How to add PAX sliding doors on your own woodwork

Jules Yap·
Wardrobes
··4 Comments
pax sliding doors hack
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Light switch for soft closing device

This is a follow-up to PAX sliding door hack that I submitted in the past, concerning installing them onto my own woodwork and reversing the finger bracket.

Materials:
  • IKEA 503 274 54 soft closing device
  • Legrandir?t=ikeahacker 20&l=ur2&o=1 cupboard door switch LE04830AA or similar
  • 3mm Plexi or equivalent
  • Drill
  • Hacksaw

I thought it would be cool to see if the soft closing device (part no. 503 274 54) could be modified to operate a switch for the lighting in the cupboard.

Finally, a modification is not realistic, but a switch can be added to 
the device fairly easily.

Note that with this idea, the lighting consumes no power when off, 
unlike the lighting with a presence sensor.

Adding a lighting component to soft closing device

This week, I purchased an IKEA Komplement soft closing device (503 274 54), to see how easy it would be to adapt it for a light switch.

Big surprise – the latest version is more compact than before, and the finger bracket for the outer door is reversible, which means that you can have either door (left or right) in front! Maybe someone at IKEA looks at this site!

Note that the PAX sliding door instructions do not clearly mention this fact.

I opened the device out of curiosity:

komplement soft closing device

Here, you can see the spring (released) & the damper. Note the small space in the top left-hand corner. This is where I drilled a 3mm hole for a cable tie.

The switch

The switch is the same model that I used in the initial project, a Legrand LE04830AA:

legrand

I’m not sure how international this part is. I guess there are equivalents.

I used just the switch this time, without the cover:

legrand

Mounting plate

Here is the drawing of the mounting plate. Make sure you use non-conductive material, e.g. Plexiglas, as the switch contacts are not covered.

connection

I suggest you make 3 per door: one for mounting the switch, & 2 others with only the 4mm holes drilled for shims to adjust the height of the switch relative to the soft close finger. In my case, I needed 3 layers of 3mm.

The left-hand part is identical, except for the counter-sinking.

I used M3x20 counter-sunk screws for fixing the switch, with shake-proof washers & Nylok nuts.

For fixing the switch & shims to the soft closing device, you will need to replace the original 25mm screws by 3.5×35(40)mm chipboard screws.

Assembly

View of the assembly, including the hole for the cable tie. 3mm is big enough – more will damage the spring!

soft closing light switch

Checking the operation of the switch (filmed from below). The device is installed for testing with the PAX sliding doors I installed 3 years ago:

PAX sliding doors soft closing with lighting

Concerning height adjustment, note that it is the base of the finger which operates the switch!

Connections: the 2 switches are wired in parallel, & turn on a 24VDC supply for a led strip.

I have 2 more pairs of PAX sliding doors to install for family, so it was  interesting to prepare some of the work for them.

All in this PAX sliding doors series:

  1. How to add PAX sliding doors to your own woodwork
  2. Making the door finger brackets reversible
  3. Hacking the soft closing device for lighting

~ by Richard King, Belgium

Jules Yap
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4 Responses

  1. This is exactly what I’m trying to achieve! Could someone please tell me the measurement of the inside of the frame from top of the bottom piece of wood to the bottom of the top piece of wood for the rails to sit on for the 201cm door? Many thanks

    Reply

  2. Hi,

    Re the 8cm (in my original project): I modified the external door plate recently, & published the update (Jan ’19).
    Today, I bought a pair of Ikea dampers, to see if I could incorporate the light switch.
    Finally, IMHO, it would be too difficult, so my original idea with the Legrand switches is maybe the best.
    I noticed that the external door plate is symmetrical now, so you can choose which door is the front one! As there is no text in the instructions, you have to use some imagination 🙂

    Regards,

    Dick-san

    Reply

  3. You can invert the doors without lose the 8 cm. You must remove the plate of the external door, turn it and make the hole on the other side of the plate for the screw. Next you must turn the plastic finger but for do it you need to cut the small tooth inside the inlet guide. After that you can invert the plastic finger to the plate and screw it. To the next that you assemble the plate to the door and you will work perfect.
    I have two pax mirrored like you beside with the external doors outside and the internal doors inside.

    If you need I can show you one pictures of the mod?

    Reply

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