ENCLOSURES Elegance with convenient


VESA mounting: Today’s new breed of enclosures For HMI and control electronics


Immediate real-time control has never been more important in manufacturing and production, and IIoT’s wealth of data enables facilities to optimise processes instantly. This greater automation should, in theory, make life easier for the human operators.


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or all that to happen well, these operators need highly sophisticated HMI technology that is increasingly reliant on touch screens and displays. These systems must be cutting-edge, but also swift and simple, to operate if they are to truly empower the user. Intuitive graphical interfaces should make light work of production optimisation, quality control, data logging, and identification of system faults or maintenance requirements.


For this to happen, the enclosures housing and safeguarding the HMI control units and displays must be highly ergonomic. Elegance is also a pre-requisite these days, aesthetics matter greatly in today’s world of clean and robotised production lines. Traditionally, the previous generation of metal housings were either wall mounted or fitted directly to machines. Many of these solid, dependable boxes still are. The new generation of HMI enclosures must be more versatile, able to fit on proprietary VESA support arms and brackets, or directly to walls, poles and masts.


Hence the arrival of new models such as METCASE’s TECHNOMET-CONTROL. From the


outset, these aluminium housings were designed to be different for quite a number of reasons. Visually, they stand out because the classic square-cornered design has been softened with very subtle curves on the otherwise straight-edged top, base and bezels.


METCASE Marketing Director Robert Cox said: “The diecast bezels are important. Aside from concealing the fixings, they also help us to create HMI enclosures manufactured to much finer tolerances, much like moulded plastic housings.


“And the way the bezels fit together around four extrusions means we can manufacture TECHNOMET-CONTROL in bespoke sizes much more easily and cost-effectively. This helps to make customisation viable for low- volume orders, as few as 10 or 20 units,” he added.


TECHNOMET-CONTROL has been designed principally to accommodate Siemens TP screens, KTP400 to TP1200, but will also suit Beckhoff and B&R displays. On the rear there is a standard VESA MIS-D 100 mounting for a control arm or wall bracket. Accessory kits enable the enclosures to be mounted flat on


walls or attached to poles/masts 50 mm or larger. The base panel, ideal for cables and connectors, is removable for quick and easy access.


These enclosures and others like it are aimed at indoor HMI electronics that need a robust, but not necessarily IP-rated, housing. Typical applications include industrial machine control, factory processing, security systems, test and measurement, point-of- sale, IIoT and detection equipment where the cost of the housing is an important consideration, more so than the IP rating. Offering a choice of colour schemes helps to reduce the amount of customisation required. Many electronics designers will be happy with the standard colours, restricting any customisation to the front panel. Others will seek to add branding by specifying custom colours. Often less is more; specifying the bezels in a non-standard colour may be all it takes to add some discreet highlights.


METCASE makes a point of carrying out all customisation work in-house. This includes machining apertures and adding any extra fixings and inserts, though where TECHNOMET-CONTROL is concerned, there are PCB mounting points in the rear and M4 earthing pillars on all panels as standard. Customisation services also include painting/powder coating, along with the digital printing of legends, logos and photo- quality graphics.


Touch screen systems (e.g. Siemens TP series) in a TECHNOMET-CONTROL HMI enclosure Touch screen systems (e.g. Siemens TP series) in a TECHNOMET-CONTROL HMI enclosure


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Pole mounted electronic control system in a TECHNOMET-CONTROL enclosure


“This single-source supplier approach ensures quality and full accountability from day one. It saves time, money and the environment because the enclosures don’t have to be shipped between different suppliers. The finished housings can go straight to the customer’s production line ready for the installation of components,” said Mr Cox.


FEBRUARY 2024 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS


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