Category Archive Electrical enclosures review

19-inch Server Rack, Server Rack,

How Equipment Mounting is Done for 19-inch Server Rack Enclosures

There are several ways on how mounting is done on a 19-inch server rack enclosures. See the different examples below:

Mounting Through Fastening

When it comes to mounting, the original way on how companies do it is holes were trapped and sealed in with a specific screw thread. Then, when the rack rails become too thin to tap, the threaded inserts are now utilized. There are particular class of equipment that are known in advance, some of its holes can be removed from the mounting rails.

The threaded mounting holes found in racks where the equipment is always changed becomes very problematic because the threads utilized can be damaged. There is also a possibility that the mounting screws can easily break off. Both of the issues can make the mounting hole very unusable. Tapping and sealing the huge number of holes that might never be used can be very costy. Nevertheless, the tapped-hole racks can still be in use. Generally, for the hardware of the server rack that is being rarely changed. The examples that comes with this  includes the network cabling panels, telephone exchanges, broadcast studios and the equipment found in government & military.

The replacement is done with the tapped-hole rack was first replaced by a clearance-hole. This can be in round hole, round unthreaded holes, and versa rail. The holes should be huge enough to accommodate a bolt to be freely installed without the need for binding. After which, the bolts are now being fastened and installed using cage nuts.

In case the nut is being removed or stripped out because a bolt is breaking, the nut can be easily removed and be replaced with a latest one. The production of these type of clearance-hole racks can be less expensive primarily because tapping of the holes is now being removed. In addition to this, they are being replaced with fewer and less expensive cage nuts.

The next innovation when it comes to designing server racks came with square-hole rack. The square-hole racks will accommodate boltless mounting. This is because the rack-mount equipment should only need to be inserted through and the engineers can hook down the server rack into the square hole. The installation and the removal of the hardware attached to the square hole rack of the server rack can be very easy and boltless. Wherein the weight of the installed equipment and small retention clips should be all necessary to be able to hold the equipment in order. In case the server rack is an older equipment meant to be installed in round-hole or tapped hole, these server racks can still be utilized. With the use of cage nuts created for square-hole racks.

Structural support of Server Racks

For everyone’s information, the rack-mountable equipment is used to be traditionally mounted by using bolting or clipping the front panel on to the server rack. In the IT industry, it is very common for the network communications equipment to have several mounting positions. This also includes the table-top and wall-mounting which is very common for other equipment. This also holds true when it comes to rack-mountable equipment. This type of mechanism features L-brackets that should be screwed or bolted on the equipment before installing it in a 19=inch rack.

With the continuous use when it comes to 23-inch racks in the telecommunications industry, the same practice of installation is very common. But the equipment will have 19-inch and 23-inch brackets very available. This enables them to be mounted on the existing racks.

One of the key structural weakness of the front-mounted support is that it has the shear stress when it is installed in mounting rails and the leading edge of the equipment. As the result of this, the 4-post racks became very common to several users. This has the racks that features a mirrored pair of the rear mounting posts.

Since the space indicated between the front and rear mounting posts might have a huge difference between the rack vendors/or the configuration of the racks, it can become very common of the equipment to feature 4-post mounting brackets and have an adjustable rear bracket.

With this in mind, the server racks that comes with the deep pieces of several equipment are often installed utilizing the rails that are bolted to the front and rear the posts. This gives the equipment space allowance so that the four posts can be supported. While also allows it to be easily installed and removed from the place where it is being installed.

Electronics Enclosure, Electrical Boxes, Stainless Steel, NEMA 1 Enclosure,

Most Frequently Asked Questions about NEMA 1 Electronics Enclosure

One of the fastest and quickest ways to be able to identify if an electronic box will certainly meet your company’s needs is to identify its NEMA rating. The rating system is designed to help the companies determine which enclosure should they get for a certain engineering application. The rating will also give the user the vital information about its protective performance – but it is really important to have a firm and full understanding of the NEMA ratings before they companies can choose one.

In this article we will look at the most frequently asked questions about NEMA 1 Electronics Enclosure.

What does NEMA rating mean?

NEMA ratings is an established system of electrical enclosure ratings set by National Electrical Manufacturers Association to help the companies identify different qualities of each electronics enclosure. This rating shows how different types of NEMA ratings can give protection from certain environmental hazards such as dirt, dust, and water ingress. Included in this rating is also the corrosion protection.

For companies or design engineers to learn about what these different NEMA ratings mean, they should check out the official NEMA ratings website and chart to have a full understanding of how the different level of NEMA ratings can give certain protection it indicates. In line with this, make sure that all the guidelines have been read carefully because unlike IP ratings, they do not come with numerical orders that determine the rate of protection each enclosure can give.

What does NEMA 1 mean?

When it comes to varying degrees of protection NEMA enclosure gives, NEMA 1 offers the most basic level of protection. This type of enclosure is used to protect equipment from ingress of small amounts of falling dirt. NEMA 1 also gives protection for employees from having accidental contact because there might be live components inside the enclosure. With this in mind, NEMA 1 electrical box rating provide a good amount of protection from liquid ingress that can come from hose-directed or splashing water.

Where can I use NEMA 1 Electrical Boxes?

Companies use NEMA 1 enclosure in applications where they need the most basic level of protection for their equipment. Basically, almost all types of electronics equipment can be housed inside the NEMA 1 enclosure. For example, you can put in an industrial control panels inside the electrical box or controls to different security systems.

In a typical scenario, you will be able to see NEMA 1 enclosure for engineering applications which does not need protection against hazardous environmental hazards, but they will be needing the most basic level of protection for their equipment.

Is NEMA 1 Electrical Enclosures Applicable for Outdoor Applications?

NEMA 1 electrical boxes are recommended for indoor engineering applications. NEMA 1 can be sufficient in some outdoor environments, but if a company needs a level of protection for their equipment once used outdoors, the best idea is to use the enclosure rating that is primarily designed for outdoor use. Such as NEMA 3, NEMA 4 or even NEMA 6 electronics enclosure.

What is the key difference between NEMA 12 and NEMA 1 electrical enclosure?

NEMA 12 rated electrical boxes offer a much higher degree of protection compare to NEMA 1 enclosure. Keep in mind that NEMA 1 electronics enclosure can only offer so much as long as you need protection for your equipment for any indoor type of application.

Electrical Enclosure, Electronics Enclosure, Electrical Boxes, NEMA 4, NEMA 12, NEMA 4 Enclosures, NEMA 12 Enclosures,

NEMA 3R vs. NEMA 12 Electrical Enclosures

There are times when customers or companies are having a hard time choosing electrical enclosures for their engineering project. Whether they will consider buying an enclosure applicable to both indoor or outdoor use, they have to carefully consider all the factors. There are engineering projects that only requires indoor electrical enclosures like the NEMA 12, or if they want to use the enclosure for both uses they can opt for NEMA 3R. One of the key elements in considering which enclosure to buy is the presence of harmful elements in the location where the enclosure will be used. Also, companies also consider if they need UV ray protection – but that’s for another topic. In this article, we will compare the NEMA 3R & NEMA 12 to help project engineers choose their electrical enclosure.

What is NEMA 3R Electrical Enclosures?

NEMA 3R electrical enclosures are being utilized for protecting & housing equipment used for power distribution, switch gear, lighting contractors or any equipment that needs protection from the elements present in an outdoor environment. NEMA 3R is resistant to water ingress, ice formation, and snow. NEMA 3R can adapt to both indoor and outdoor use and they can be manufactured from different types of material.

Main NEMA 3R Characteristics:

  • It gives the using personnel protection form having incidental contact with the equipment housed inside the enclosure
  • Gives solid ingress protection from falling dirt
  • It has provision for drainage
  • Gives water ingress protection from rain water
  • It can have alternate locking mechanisms
  • Has no protection form windblown dust unlike its predecessor NEMA 3.

What is NEMA 12 Electrical Enclosures?

NEMA 12 electrical enclosures are primarily manufactured for utilization of indoor engineering projects and is being used across industrial and manufacturing companies. It can also be used for certain machining applications. This type of electrical enclosure will give equipment solid ingress protection from dirt, dust, dripping non-corrosive liquids, floating dust, oil and lubricants. NEMA 12 can be manufactured from different types of steel or plastic material.

  • Primarily manufactured for indoor use
  • It gives protection from solid ingress caused by floating dust, falling dirt, fibers and lint floating in the air
  • Gives water ingress protection caused by dripping water and other non-flammable & non-corrosive liquids
  • It has doors with oil-resistant gaskets
  • It is readily available with pre-punched holes, latches or locks, hinges, insulation, and cutouts
COMPARISON TABLE NEMA 3R NEMA 12
Indoor Use
Outdoor Use  
Light water ingress protection (from dripping water or non-corrosive liquids)
Foreign solid object ingress protection (including non-hazardous objects)
External ice formation protection  
Corrosion Protection    
Protection from rain, sleet, and snow formation    
Right Electronics Enclosure

How to Properly Handle the Harsh Environments with the Right Electronics Enclosure?

Do you think that you are a very tough person? Well, I guess you should think again. The server rack that’s in your environment should be even tougher and harder. But in a very good way though. A tough environment can have extreme damage on its servers given the other tech equipment if they are not given with the proper protection. Some of the most dangerous environments can potentially include some areas with falling dirt, dusty areas, unfinished warehouses, and also outdoor areas.

So for companies to be able to fight off these very hard and harsh environments and be able to give protection to their valuable equipment, they need to have a NEMA rated server cabinets. These cabinets are being engineered and design to prevent dust ingress, dirt, airborne particles, and other possible contaminants from fully destroying your equipment. One should be ready to consider the right NEMA electronics enclosure for each.

The rightful solution: NEMA 12 Electronics Enclosure

These enclosure server rack cabinets are being made and manufactured out of steel and they are most commonly used in places where equipment will be used inside warehouses, unfinished places, manufacturing/factory floors, and even in the production facilities. In any place where there can be a little more crud floating around more than usual. These cabinets have available gasketing system placed on all of its seams and opening doors so that the ingress of unwanted particles will not happen.

While the majority of the normal server rack cabinets already have their vent patterns in place or that they have several vent patterns together with the doors and the sides, the NEMA 12 cabinets that does not have these systems in place. The cabinets will also serve as a hedge of protection from the other possible light drippings or even water ingress. This will totally depend on what is really going to be inside of these cabinets and where there a usual cooling process that will be required.

There are companies that sells and manufactures a filtered fan and exhaust panels that can be utilized together with the conjunction of the server rack cabinet to be able to maintain the rating. As well as the side of mounted air conditioners. The NEMA 12 cabinets are also widely available in the wall mount or even freestanding configurations.

Exact Dimensions, Plastic Electronics Enclosures

How to Determine and Pinpoint the Exact Dimensions for Plastic Electronics Enclosures?

We recently just moved and re-arranged the furniture in our living room. My dog’s own crate has always been placed in the corner of our living room. Along wit some of our new furniture, there was no longer a room available for my dog’s crate. So we have to identify or look for another space for the crate. Since my dog is a medium sized Labrador, the crate is super huge.

To be able to move this into a new space or location, we have to run our creativity. We have to find a space spacious enough to fit the crate so that it can crate up and be installed on the wall. This in return, reminded me of the video game, Tetries.

I was being reminded of this fact while I was talking with a customer just the other day. The customers often call to our company because they want to ask for help in selecting the right enclosure. This person was particularly looking for a “a CD ROM sized enclosure”. When I told the customer that I would be more than happy to find something similar to that size range, the customer told me that it is just what he exactly needs as per dimension wise.

The customer then was really hoping to produce a product that would be able to slide into the same area like the optional CD ROM available in the computer. In order to fit that exact space, the customer need the right dimensions. This is too large and it would not eventually fit, and too small that it will not hold very stable.

As we have recently discovered, this problem presents several difficulties on a very few levels. While the majority of the manufacturing companies will shape the enclosures with several type of ranges to be able to offer the best choice available to the customers. However, it is nearly impossible to be able to find the exact match for the dimensions within a different product line.

There are companies that offers wide range of sizes and different styles of electronic enclosures. Several of their enclosures are mostly rectangular in shape, but majority of them have the same ratio of length that ranges form width to height. We just recently found out that the most used size range is 2 x 3 inches, and in line with this there are several options that exists within the 1/2” range. While each of them consist of a very deffierent depth.

This is to be able to give you the best and with the most options possible to help in finding out the most perfect enclosure for the companies’ needs.

Electronic Enclosures, NEMA Enclosure, Plastic Electronics Enclosure

What are the Other Available Product Lines for NEMA-Rated Electronic Enclosures Manufactured from Plastics?

Being a Cleveland sports fan is very very hard. Because of the team’s last year performance, their most notable low game point happened in July. It was also nationally reported that LeBron James have finally decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers. These infamous words by James “I have chosen to take my talents to South Beach” I think will haunt Cleveland fan’s memories forever.

Just this morning before the broadcast of James’ decision, the Cleveland’s owner – Dan Gilbert – promised to make sure that his team will bring the championship to Cleveland. Even before Lebron can win one for Miami. After the game of not so famous ‘10-‘11 season, I was really excited to see the draft of 2011 NBA as Cleveland has already accepted its 1st overall pick. Of course, with the excellent opportunity for them to increase their talent on the bench.

Just like the Cleveland team, who just recently got a new talent in the draft, there are enclosure manufacturing companies who are getting ready to launch their new product lines. These companies will be on the run for the expansion of their top line NEMA-rated electronic enclosures. And this line also has the additional sizes and version available for their respective series.

With these new developments, there will be no longer a need for the acquisition of a different flange kit available to the NEMA boxes. As these newly updated enclosures will constitute a surface-mounting flanges that are molded directly on the box. This is a new and convenient features of the flanged NEMA boxes that comes with their accessibility.

The customers will also be able to remove the cover of the enclosure without removing the electronics enclosure from its surface it is currently mounted on. In addition to this, the brass inserts also allow for the re-entry into the enclosure box. Given that you can do this for unlimited number of times. And also, always remember that the enclosure series NEMA rated enclosures are generally design to fit to IP65 of IEC 529 and adopt the NEMA 1, 2, 4, 4x, 12 and 13 specifications.

All About Server Rack Air Conditioning

With the warm weather quickly approaching this year, it is very vital for companies to make sure that their portable spot cooler is working perfectly fine. Just in case that companies do not have a good portable spot cooler for the server racks, this is the perfect time to get one. There are companies that sell a wide variety of portable spot coolers as well as accessories that will make your equipment cooler when you need them to.

The portable spot coolers are the best way just in case the normal air conditioning system in your server racks are not working well. Or if they are working, they are not releasing enough cool air to lower the temperature of your server racks. There are companies that sells units from 10,000 Btu/hr to 92,000 Btu/hr. In addition to this, the 10,000 BTU unit can be installed unto the server cabinet to achieve the maximum efficiency with the purchase of additional kit. Whatever the companies’ cooling needs are, there are widely available spot cooler solutions.

In addition to this amazing spot coolers, companies are also selling wide variety of server racks accessories that are widely available for directing the air flow, reducing the exhaust heat out of the room, pumping condensate and so much more. What is more exciting about this is that the units are maintained to be kept in stock and they are already ready to ship. So that the customers can get their coolers ASAP.

Companies also offer a 1 year warranty for the parts and accessories of this product. The total labor for the whole unit and included is the 3 year warranty on some parts and labor for the compressor. Rest assured that companies that will purchase a portable spot cooler will surely get a good investment.

NEMA Electronics Boxes are Stable: Don’t Worry

I believe for my entire life I have been a little bit grace-challenged. Ironically, most of the time I do better when I wear heels compared to flats, rubber shoes, or tennis shoes. Which is for me, this comes at a good advantage because I am only 5’1” and I need the additional inch lift from heels. I feel like I am like Sandra Bullock where she portrayed the character of tom-boy cop who goes undercover as a beauty queen.

As she walks into the movie, she just woosh her way in wearing her elegant, sassy dress paired with stilettos heels – and she accidentally just falls flat on her face. You read that right. And when I think about it, I came up with the realization that it is all about being stabilized. Protecting myself from the crushing pain from a fall. It is either I need an equipment or a tool to help me stand tall and upright (even if that means planting my feet in a dancer’s position) or I have to keep my momentum moving so that I will not fall.

The plastic enclosures also come with good stabilization process. The material which it was made has an added UV stabilizer to be able to protect the enclosure from the degrading effects of UV light. This is somewhat similar to applying the right amount of sunscreen for you to be able to protect your skin from the harsh sunlight. With this in mind the plastic manufacturers also add UV stabilizers for their plastic material – called benzophenones – in the raw plastic material before it was injected in molding the product.

The additional additives in the plastic material works by absorbing the radiation coming from the light and it slowly disperses the absorbed energy as low-level heat. This helps the plastic material to keep from the free-radicals to be formed in the material.

Therefore, when it comes to stabilizing the electronics enclosure, the UV stabilization is crucial because it helps your NEMA enclosure from having material degradation while it is being used in engineering projects. Especially if it is installed in harsh environments. There are enclosure companies that offers plastic materials that comes with UV protection, and these enclosures are stabilized for outdoor use.

The company only needs to contact the enclosure manufacturing company to inquire of their plastic enclosures if it comes with UV protection. It is always recommended to make sure that this is the case. It is hard just to speculate things when the products are seen on the internet. With today’s weather status, it is recommended for plastic enclosure to have UV protection to avoid early material degradation. It will cost a lot more for the company if they have to quickly replace the enclosures they bought because the plastic material is starting to degrade.

The Reason Why NEMA Electronic Cases Don’t Degrade

During summer in Cleveland, it is a smack dab in the middle of the unimaginable humidity including the sweltering high temperatures and balm nights. If you decided to go and step outside, you will start dripping in unimaginable sweat.  Because of the increase in humid and one can not really tell if they are just sweating or it is just because there is too much liquid collected from the air. One can say that they really hate bitter cold winters, but I will still choose it over any day rather than suffer in heat and humidity.

This is why when it come to electronics enclosure, the NEMA 4 and NEMA 4X rated ones seems to be so cool when it comes to this kind of weather. They are made to endure and withstand the heat because they are designed and engineered using a flame-retardant polycarbonate material. Together with a UL94-HB flame-rating, this enclosure becomes UV stabilized. The impact this material can resist and withstand in terms of temperature ranges from -40 Celsiums to +120 Celsius.

Even of the enclosure cases are not situated or installed in an area that gets water, the present moisture in air can still damage the electronics. The gasket which is provided with the NEMA rated electronics enclosure can help in protecting the internal electronics from that type of moisture. In addition to this, the housings also come with standard and stainless steel enclosure screws.

For the WP NEMA enclosures, WC NEMA and WA series NEMA enclosures – they are all made, designed, and engineered in line with IP65 of IEC 529 and NEMA 1, 2, 4, 4x, 12 and 13 specifications. The electronics enclosure is also listed to have the specifications of UL.508-4x

Some enclosure manufacturing companies can also give NEMA specific mounting boss screws. The 6mm screws can be utilized to effectively secure the PCB unto any of the internal mounting bosses that are carefully molded into the enclosure.

Designing Enclosures that can Give Protection Against Water and Object Ingress

In this article, I want to share with you the knowledge that I have in designing and creating enclosures that should be able to withstand some of the extreme, harsh, and worse environmental hazards. This discussion would eventually bring us to the issue between NEMA and IP rating standards. Because these two standards most of the time brings confusion about how they work. With this in mind, this article is meant to somehow clear the air of confusion surrounding this subject. In order to make this more simpler, I will only use NEMA ratings for the majority of specifications but there are IP counterparts for the NEMA ratings I will mention. To make this article relatable.

As the writer of this article, I would like to make it to a point that I emphasized the importance of the designers’ consideration of what they are trying to get in designing enclosure. Design engineers should make sure that their agendas in designing the enclosure should be clear. Are they trying to achieve environmental protection the enclosure can give? Or are they trying to comply with the formal standards and requirement of NEMA for electrical enclosures? The latter might have been greatly influenced by the owner of the company or the manager of operations.

With this in mind, the enclosures should be made sure that these will really deliver what they are designed for. There are several variables a design engineer should consider in choosing the right type of enclosure they should have for their company. There are basic enclosures that give basic protection from any type of solid object ingress. A higher NEMA rating might mean that this enclosure will give higher protection. Unlike the IP ratings, NEMA rating will give the protection it can give aside from the water or solid object ingress.

The main difference between IP and NEMA, the latter gives the level of protection it gives for corrosion protection. For the enclosures that will be installed in very harsh environments, it is important that one of the basic needs for enclosure property is its capability to withstand corrosion. There will be also times that the enclosure will be partly or totally submerged in water so any NEMA rating of 6 will be helpful, so type 6 and 6p are considered as waterproof box, and the weatherproof cabinet is NEMA 4X enclosure.

With this in mind, NEMA enclosures types are primarily set to promote certain standardized product specifications for electrical devices. NEMA is designed to have specifications on how the enclosure should perform given the certain type of environment it will be exposed to. For the harsh environment, it is recommended that type 6 will be used. Aside from these features, NEMA ratings are designed to:

1. Protecting personnel from hazardous internal parts Give protection for personnel that might be exposed to hazardous internal parts and;

2. to protect the enclosure against damage from harsh environmental hazards.