Feature Racks, Cabinets & Enclosures


From concept to completion A


Tim Armstrong at Verotec discusses how knowledge and expertise are king when it comes to heading design programs to get the most out of designs


strong combination of style, functionality and quality are essential consideration for enclosure designs and a stock of standard products enable project engi- neers to reduce time to market and avoid up-front costs in developing enclosures from scratch. However, while there is a vast array of modular building blocks available, a standard product is just that - standard. For it to be used, it will have to be adapted to meet the specific needs of the application. Such modifications can range from the facile - a couple of holes in the front panel, to the complex: a full EMC screened, thermally man- aged, powered and wired system. Verotec has developed its latest design sevice, TecServ+ through which the company’s expertise and resources are put at the customer’s dis- posal. It is important to differentiate between build to drawing and modifi- cation projects. Contract manufactur- ing, where a fabrication house will take a finished design from the cus- tomer and source, build, test and ship the complete product, is fine when high volumes are involved - think Apple and Foxconn. For lower volume industrial projects, typically in the tens or hundreds, starting from a stan- dard product range and modifying it to suit is normally a better option. The TecServ+ service is aimed at this sector. As always, the most important piece of advice to the project engineer is to involve the supplier as early in the project as possible. The less that has been committed, the easier it will be to design around constraints. As a very basic example, if a circuit can fit on a standard Eurocard PCB, it makes no sense to lay it out on a board that is 20mm higher and deeper. The Verotec+ service consists of five main elements, which, given that every customer has differing in-house capabilities, are available on an ‘as required’ basis.


Engineering services


Engineering Services start with a full review of the project’s electro- mechanical, environmental and regu- latory requirements with the customer. If the customer is preparing the detailed drawings, STEP, IGES, DWG


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or DXF files, any of Verotec’s standard products can be supplied for modifica- tion to meet the project requirements. Once the project framework has been established, solid modelling, assembly modelling, drafting and finite element analysis are used to create the mechanical and electrical design, typically with 3- D modelling for concept verification.


Figure 1: Verotec Case in non-standard form factor. IP32 rated with additional sealing and gasketing, fitted with hinged/locking acrylic door


“TecServ+ is Verotec’s vehicle through which the company’s expertise and resources are put at the customer’s disposal. It is important to differentiate between build to drawing and modification projects. Contract manufacturing, where a fabrication house will take a finished design from the customer and source, build, test and ship the complete product, is fine when high volumes are involved - think Apple and Foxconn”


Manufacturing Services include prototype and pre-production samples produced in the small batch shop. Standard products are modified with machining, CNC punching, laser cutting, painting and silk screening of legends. Once the design has been finalised, an important decision has to be taken about tooling. If the potential volumes warrant it, hard tooling is a cheaper option in the long run. On the other hand, if volumes are expected to be lower, soft CNC tooling is the more cost-effective option. As always, it is a fine balance between hard and soft tooling, with the tipping point chang- ing from project to project. Once the various elements have been manufac- tured, assembly, kitting and testing are carried out before shipping.


Figure 2: Compliance services


Compliance Services include RoHS, REACH and WEEE issues, in-house pre-compliance testing before EMC and safety testing for CE Marks. A technical project construction file is supplied, and, if appropriate and required, third party testing for EMC,


2U by 19” by 350mm standard Rackcase with machined and silk screened front and rear panels and modified base to mount PCBs


Logistical services


Logistical Services such as express manufacturing, design and sourcing of special transport packaging, manu- facture to schedule including JIT and KAN BAN systems, stock holding and export shipping and documenta- tion are all available. Project Management Services including fea- sibility studies, design and manufac- turing process management, product life cycle management and cost reduction programmes can be sup- plied if required. The company’s design service has recently been extended with the addition of a SolidWorks 3-D mechanical CAD package to give greater flexibility and capacity. The design department is supported by an enhanced prototyp- ing workshop, which, with both mechanical modification, assembly and wiring facilities, enables high level subassemblies,


typically


constructed from standard building blocks, to be produced on a short lead times basis.


For example, a typical development system might consist of a KM6 subrack housed in an EMC screened Diplomat desktop enclosure. The subrack will be fitted with a suitable power supply and backplane and it will be thermally managed with intelligent fans. Such a system gives the system integrator a ready to run hardware and software development environment. The build- ing blocks of the system are equally suitable for use as the packaging for the customer’s production status prod- uct, providing a seamless transition from the laboratory to the finished saleable product.


Involving specialists such as enclo- sure suppliers who bring particular expertise as early as possible is an important consideration. For low and medium volume projects, going down the modified standard route is always best. Unless there are the metalwork- ing design, manufacturing and modifi- cation skills in house, outsourcing as much as possible to the enclosure manufacturer is normally the most effective course of action. Wastage is reduced, time to market lowered and non-recurrent costs minimised. As they say, “What’s not to like?” Verotec www.verotec.co.uk Enter 208


NOVEMBER 2013 Electronics


shock and vibration, pressure, temper- ature and humidity is arranged at an approved test house.


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