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The Sugatsune ESR-6 Series is an 18-inch full-extension side-mount ball bearing drawer slide made from 304 stainless steel, rated 123 lb per pair. Where zinc-finished slides would corrode and aluminum would be underbuilt, this slide is the specification-grade answer for wet, washdown, food-service, marine, and high-humidity installations.
Most side-mount ball bearing drawer slides use a zinc finish that handles indoor cabinetry just fine. The ESR-6's 304 stainless steel construction is the right choice when that environment changes: a commercial kitchen drawer that gets wiped down with sanitizing solution, a marine galley cabinet exposed to salt air, a laboratory or food-processing installation subject to washdown cycles, or a workshop sink cabinet where humidity and splash are routine. In any of these conditions, a zinc slide will eventually pit or rust; the 304 stainless steel members will not. This slide also suits architectural millwork where a visible slide must hold a premium finish over time — the stainless finish does not discolor the way zinc can.
The ESR-6 is cold-formed 304-grade stainless steel throughout the cabinet and drawer members. Ball bearings in full-length raceways provide the smooth telescopic travel the series is known for. The slide is non-handed, so both members in a pair are identical and either fits either side. The standard-motion slide has no closing mechanism: no spring, no damper, no detent. The drawer rides freely on the bearings and remains wherever it is positioned — useful in applications where a self-close or hold-in feature would interfere with the workflow or with push-to-open hardware added at the job site.
This slide belongs in side-mount installations that require a corrosion-resistant material class rather than a decorative finish upgrade. It suits commercial and institutional cabinetry, marine and outdoor-adjacent storage, food-service and laboratory environments, and any high-end residential project with a wet zone or a visible slide run. The 18-inch nominal length matches drawer boxes built to that depth; pair it with a cabinet interior that provides 1/2 inch of clearance on each side for the slide bodies. For face-frame cabinets, rear mounting support is required — series-specific rear brackets are the standard solution, sold separately.
304 stainless is an austenitic alloy with inherent corrosion resistance — it does not rely on a plated coating that can wear, chip, or pit over time. Zinc plating protects steel while the coating is intact, but in environments with moisture, cleaning agents, or salt exposure, a zinc finish is a short-term solution. 304 stainless holds up through the service life of the installation.
Full extension means the drawer member travels approximately the slide's nominal length, clearing the cabinet opening so the entire drawer interior is reachable. Slide length and drawer travel are related but separate specs — 18 inches is the closed length of the slide, and the matching nominal drawer depth should be built to 18 inches.
304 stainless steel resists corrosion in most wet and high-humidity environments and handles occasional outdoor exposure well. For fully exposed marine or coastal installs with continuous salt spray, 316-grade stainless is the more conservative specification. The ESR-6 is rated for 304 stainless — confirm the grade against your project's corrosion requirements before specifying for true outdoor or marine use.
Side-mount ball bearing slides in this class require 1/2 inch of clearance per side between the drawer box and the cabinet interior. Build the drawer box 1 inch narrower than the cabinet opening to accommodate both slides.
This SKU is the standard-motion version — no soft-close, self-close, or detent. The drawer slides freely and stays open or closed wherever it is left. Check the ESR-6 family for other motion variants if damped or assisted closing is needed for your application.
When the environment is the challenge, specifying a slide that matches it from the start avoids a costly redo. The Sugatsune ESR-6 in 304 stainless brings professional-grade corrosion resistance and full-extension access to the installations where those two things matter most.