ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE COVER STORY
BESPOKE ENCLOSURES FROM ICEE ADD REAL VALUE
Off-the-shelf enclosures suffice for many applications, but sometimes you have a job that requires special requirements those products cannot meet.
Chris Arnold, of manufacturing contractor ICEE Managed Services, explains why a bespoke option is now a practical and potentially preferable solution for designers and specifiers across many sectors of industry and commerce
T
rends create opportunities. A good example is the new type of
enclosures serving online purchasers in retail and industrial sectors. Banks of branded cabinets or lockers have sprung up in supermarkets, petrol station forecourts and other public places. White vans deliver goods into these enclosures and customers collect when they choose 24/7. In effect, a new industry has arisen, requiring new and often bespoke enclosure hardware. In another industry – the utilities –
some telecommunication network providers are moving from traditional service chambers sunk into pavements to placing this function immediately under roadside equipment enclosures, or within the casings. This radical step has required a re-think in enclosure design, often leading to a bespoke solution incorporating additional features aimed at accommodating constant change or speeding field service.
DIFFERENTIATE TO COMPETE Bespoke offers the chance to design-in unique and special differences, large and small. This approach is now affordable and practical, thanks to
maturing of major changes brought about by the combination of lean manufacturing, advanced technologies and service innovation. A bespoke enclosure may cost as little or no more than a standard product. Lean has existed for decades, but its
value may be substantially increased by coupling it to a number of advances, such as rapid prototyping, the emergence of Industry 4.0, web-enabled collaboration and smarter supply chains. Add to that potent mix smaller and agile manufacturers exploiting these methods and you have a powerful new means to facilitate customisation, cutting hitherto costly and cumbersome processes. A big advantage of bespoke is you
can build in flexibility to accommodate change. For example, in the fast fibre broadband market, technology is continually and rapidly evolving. Competition to stay ahead may force a network provider to replace sooner than later an out-moded component or assembly with a better performing update. This technology package may be physically bigger or smaller, may require forced air cooling, or even air conditioning, all factors affecting how the new updated kit
Aggressive environments require fully weatherproof equipment enclosures that must also withstand seasonal extremes
fits into an enclosure. A standard, ‘one- size-fits-all’ cabinet may accommodate changes, but might do so by being overly large, or containing a lot of redundancy. A bespoke cabinet reduces waste, with future flexibility designed in and provides exactly what you want. There are bigger trends. With global
Three-dimensional CAD modelling speeds design for manufacture and rapid prototyping
warming and climate change, summers in the northern hemisphere are getting hotter. Telecommunication companies are finding temperatures inside outdoor equipment enclosures sometimes get too close to upper safety limits. Enclosed parts or complete systems may stop working efficiently. Besides being a possible combustion risk, it may also worryingly threaten reliable customer service. To reduce or eliminate risk, some
enclosures may be modified in the field, but the trend is with bespoke cabinets, to design in mitigation or flexibility from the start to avoid problems later. This future-proofing will extend the value of a company’s investment in bespoke now and minimise obsolescence going forward.
WRITING A REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICATION Assuming a bespoke approach is adopted what has to be considered? With standard enclosures many of these points are covered within the offering. For example, regulatory compliance and industry
6 OCTOBER 2019 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
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