Tag Archive Electronics Enclosure

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    
Electrical Enclosure, Electronics Enclosure, Electrical Boxes, Employee Wellness, Enclosure Manufacturing Companies,

How Important is Employee Wellness in Enclosure Manufacturing Companies?

With the improvement of the enclosure manufacturing companies today, some of them are really proud to announce that they are continuously developing electronics enclosures. Companies today are really taking good care of the product’s they produce or manufacture and because of this, they know that it is equally important to also take care of their employees’ health and welfare. Without healthy and motivated workforce they will not be able to sustain the product quality they are aiming for.

Just as companies are aiming to provide the best services as well as products, we are now providing the employees with the right resources and equal opportunities to improve their over-all well-being. There are programs that can be done completely voluntary and is aimed to generally promote their physical and mental health including fitness so that they can all live a happier and more prosperous lives.

These health programs should include:

  1. Free access to health-related facilities, such as gym and wellness centers. Companies should provide employees with access to these kind of facilities so that they can spend time to unwind and relax from the daily hustle and bustle. This is also aimed to improving overall general health.
  2. Healthy competitions such as weight challenges. Doing competitions like this across departments will boost the employees’ moral and spirit and this will also contribute to their physical and mental health. This is timely after the holiday season so they will have more energy to be fit and stay healthy.
  3. Programs that offers rewards for people who have stopped smoking. Companies should help the people who want to quit smoking by offering them support and services and free support. The support should include phone coaching sessions, a personalized quit plan, and a free kit of nicotine replacement therapy.

More and more should be added into this list. Companies should keep in mind that more than anything, all businesses are philanthropic in nature. They should aim to help more individuals get fit and healthy while at the same time boosting their moral. When employees are fully supported they will produce better work outcome and the companies will achieve their overall goals.

If possible, companies should also provide health care insurances for the employees in case of brutal accidents. Prevention is always better than cure right?

Electrical Enclosure, Electronics Enclosure, Electrical Boxes, Handheld Enclosures,

What are the Best Choices for Your Handheld Electronics Application?

Now that the summer season is fast approaching, I have started to notice the several pieces of summer clothing line starting to populate my favorite stores. Men’s, Women’s, Kid’s, Toddler’s: all pieces are showcasing the standard pieces for this season. Bikinis, shorts, summer trunks, etc. Yes, trends continue to repeat year after year but there is always this latest yet updated style to these wonderful pieces.

For example, the infamous summer shorts now has multiple pockets and it also comes with different loops. The bikini line has added some fashionable twists unto it and you can wear it under a beautiful translucent cardigan. These classic pieces can be worn by anyone even if there are new released piece of clothing available in the market.

Now let’s talk about electronics enclosures, shall we?

Like the recent update to our summer wardrobe, there are companies now who has just released a new handheld enclosure in a from of key fold enclosure. The small size is now comparable to the popular key fobs available in the market today. This new enclosure has more space inside and it sports a very modern look. There are now also battery holders inside. The companies that has released an old version of this product is still in compatible with the newly released key fob enclosures.

The companies are now releasing new products and these products comes with the extra functionality. The tactile buttons installed on the enclosure allows the PCB for better user feedback, which in return gives you the opportunity to properly design some more user-friendly functions. In addition to this, they have utilized more durable materials that can give you the best product there is in the market.

In addition to this information as well as the functions, the new key fob enclosure design available in the market today also has a new sleek design and it is widely available in either black or bright white. It also comes with the matte black buttons which is super amazing! One of the options available for this is on all of the 0,1,2,4,5 button designs. The companies now have started a new trend for the key fob enclosure design and that is one way to keeping the end-project in fashion a very good one.

Key fob enclosures has a versatility of functions. And because the need for keyless access is now increasing, companies should think of a way how they can do this more efficiently and effectively. This is also the very reason why they should think of various ways how they can improve the current model and design by releasing new designs and making it from new and durable materials.  If you want to find the perfect handheld enclosure, you can search the Google for companies who are good in making these small enclosures and give them your design and inquire if they can meet your expectations.

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.

IP65 Electrical Enclosures Defined

For companies that want electrical enclosures that will protect their equipment from harsh environments and from protecting equipment from water ingress, their best bet would be IP65-rated enclosures. This type of enclosure is carefully designed to endure and withstand harsh yet demanding environments outdoors. They can protect sensitive electrical equipment and components even the careful wiring of any equipment from any type of ingress present in any environment. IP65 can give full protection from any type or ingress and totally dust proof.

It is important to note that the NEMA ratings are totally different from IP rated enclosures. You can read more on their respective websites about the major difference between each rating.

Different IP65 applications

IP65 are versatile because of their great protective features against any type of ingress. These are also durable because it is designed to withstand tough environments. Below are the most common areas of applications where IP65 are commonly used:

  • Outdoor Environments – This is the most common place where IP65 is usually used. Because this environment can have a lot of potential hazards and it can jeopardize any electrical equipment.
  • Factories and Warehouses – The common industry where factories need IP65 electrical enclosures are manufacturing companies. This is where chemicals, dirt, dust, and debris are most likely to exist. IP65 can help companies protect their delicate equipment to prevent damages and potential delays in their processes.
  • Agricultural Facilities – Electrical equipment are also being used on agricultural and poultry farms because it helps businesses to optimize their processes. In greenhouses, for example, IP65 is being used to protect components from any potential danger because of exposure to dirt, dust, or water.
  • Garages and Automotive Shops – The particles existing in this environment produced by car paints, oil and welding processes can harm and jeopardize certain electrical equipment. It is important to protect important equipment in these environments from any potential ingress.
  • Boats and Marine Environments – Most of the time, it is not recommended to use electronics in the wet and moist environment because it can damage equipment. IP65 is one of the best enclosure to protect electrical equipment from any potential water ingress.
  • Washdown and Sanitary Areas – Because this environment where water is present can bring corrosion to any equipment, it is important that the enclosure that will be used can protect equipment from corrosion and any potential damage.

Where does the IP65 is usually used?

IP65 is used in protecting delicate and complicated machinery. Usually, it is used to protect biomethane analyzers that give high-accuracy readings and information about the levels of methane and oxygen to outdoor security services. These type of machinery need protection from potential dust and water ingress. Also, security cameras need IP65 because it is used outdoors and they can also tamper with water that may hinder their performance. In addition to this, one of the common applications of IP65 enclosures are in protecting external temperature sensors and other types of sensors, this also includes humidity and barometric pressure. IP65 is equivalent to NEMA 4x enclosures. They both give the same level of protection against ingress of water and solid objects, however, NEMA is a standard which has criteria for corrosion resistance characteristic, but not for IP standard.