5 questions for Frank Windmann, developer of the Juna shower door hinge series
07.06.2022
Ideas turned into sketches, sketches turned into prototypes and then into a market-ready continuous door hinge. We are talking about our latest product development called Juna. The shower door hinge series has been on the market since the beginning of 2022, including a patent, an impressive service life and a 5-year guarantee. Frank Windmann has been part of the development team since the beginning of the project. We wanted to know from our colleague...
Frank, what motivated you to develop a new shower door hinge?
There are many shower door hinges on the market. But why should you be satisfied with that? Right at the beginning of the project, we realised that there was no hinge on the market that combined all the advantages. It was particularly interesting to see how existing shower door hinges are installed in practice. In the process, we immediately noticed potential for improvement, for which we gradually developed solutions.
What distinguishes Juna from other shower door hinges?
Juna simplifies the installation of shower door hinges many times over. It starts with the patented adjustment of the zero position: The zero position screw is centrally located in the hinge and is therefore easy to reach. The adjustment is made using a revolutionary tensioning technique that does not create any disturbing notches on the hinge axis. This makes it possible, for example, to readjust the belt precisely. The second distinguishing feature of Juna relates to the cover caps. They are placed on the belt with the help of four centring pins including water-resistant rubber rings and thus sit particularly precisely and firmly. With a simple pulling movement, the caps can also be removed again, if desired.
What other advantages does the fitter have with Juna?
It is above all the details that we have worked out. For example, the fitter only needs a T30 screwdriver for assembly, as all screws in the Juna series have uniform screw heads. The threads are also so robust that screws cannot be overtightened in the first place. And last but not least, we have designed the cover caps in such a way that they are only put on when the hinge is already completely mounted. This way we avoid damage to the surfaces until the end of the assembly.
The improvements for assemblers are obvious. What does the end user get out of Juna?
Choosing Juna means choosing first-class quality and a modern design for your bathroom. High-quality materials such as stainless steel and brass make the series particularly durable. This is also proven by the test of the ift Rosenheim. Here, the hinge was successfully tested for 100,000 pendulum cycles - and thus well beyond the 20,000 cycles required by DIN EN 14428. This means, for example, that a family of 4 can shower every day for over 34 years without any signs of wear on the shower door hinge.
What innovation can we look forward to next from Bohle development?
At Bohle, we want to make good things even better. We already have many ideas and are already working on exciting fittings projects. In any case, the Bohle product development team is not getting tired.