According to enclosure manufacturer, Rittal, equipment builders are
becoming less satisfied with the traditional approach to system building,
which involves purchasing component parts from numerous suppliers and
taking responsibility for the job of fitting them all together. There is
a better way, as the company explains
There was a time when system builders were happy to purchase their
enclosures, thermal management solutions and power distribution
components from different suppliers and take on the integration job
in-house. This approach often required the manufacture of special
mounting brackets, shelves and adaptors, which was not only costly and
time consuming, but also likely to leave the system builder open to the
problems of incompatibility and poor repeatability.
Some years ago, enclosures began to be manufactured with frames
pre-punched with a symmetrical pattern of holes, providing readily
available equipment mounting positions without the need to drill, tap or
make special brackets. A more recent development is the frame with two
sets of punched levels, an outer and an inner, that allow more than one
component or bracket to be fitted at any one point. This, plus the
symmetrical frame feature, enables the same brackets and components to be
fitted in the width or depth of the enclosure. And if standard support
members and brackets are used, fitting accessories such as shelves, door
switches and similar equipment - not to mention the repositioning of a
mounting plate - becomes a quick and simple task. Doors, rear panels and
side-walls are manufactured with common dimensions for any given
enclosure size. A side panel can thus be exchanged for a door, or a rear
panel can become a door without any major engineering work.
The same mounting system can be used for the installation of thermal
management options such as anti-condensation heaters, which are also used
to protect against frost in outdoor enclosures. Fan trays can be fitted
using the same system, and fan units of various airflow ratings (with or
without filters) can be mounted on doors and panels. Heat exchangers and
cooling units can be mounted on the doors, panels and roof. Modern
enclosure cooling units like the one illustrated have common enclosure
cutout requirements, enabling easy performance upgrades without having to
re-engineer the whole panel.
For power distribution within the enclosure, there are modular busbar
systems that use the punched hole pattern in the frame for attaching the
mounting brackets. These systems work on the principle of a standard bar
spacing for a range of power levels. The tops of the bars are always a
standard height from the back plate, with adjustment for different bar
sizes being achieved using inserts between the busbar supports. Thanks to
this level of standardisation, power distribution system design becomes a
simple task, as the component mounting devices clip to the bars in a
modular manner.
And to make the system builder's job even easier, a reputable enclosure
manufacturer will offer a wide range of system accessories such as door
handles with numerous lock insert options, enabling secure versions to be
built with minimal impact on costs.