ENCLOSURES


revolutionising electronic enclosure design


How IIoT is Main image:


Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications are revolutionising the design of standard and customised electronic enclosures. Advanced housings are now more specialised – but no less versatile, says Robert Cox, marketing director of OKW Enclosures Ltd.


mplementing IIoT successfully means capturing and managing vast amounts of data. Yes, IIoT is all about data, sensors and receivers – but it is your workers who will be monitoring the data and taking real-time decisions as a result. And with fewer people to manage a large factory floor, those operatives need ergonomic handheld devices that are comfortable to use for sustained periods of time.


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Advanced SLIM-CASE (IP 54/65) can accommodate touchscreens up to 4” (10cm). With soft contours and virtually frameless design, this low profile enclosure resembles a mobile phone – but one with a deeper, sculpted base that provides greater capacity. This curved back, combined with an optional TPE intermediate ring, makes it very comfortable to hold and operate. SMART-PANEL exemplifies the new breed of housings for modern digital control electronics because its design is very discreet. The housings flush-fit into standard cavity wall boxes – but also demonstrate their aesthetic credentials with modern curves and glass panels for touchscreens. Why is discretion so crucial for standard enclosures? The housing you specify must look purpose-manufactured for your product – and no other. These days it doesn’t take much to achieve that: a few cutouts, a touchscreen and some branding will easily transform an off-the-shelf case into a one- off. Best of all, improvements in technology have reduced set-up costs, making customisation viable in very low volumes. Aesthetic curves and smart design features are not just found in expensive


42 MAY 2021 | ELECTRONICS TODAY


enclosures: they are also available in simple housings such as EASYTEC (IP 65). This flanged enclosure for IIoT sensors has cleverly designed lugs so it can be cable-tied or screwed in place quickly and easily – speeding up installation times.


Pioneering an enclosures revolution


There’s so much more to today’s standard enclosures than ergonomic contours and discreet design (as important as they are). Anyone who has watched the enclosures market will have noticed a quiet revolution taking place. Key aspects include: • Advanced materials – high-performance plastic blends, innovative combinations of plastic and aluminium


• Greater use of tamperproof and concealed fixings


• Higher levels of ingress protection (such as IP 65 as standard)


Until a few years ago, robust ABS was the thermoplastic of choice for most plastic enclosures – but not anymore. It has been superseded by ASA and ASA+PC-FR which offer greater strength and UV stability. ABS remains a good choice; you will still see it as standard in tried and trusted designs – but seldom in OKW’s newer models. The enclosures revolution has continued with the use of tamperproof Torx screws as standard on enclosures such as the wedge- shaped SMART-CONTROL for corner-based electronics.


Torx screws are a must for medical devices, a key market for OKW. But why would


an enclosure such as SMART-CONTROL – which is destined to sit high in hard-to-reach ceiling corners – need tamper-proof screws? The answer is that SMART-CONTROL also doubles as an ergonomically inclined desktop enclosure.


PROTEC is another wall-mounted enclosure that can be specified for desktop electronics – thanks to a choice of three versions that offer either a recessed interface area, a covered recess or a deep extended cover that acts as a desk stand.


Deep recesses with protective covers are a key design feature for enclosures that house wall-mounted controls. NET-BOX has a large recess for connectors and cable glands – but hides them beneath a clip-on trim that provides added protection. Concealed fixings such as this have become an increasingly popular feature in modern enclosures. NETBOX has no visible screws at the front; just two below that are all but invisible.


And OKW has gone to even more ingenious lengths with other models. SYNERGY enclosures – which combine aluminium and plastic – feature column-based construction, enabling the fixing screws to be hidden away on the bottom section.


But the last word goes to SMART-PANEL. It has removed the need for fixing screws altogether. Instead it snaps together, to be opened by a plastic tool (supplied as an accessory).


OKW www.okw.co.uk


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