Binder Storage Cabinets That Rotate

Binders are awkward in most office furniture. A lateral file drawer is built for folders hanging side to side, so binders end up lying flat or standing spine-up, and the drawer is half empty either way. An open bookcase holds them upright, but every spine is on display, nothing locks, and the shelves collect dust.

A Times-2 rotary file cabinet stores binders the way a bookcase does, standing on a shelf with the spine facing out, but it is double-depth and turns on its base. Half the binders face you. The other half sit back to back with them and are one spin away. Close the unit and the room sees a flat steel panel.

That double-depth design is where the space savings come from. Aurora rates a single 8-tier Times-2 at about the capacity of three standard lateral files, in a footprint roughly half the size, because there is no drawer to pull out and no aisle needed in front of each drawer.

The other reason people choose a rotary cabinet over a dedicated binder rack is flexibility. Aurora lists binders next to books, hanging files, supplies, media and personal items among the things one Times-2 can hold. When a department moves from paper binders to something else, the same cabinet takes new shelves, drawers or file frames instead of going to surplus.

Times-2 comes with Aurora’s adjustable, reversible shelf. It has a 1/4-inch lip on one edge and is slotted every inch for dividers. Lip to the back suits folders. Lip to the front keeps boxes and loose items from sliding off when the cabinet turns.

For binders, Aurora points to the recessed shelf. It improves visibility of what is stored in the lower tiers, which matters when someone is reading spine labels near the floor, and Aurora notes it is typically used for binder storage. It takes the same dividers.

Few departments store only binders. Because every Times-2 accessory hangs on the same louvers, one unit can hold a binder tier at seven louvers, hanging-file drawers at six, and an accessory drawer for supplies, all turning together on one base.

Aurora’s wardrobe kit takes it further: a coat section on one side of a unit, with half-shelves for binders or books beside it and an optional locking drawer for valuables. That turns a binder cabinet into personal storage for staff without lockers or a coat closet, which helps in hoteling and shared-desk offices.

Binders often hold the material people least want left on an open shelf: HR and personnel binders, client and case binders, patient chart binders, safety and compliance manuals. Every Times-2 locks as a unit with a standard key lock, and Aurora offers upgrades:

• Electronic keypad lock with separate user codes, so a bank of units can be coded differently, and a lockout after five wrong entries.
• Medeco high-security cores.
• Twin locks keyed differently, with the top lock as a supervisor’s key.
• Locking security drawers inside the cabinet for items that need their own key.

The lock secures the whole cabinet, so there is no separate door to leave open. For patient chart binders specifically, see our medical chart rotary file cabinets page.