• • • ENCLOSURES • • •


A better box: why early focus on enclosure design can lead to better products


Andy Fitzer, managing director of connecting technologies and enclosure specialists Hitaltech explores why, far from being the final consideration in the design process, the enclosure should be one of the first


T


erminal blocks and connectors are the workhorses of the component world. They’re the ones that do the heavy lifting of


making your smart tech smart. They bring the control to your building control applications. The enclosure? That’s just the box in which the clever stuff sits. At least, that often seems to be the conventional wisdom. Of course, it’s not true. Now more than ever, the


enclosure is an integral part of design success. It is more than a protective shell. It is an enabler of innovative product design, efficient production and user friendliness. Which is why it warrants being part of early design conversations.


Inside a DIN Rail mounting


enclosure Some elements are standard across most DIN rail enclosures: the strong base with hook to fit the DIN rail. An opening to enable terminal block assembly. Closed side panels to prevent user tampering. Beyond that, you might choose higher sidewalls to enable the enclosure to house more components. A larger open space for assembling components


on a PCB. A transparent or solid top panel. Our most popular enclosures are part of the


horizontal-mounted Modulbox range, but where design practicality warrants it, vertically mounting the enclosures via our Railbox enclosures can save vital space on the DIN rail.


Customising the enclosure All of the above options are available in a multitude of sizes and configurations. Often, to save costs, designers will design to fit an-off-the-shelf product, something made easier by the fact there’s such a large off-the-shelf range. But what if none of the standard options quite fit your design ambitions? An early design conversation not only resolves


such issues; it can dramatically reduce the time and cost of prototyping. We launched our Value Added Services (VAS) some years ago for this very reason. In the normal course of events, should you be


unable to find an off-the-shelf enclosure that suits your design, your only option would be a bespoke enclosure moulded to your specifications. That would inevitably increase production costs,


potentially to such a degree that it could render the finished product unviable. That would leave you with a choice of two


frustrating compromises: go with the off-the-shelf enclosure, despite the fact that to do so may compromise the design or functionality of your product, or take the financial hit, readjust your project costings and hope the product will sell sufficiently well to recoup the additional expense. An early conversation with us presents the


opportunity for a third choice. Rather than creating an entirely bespoke enclosure, we select the nearest ‘fit’ and CNC machine the additional/alternative inputs, outputs, cut-outs and LEDs that enable you to achieve exactly the enclosure you need without the cost and time involved in creating from scratch. It’s not just machining. Early conversations


enable us to add new enclosure inserts through mould tool modification, or print legends and wiring diagrams directly onto the enclosure, bypassing an entire production stage by removing the need to apply transfer lables.


Part of the conversation In truth, a conversation about customising your enclosure in this way could happen at virtually any point in the design process. With sufficient lead time, we’ll be able to make it happen. The value in having that discussion sooner rather than later comes not simply in ensuring the products are available when you need them (although that’s certainly part of it); it’s about designing a better product. An early conversation will enable us to explore


your requirements and support your design team. Rather than taking what you present as a fait accompli (which may be all there’s time for when it arrives at the end of the design process), we can help you improve and refine and then customise. An early focus on the enclosure leads to


better enclosure design. And that results in a better product.


electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • OCTOBER 2022 19


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