The cam lock nuts championed by Ikea constrain the design potential of any given piece; the connectors only work at butt-joining two pieces at 90 degrees.

Typical cam lock nuts

Scheulenburg, a German manufacturer of innovative furniture connections, has a more versatile offering. Their Gelenkdübel (German for "articulated dowel") allows designers to create furniture that joins at a mitered connection and at a variety of angles.

(X-ray view)

Here's how the clever piece of hardware works:

Enter a caption (optional)

Six years ago I chatted with Georg Scheulenburg, the company's Managing Director, at a German tradeshow. At that time he lamented that he hadn't yet seen designers utilizing his company's hardware to bring some much-needed design updates to flatpack furniture. Will you break that cycle?