Lightweight and long-lasting, Reell friction hinges are popular among many of the world’s most prestigious automotive and airline manufacturers for use in headrests. Our friction hinges allow headrests to have a premium-feel experience, made with lightweight, premium materials to improve the performance and economy of automotive and airline seating.
Reell series TI-200 and PHCA hinges are durable and built to last up to 10,000-50,000 cycles, depending on which is used. The TI-200 series features Reell's patented ReellTorq® technology, ensuring smooth, long-life position control without adjustment.
PHCA Hinges
Reell's lightweight PHCA aluminum friction hinge is less than half the weight of equivalent zinc or steel hinges, coming in at 19.5 grams. This feature makes it a perfect hinge type for aircraft, vehicle and other transportation headrest applications where a surface mount hinge is bolted or riveted to a metal or rigid internal substructure and where weight is critical in product design. With a rated life of 50,000 cycles, the PHCA will last for years of heavy use in transportation environments, providing reliable performance over the long term.
TI-220 Hinges
Reell’s TI-220 hinges are designed to be plastic over-molded, with available torques ranging from 1.5-3.5 N-m. Differential torque provides 100% of the specified torque in one direction and 60% of the specified torque in the opposite, making it an ideal solution for vertical positioning applications — like headrests — where gravity acts on the positioned object. Lightweight (19.5 grams) and durable, TI-220 hinges are an excellent choice for plastic-molded headrest applications.
TI-240 Hinges
Like the TI-220 series, Reell’s TI-240 hinges are designed to be plastic over-molded, with available torques ranging from 12.0-8.0 N-m. Differential torque provides 100% of the specified torque in one direction and 60% of the specified torque in the opposite, making it ideal for vertical positioning applications — like headrests — where gravity acts on the positioned object. At a durable, but still lightweight 44 grams, Reell’s TI-240 hinges are great for a variety of automotive headrest applications.
HOW TO GET HEADREST HINGES FROM REELL
Choose from two ways to start a hinge project:
- Pick the PHCA or TI-200 series hinge that fits your headrest needs. We can modify existing designs to make them perfect for your application.
- Thinking custom is your best bet? If our designs don’t meet your needs, reach out to our engineering experts with the geometry and requirements for your headrest design and we’ll design a solution to match.
If you aren’t sure what your transportation application requires or want help deciding which headrest friction hinge suits your needs, submit an Engineering Application Review to share facts about your application’s desired performance, fit and function. A Reell engineer will review your information to provide you with a recommendation of how we can help. Contact our team to discuss our capabilities.
Preferred by Automotive, Aircraft, Bus and Rail Manufacturers Worldwide
Reell is the designer and manufacturer of choice for a variety of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket companies in need of hinges. The friction hinges we manufacture for automotive headrests are designed by industry experts at our cutting-edge St. Paul, Minnesota plant, where we produce millions of hinges annually.
Since 1970, when our company was founded, Reell has stayed ahead of the competition by providing innovative products and services that always meet or exceed customer expectations. With the industry’s most experienced engineering team and the world’s most precisely controlled torque technology, we can always offer an ideal solution across industries for a wide range of applications.