Feature Enclosures but nature may hold the key
leave the road, but the joins between the door and sides or top must be resis- tant to levers being inserted to try to prise the cabinet apart, and the locks should be burst-proof and secure. Standard grade 304 sheet steel
enclosures are easy to work and are suitable for outdoor industrial sites such as a food/diary processing plant or a chemical or pharmaceutical plant, as they offer protection against corro- sion. However, more aggressive envi- ronments such as those near the coast or on a marine site, should consider grade 306 as this offers a higher corro- sion resistance. Corrosion resistance can also be significantly improved with the application of a nanotechnol- ogy coating. Using high density nanoparticles the nano coating forms an ultra-thin glass like coating which creates a highly durable surface acting as a barrier against corrosive particles. Nanotechnology is already being
adapted for use within enclosures, with anti-fingerprint, anti-graffiti and anti- micro-bacterial coatings now available, and the nano anti-corrosion primer now replacing the outmoded zinc phosphate primer coating. Nanotechnology is also being developed to address many envi- ronmental issues such as reducing power consumption and enabling long life portable power. In the future, it is expected that there will be many vari- ants of this technology available within the enclosure industry such as radiation and gas detection warnings, bacterial contact indications and increased pro- tection against aggressive contaminants.
A natural selection The leaves and flowers of the lotus plant always remain clean, despite the fact that the plant grows in muddy rivers and lakes. Botanists have dis- covered that the leaves contain a nat- ural self cleaning property whereby, due to their structure and surface chemistry, the leaves never get wet. Nanotechnologists, who manipulate
matter at the atomic or molecular scale, are using the lotus theory to develop nat- ural paints for enclosures that stay dry and clean themselves in the same way as the lotus leaf. Soon enclosures will all be self cleaning, no longer needing high pressure washes, they will just ‘self clean’ like the lotus plant. This new tech- nology could facilitate the battle faced by industries such as food processing where the high risk of contamination by micro- organisms and bacteria can have a severe impact on customer production. Steel is generally the material of
choice for enclosures, achieving its strength through material mass. However, manufacturers have now begun to investigate the use of com- posites in the structure of enclosures and research has shown that the right form of composites will allow enclo- sures to withstand more extreme envi-
Left: hygenic design terminal boxes
ronments such as those found in the nuclear industry. A small crack in a piece of metal can spread quickly while the fibres in composite materials block the widening of the crack while distributing the stress. In the future, by choosing an appro-
Right: hygenic design compact enclosures
priate combination of reinforcement and matrix material, manufacturers will be able to construct enclosures that offer vastly increased strength with less mate- rial mass, meaning minimal material use and waste. By identifying these new mechanisms and utilising them, manu- facturers will be able to devise fresh approaches to enclosures, which not only satisfy the growing demands of technology, but also help preserve our precious resources in the face of escalat- ing raw material and energy costs.
Rittal
www.rittal.co.uk T: 01709 704 000
Enter 210
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
SOFTWARE & SERVICES
www.rittal.co.uk
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