Enclosures
Configuring standard enclosures
When buying a standard enclosure, ask the manufacturer to configure it for your project. Russell Irvine, Hammond Electronics, talks about what kinds of modifications can take place and how they are done
T
here are no up-front design, engineering or tooling charges for standard enclosures, and they are normally available ex-stock. However, standard products are exactly that: standard. To suit a project, they will have to be machined to accept switches,
displays, I/O connectors, keyboards and other components and they will probably need to be printed with legends and logos. To modify a standard enclosure there are
three options.
1. Do the work in-house, although many electronic OEMs may not have machining, screen printing or painting capability. Also, extra standard units will have to be purchased to allow for set-up procedures and wastage. 2. Outsource modifications to external contractors, but there are the additional costs, time penalties and logistics complications. Each process will require extra standard products.
3. By far the best option is for the original manufacturer to modify the enclosure for the project. If 100 units are needed, only 100 have to be ordered. Hammond Electronics offers more than 5000 standard different plastic, metal, extruded and die-cast aluminium enclosures. Hammond’s recent £100k+ investment in additional CNC machines and systems and increased headcount at its Basingstoke modification facility has increased capacity by more than 35 per cent.
What sort of modifications can be done? To view a video outlining Hammond’s modification capabilities, visit
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt9jfz3tT5c. • CNC Milling.
• Drilling. Large and small holes can be positioned to within 0.005 mm. • Punching. An economical way of
creating apertures of various shapes in flat panels.
• Engraving. Legends can be engraved in both plastic and metal.
• Printing. Solid or gradient coloured logos and legends.
• EMC coatings. Conductive coatings in a variety of materials can be applied to a plastic enclosure to give differing degrees of attenuation.
• Custom moulding colours. All ABS,
flame retardant ABS and polycarbonate enclosures can be moulded in any custom colour.
• Painted finishes. A wide range of
different finishes, ranging from a deep texture to an ultra-high gloss piano black finish, can be applied to both enclosures and panels,.
• Overlays. Overlays can be added to any size of front panel to give a durable and attractive appearance. Service is another key focus. To specify the modifications required, PDF drawings or CAD files for all products are available on
www.hammondmfg.com.
www.hammondmfg.com
www.cieonline.co.uk
Components in Electronics
July/August 2016 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60