TD-127 |
| Side-mount ball-bearing slide (45 mm high): clearance per side | 12.7 mm (+0.8 / −0) | Accuride 3832; Hettich KA 4532 |
| Roller slide: clearance per side | 12.5 mm; cabinet member screw axis 16 mm above the compartment bottom | Hettich |
| Undermount slide: box | inner width = opening width − 42 mm with 16 mm box sides; at least 7 mm free above the box | Blum TD-127; Hettich Quadro; Häfele UM A30 |
Connectors
For fixed joints between side and bottom or shelf there are three common solutions: the cam connector (Minifix), the Confirmat screw and the wooden dowel. The first two have fixed drilling dimensions.
| Connector | Drilling dimensions | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minifix 15, housing (in the shelf) | Ø 15 mm; hole centre at half the panel thickness (8 mm for 16 mm, 9.5 mm for 19 mm); depth 12.5 mm for 16 mm, 14.5 mm for 19 mm | Häfele |
| Minifix 15, bolt (in the side) | hole Ø 5 mm (double bolt: Ø 8 mm); housing centre 34 mm from the shelf edge | Häfele (bolt S100) |
| Confirmat screw 7 × 50 | pre-drill Ø 5 mm; with the step drill through the side and into the shelf in one go | Häfele |
| Wooden dowel | usually Ø 8 mm, 30 to 35 mm long (practice, no manufacturer figure) |
Minifix and system 32 connect: the bolt sits in a 5 mm hole on the row, and with the first hole at half the bottom thickness the housing lands in the middle of the bottom. That way one drilling jig covers both the hole row and the connectors.
Back panel and plinth
Hard figures are scarce here; most of it is practice. What is fixed: the rear hole row sits 37 mm from the back panel, so a back panel set back in a groove moves that row forward with it. In the cabinet designer you set at Back panel whether the back panel sits in a rebate, in a groove or on the back; the tool sizes the sides and the back panel accordingly.
- Back panel in a groove: in practice 10 to 20 mm from the rear edge, groove about 5 to 8 mm deep. No manufacturer figure; use the back panel thickness for the groove width.
- Plinth height: the common Hettich adjustable foot is 100 mm; a plinth drawer works from a plinth height of 150 mm. Kitchens in practice have plinths of 100 to 150 mm, freestanding cabinets often lower.
- Plinth setback: no manufacturer figure. In a kitchen the plinth is set back far enough for your feet; on a freestanding cabinet a few centimetres is usual. In de kastontwerper: Plinth (Height of the recessed plinth. 0 = no plinth.)
Gaps between fronts
The gap is the visible joint between two fronts and at the outside of the carcass. No manufacturer prescribes "the" gap: Blum supplies a setting jig for a front gap of 2.5 mm, and in kitchen building a 596 mm front on a 600 mm cabinet is common, so 2 mm per cabinet side and 4 mm between two cabinets. At Hettich the gap is an input value in the mounting plate calculation, not a fixed figure.
The cabinet designer uses 3 mm by default; that lies between those two practice values and suits a single cabinet where the outer gap is also the edge gap. You set it at Gap size: The visible gap between all fronts: between two doors, between drawer fronts and as the edge gap on each side of the carcass. Default 3 mm. An inset front needs a gap on every side; too tight and the door binds in damp weather.
Edge banding
Edge banding comes in fixed thicknesses and widths. The width is always wider than the panel thickness, so you can trim it flush on both sides after gluing.
| Dimension | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard ABS thicknesses | 0.4, 0.8 and 2 mm; 1 mm and 2 mm are the usual thicknesses for doors | Egger; Rehau |
| Width for an 18 or 19 mm panel | 23 mm (about 2 mm excess per side) | Egger |
| Other widths | Egger: 19, 28, 33 and 43 mm in 0.8 and 2 mm; Rehau: 14 to 104 mm | Egger; Rehau |
The band thickness counts in the dimensions: a front with 2 mm banding on four sides grows 4 mm in width and height. The cabinet designer deducts that itself when you switch on Edge banding (visible sides) and enter the thickness at Band thickness; see Grain and edge banding.
Sources
- Hettich: Accura drilling jig drawing (32 grid, 37 mm, Ø 5); Sensys hinge count sheet; mounting plate distance table; Sensys 8645i product page; DIY roller slide sheet; KA 4532.
- Blum: Clip top drilling dimensions and overlay table; number of hinges (ea.blum.com); Tandembox TD-127; 2.5 mm front gap jig (2024 catalogue).
- Häfele: Minifix 15 housing and bolt S100; Confirmat step drill; undermount slide UM A30.
- Accuride 3832; Egger edging programme (ABS thicknesses and widths); Rehau technical information Raukantex; Festool LR 32.
The full list of pages and PDFs consulted, with date, is in the research report alongside the source code (docs/onderzoek/research-kastenbouwmaten-2026-09-19.md).