8 Woodworking Network | KCMA | kcma.org
finished to ensure compliance with the
performance standards.
• All exterior exposed parts of
cabinets must have nails and staples
set and holes filled.
• All exposed construction joints must
be fitted in a workman-like manner
consistent with the specifications.
• Exposed cabinet hardware must
comply with Builders Hardware
Manufacturing Association finishing
standards.
In order to be certified, cabinets must
also undergo eight categories of testing,
covering structural integrity, drawer
and door operation and finish quality
(see sidebar). Accredited independent
laboratories are used to perform the
KCMA A161.1 testing in support of the
certification.
“Independent, third-party testing
by accredited laboratories is the
cornerstone of the certification
program. They provide unbiased test
results assuring the cabinet lines on
the manufacturer’s Listing Certificate
comply with the KCMA A161.1
standard,” Arnold said.
KCMA’s certification program is open
to all cabinet manufacturers, with an
option to certify one, several, or all of
their cabinet lines. The certified lines
are listed in the online KCMA Directory
of Certified Cabinet Manufacturers and
on each Listing Certificate. KCMA has
sponsored the nationally recognized
cabinet testing and certification
with a tricycle, a 10-pound sandbag
is used to strike the center of a closed
cabinet door and repeated with the
door opened to a 45-degree angle.
The cabinet door must operate as
before the test and show no damage
or sign of separation or failure in the
system.
DRAWER TESTS: To test the ability
of drawers and drawer mechanisms to
operate with loading during normal
use, drawers are loaded at 15 pounds
per square foot and operated through
25,000 cycles. The drawers must
then remain operable with no failure
in any part of the drawer assembly or
operating system, and drawer bottoms
must not be deflected to interfere with
drawer operation.
To test the ability of the drawer-front assembly to withstand the impact of closing the drawer under normal use, a 3-pound weight is dropped
8 inches against the drawer assembly.
After 10 drops, there must be no
evidence of looseness or structural
damage to the drawer-front assembly
that impairs its operation.
DOOR OPERATION TESTS: To test
the ability of doors, hinges, and
means of attachment to withstand
loading, 65 pounds of weight is applied on the door. The weighted door
is slowly operated for 10 cycles from
90 degrees open to 20 degrees open,
and returned to the 90-degree position. The door must remain weighted
for 10 minutes, after which the door
and hinges must show no visible signs
of damage, and connections between
cabinet-and-hinge and door-and-hinge must show no sign of looseness.
To test the ability of doors, door-holding devices, hinges and attachment devices to operate under the
stress of normal use, doors are opened
CATEGORIES Continued...
Kitchen and vanity cabinets bearing the
ANSI/KCMA A161.1 certification seal have
been extensively tested for their structural
integrity, drawer performance, door operation
and finish quality.
