Industrial electrical enclosures protect highly sensitive electrical and electronic devices from some of the toughest conditions–from flying dust to high-pressure hose-downs. Whether it’s a junction box, a control box, a data processing unit or another type of device, enclosure choice will often be a determining factor in a device’s performance and safety.
Hundreds of different factors affect the decision process when choosing an industrial device enclosure. Considering them all at once is overwhelming and can lead to mistakes—thus, it’s important to break out the most critical factors and consider them one at a time. Whether it’s enclosure size, enclosure material or the need for custom enclosure cutouts and labeling, each factor needs to be considered both independently and in terms of how it interacts with other factors.
E-Abel general box offers hundreds of enclosure choices for industrial devices, in a wide variety of sizes and materials. In this guide, we’ll examine the key factors to be aware of when selecting an enclosure, and we’ll also provide our readers with some recommendations from among E-Abel general box most popular enclosure models.
Choosing a Size
Industrial enclosures come in many sizes. When choosing the appropriate size for your enclosure, follow these key best practices:
- 1. Understand what kind of Enclosure you need, For switch or PLC, or just for the electricity meter.
- 2. Keep a panel layout or device schematic on hand when choosing the size for the enclosure, as well as a bill of materials. Consider the size of each component and examine where each needs to be positioned.
- 3. Make sure to leave sufficient room for running wires within the enclosure itself. Remember that some types of wiring need extra space to prevent the wires from creating interference with each other.
- 4. If possible, consider the space in which the enclosure will be mounted. Make sure that the enclosure you select will fit in its mounting space, and if the enclosure has a swinging door, consider how much space it will need to open and shut.
- 5. Identify which components in your device generate heat, as well as how much heat each one generates. Calculate how much space will be needed for ventilation structures to dissipate the device’s heat.
- 6. It’s usually a good idea to choose an enclosure that has a little bit of extra space built in to accommodate assembly. The personnel or automated systems that are responsible for assembling the devices will be better able to move and manipulate the device’s elements when sufficient space is available.
Space is often at a premium for device designers, but it’s important to find the balance between space conservation, safety and device operability. Next, let’s look at how you can choose a material for your enclosure.
Choosing a Material
Your selection of material will affect many things about how your enclosure performs. The right material will help shield your device from the elements and protect its sensitive components, so it’s essential to choose a material with the properties that you need.
Outdoor or indoor use, Any corrosive material or detergent used, electric voltage vs Insulation domain…
Ventilation and Cooling
Many industrial device components generate considerable heat. To manage and mitigate this heat, your enclosure may need to be ventilated. Moisture buildup is also a concern for many enclosures, necessitating the use of devices such as electrical enclosure vents that help prevent moisture from accumulating.
Devices that generate less heat may not require active ventilation in their enclosures. In these cases, passive ventilation systems such as enclosure ventilation cutouts may be sufficient. Note that metallic enclosures also radiate heat in ways that plastic enclosures don’t, creating potential hazards for devices that generate high heat.
Components that generate large amounts of heat often require devices such as blower fans to help dissipate heat from the enclosure. If your enclosure needs forced air ventilation, remember to order it with the appropriate customized enclosure cutouts. For more on the essentials of enclosure ventilation, see our article on venting options for instrument enclosures.
Rating Systems
The two most important rating systems for electrical enclosures are NEMA ratings and IP ratings. Both NEMA and IP ratings rate a device’s protection from environmental hazards such as dust, dirt, water spray and even submersion.
- NEMA ratings are used primarily in North America. They use a number and letter system to rate an enclosure’s ability to protect its contents from both liquids (such as water, coolant or oil) and solids (such as dirt, dust and debris). NEMA ratings also rate an enclosure’s resistance to other environmental hazards, such as corrosion from chemicals or salt water.
- IP ratings are used worldwide, particularly in Europe. Like NEMA ratings, they rate an enclosure’s protection against liquid and solid ingress using an ascending scale. Rather than a number and letter system, IP ratings use two numbers to rate an enclosure’s protective capabilities. The first number represents dust protection on a scale of one to six, and the second number represents liquid protection on a scale of one to eight. Unlike NEMA ratings, they do not rate enclosures on additional factors such as resistance to corrosion.
Popular Industrial Enclosures from E-abel
E-ABEL’s selection of industrial enclosures makes us a new generation supplier for cost-effective device protection. Each of these industrial enclosure series has something different to offer, and each could be the perfect solution for your industrial enclosure needs:
- AE Series: Rating IP65 in general size with a hinged cover for easy access.
- CM Series: Free-standing enclosure system –Because often, Simply is best
- ES Series: To meet the demand for modular system ,allow to open the door from front and back direction .
- TS Series: With the Unique inner structure, it offer a huge space for the operator. Allow the door open in four direction and protect the electric componet from the dust and wet environment.
AP/AD Series: freestanding structures with a sloped front or top for mounting electric or electronic control components. They protect sensitive equipment such as computer monitors in harsh, wet, dirty, or dusty environments.
