Modding Slow opening panels or doors?

I have seen some cases that have doors and panels that are opened by a spring release, and then slowly open up completely. Also some top-loading cd-players and cassete decks open up that way. I want something like that for some stealth panels for a custom case I am planning.

Unfortunately, I do not own one of those myself that I would not mind taking apart, so I have not been able to find out how the mechanism works, let alone what parts I would need for that. Sofar, googling or searching forums has not given me much more info either. Can anybody explain to me what makes this work? Are there some of-the-shelf parts that I can get for this? And if so, any pointers to where I could get them?

 

Hi Beowulff,
One idea is to use the tray motor & mechanism from a CD ROM. The small motor uses 5V and is able to push/pull some small loads (like panels / doors).

ARM

 

Most use a spring powered mechanism that is lubricated with a high viscosity grease, this causes resistance and the door/flap to open very slowly.

 

In cars, on flappy things that spring back slowly, 9 times out of ten, it is done using a spring that is damped using a urethane / elastomer insert - look at a longish tension spring on a cam with an insert...

 

you could also use a dashpot, these arelike pistons (nearly) but filled with some king of viscose substance, and provide resistance.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was actually looking for a non-motorized solution, those would be simpler.

 

Hmm, I did not know the term dashpot yet, but a little googling seems to suggest it could be what I'm looking for. Apparently, there exist both linear and rotational dashpots. Now only to find out where I can get those... Or what the dutch term for it is, for that matter, if I want to find dutch shops

 

on other cases, there's a gear moulded into the door, and it spins with another on the case's face that offers resistence.

 

the lid on a PS1 had a gear on it that provided high friction, to make the lid open slowly when the button was pressed.

You can probably pick up a few of them for very cheap / free by asking around.