Industrial enclosures are utilised to house electric and electronic devices, equipment, and components. They help to protect personnel from accidental injury when handling these in operation and prevent the ingress of contaminants like water and dust.
Whether it is a unit for data processing, control box or junction box, or any other device, the choice of the industrial enclosure will be a determining factor of the safety and performance of a machine.
Numerous factors impact the process of deciding on industrial enclosures. Looking at all of them all at once is overwhelming and can cause mistakes. So, one must consider each factor, one by one. Some of the common factors include the enclosure’s size, the enclosure’s material, and the requirement for custom enclosure labelling and cut-outs.
Following are the best practices to choose from the many sizes in which enclosures are available:
Space is a valuable concern for device designers; it is vital to balance device operability, safety, and space conservation.
This has a significant bearing on the performance of one’s enclosure. Selecting the ideal material will help protect the device from the elements and its sensitive components; hence, choosing a material with the required properties is vital.
Several industrial pieces of equipment generate heat, so their enclosures may be required to be ventilated to manage and mitigate this heat. Another concern is a build-up of moisture for which there is a need for devices like enclosure vents.
Metallic enclosures are susceptible to heat generation in comparison to plastic enclosures. But the equipment that does not generate much heat might not need active ventilation.
Components generating much heat typically require devices like blower fans for helping in the dissipation of heat from the enclosure.
The main ratings for electric enclosures are IP ratings (worldwide) and NEMA ratings (North America). NEMA ratings use a number and alphabet system.
IP ratings rate the power of protection of an enclosure against solid and liquid ingress. IP rating uses two numbers for rating the protective capacities of enclosures. The first number rates protection from dust on a scale of 1 to 6, and the second number rates protection against liquids on a scale of 1 to 8.
Several enclosures require cut-out areas for accommodating antennas, cables, and other critical elements. Device labelling can also be vital for industrial enclosures since several industrial devices need sophisticated diagrams and labelling for the safety of operations.
In sum, these are some of the factors which determine the choice of industrial enclosure.
