Handleless doors in Alphacam: push-to-open hole, finger groove and J-profile

The handleless door is the standard look of the modern kitchen: no handle on the face; opening is solved by a mechanism (push-to-open) or by a grip routed into the door itself (finger groove, J-profile). Removing the handle hole does not reduce CNC work — it changes it: position rules are stricter and mistakes are more visible (a finger groove on the wrong edge scraps the door). This article covers the three solutions in Alphacam by geometry, position and macro. Door types in general: Cabinet door drawing in Alphacam: membrane, panel, American, framed, glazed and louvred doors

1. Push-to-open hole

The mechanism is mostly mounted in the carcass (side or top/bottom panel); the door only gets a strike plate or magnet. The carcass hole/pocket depends on the brand: a Ø10 mm recessed cylinder (45–55 mm deep, 30–40 mm from the carcass inner edge) or a surface-screwed model (two Ø3 screw holes). On the door, in the magnetic version, a Ø8–10 mm recessed disc hole opposite the hinge side, at mid-height or 100 mm from the top.

• The hole is drilled from the back — DELIK layer, same operation as the hinge cup.
• Position on the edge opposite the hinges: on the right for a left-hinged door. The macro takes the opening side as a parameter; the operator does not mirror by hand.
• Push-to-open is not used with self-closing hinges (the hinge holds the door shut, push-to-open cannot open it); free-swing hinges are chosen — a note for the order list, not the drawing.

2. Finger groove (rear grip groove)

A groove routed into the back of the door along the opening edge or part of it: the fingers go in, the door is pulled. Typical 20–30 mm wide, 8–12 mm deep (at least 6 mm left on an 18 mm door), at 0 mm from the edge (open edge) or 3–5 mm in. Length: full or a 100–150 mm section (top on base units, bottom on wall units).

In Alphacam the groove is drawn on KANAL as an open or closed line; for an open-edge groove the line overshoots the outer contour (the cutter exits the edge). On faced board the groove cuts the edgeband: either the groove is routed after banding or the groove interior is faced separately — the macro does not know this; it corrects the cut size via the band-allowance parameter. The Finger Groove macro (Cabinet Door Macros) takes width, depth, edge distance, length and edge selection; it picks the default edge by door type (base/wall/drawer).

3. J-profile (integrated grip routing)

A grip routed into the front-top (or front-bottom) edge of the door with a special J-shaped profile cutter; a thin shadow line shows from outside, no handle. Common on membrane and lacquered doors; hard on faced board (the profile cuts the facing). The cutter is brand specific (J, C, U profiles); the size comes with the cutter, the drawing has only a line: an open line along the top edge on PROFIL. The door height shrinks by the profile (12–25 mm) or the profile is included in the door size — a project decision; the Door Size Calculation macro applies that allowance as a rule.

Alternative: aluminium recessed grip profile

An aluminium C/L profile (Gola system) fitted to the carcass or the door top edge, not routed into the door. No CNC work on the door; the carcass parts get a profile groove or a height allowance. Dimensioned Rectangle Part in Cabinet Macros subtracts the Gola allowance from the carcass size; the door is drawn with the plain door macro.

Rule for series work: opening side from the list

On a handleless door the variable is not only size but also opening side and type (base/wall/drawer, left/right hinge). With those two columns added to the dimension list, the macro drills the push-to-open hole on the correct edge and routes the finger groove on the correct face/edge. Done by hand, the most frequent error is left/right confusion, noticed when the door is hung. Cabinet Door Macros: Push-to-open Hole, Finger Groove, Door Size Calculation + plain/framed doors; operations assigned by Auto Style (Alphacam Auto Style setup: automatic machining by layer name).