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About Universal Enclosures
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What was Universal
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What are the components of a universal enclosure?
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What are the materials used to make a universal enclosure?
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IP protection types in detail
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What types of universal enclosures are there?
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FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about Universal Enclosures
What was Universal
Housings in electrical engineering and electronics have several functions. They are used for the recording of electrical and electronic components, their secure attachment and their protection against environmental influences. Another important aspect is the protection against contact, in order to protect persons from electric shocks and to comply with the occupational health and safety legislation. For this purpose, the housings are designed in such a way that they meet the requirements of electrical protection types, depending on the purpose of use. Last but not least, enclosures are the visual conclusion of a device to the environment – they therefore have to meet additional design requirements in many cases.
What are the components of a universal enclosure?
Universal housings consist of the actual housing, in which openings for supply or discharge power lines are inserted. These openings can be pre-punched to only feed through where they are ultimately needed. Some universal enclosures are equipped with standard connectors, such as USB connectors.
In the housing itself, there may be mounting devices for screwing or inserting (slot) PCBs, terminal or solder strips, switches and other components. For example, simpler housings only accept line terminals for connecting electrical installations to ensure contact protection.
The housing is closed with a lid that can be opened again in most cases. This may require special tools to prevent or hinder access by non-specialists. Depending on the requirements of the protection class, there may be folds and/or seals between the cover and the housing for safe separation of the inside of the housing from the environment.
Universal housings are available in many dimensions. These vary in length from 6 millimeters to 1 meter, in width from 8 to 605 millimeters and in height from 1 to 603 millimeters. The 1 millimeter height specification is used by Conrad for separately orderable lids or shelves.
What are the materials used to make a universal enclosure?
The choice of material is primarily based on the application requirements with regard to insulation properties, the assured degree of protection and the mechanical requirements for housing stiffness and mounting. Conrad offers housings made of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene stirene copolymer), aluminum (also as die casting), polyamide, polycarbonate, polyester, polystirene, polystirene, steel and zinc.
IP protection types in detail
The universal housings available from Conrad fulfill the requirements of different types of protection. This ranges from IP40 protection, which protects against access with a wire, to IP69K protection, which ensures complete protection against contact and protection against water during high-pressure/steam jet cleaning.
Furthermore, frequently represented types of protection are:
- IP54: Protection against dust in damaging quantity and against all-sided splash water as well as complete protection against contact
- IP65: Dust-proof and complete touch protection as well as protection against jet water, for example from a nozzle
- IP66: Dust-proof and complete touch protection as well as protection against strong jet water
- IP68: Dust-proof and complete protection against contact and protection against permanent immersion
What types of universal enclosures are there?
The categories of universal housings in the Conrad shop give information on their purpose. Selection criteria include separate floor plates, lids and hoods. Other choices are:
- Installation housing with hohem and protection, partly with transparent covers and with special cover seals
- Instrument housing for the construction of laboratory, measurement and test equipment
- Cable housing, partly with strain relief, for accepting and connecting cables
- Heat sink enclosure for installations with special thermal requirements of installation or Area
- Module housings can be retrofitted and offer space for retrofitting electronic components in existing installations, for example, by means of adapter plugs.
- Profile casing for special mechanical loads
- Transformer housing for the accidental contact protection of transformers
- USB housing with standardized USB connection
- Die-cast housing for completely enclosing electrical components with an insulating compound, which usually meets special electrical requirements and offers resistance to chemical and weather influences
- Wall housing in different dimensions for many tasks in the industrial And domestic electrical installation
- Housing components such as cable guides, strain reliefs, clamps, mounting rails and brackets
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about Universal Enclosures
What was to be observed when working on or with universal housings?
Installation, replacement and maintenance work may only be carried out by qualified personnel.
Before opening universal housings, the power supply must be disconnected, secured against accidental re-activation and the effectiveness of the switch-off checked.
Pay attention to the manufacturer's information, especially from the point of view of thermal load capacity and resistance to mechanical and chemical loads as well as to weather influences.
When replacing universal housings, the degree of protection specified on site must be observed.
How can ich detect a defective universal housing?
In the main, the conclusion of the electrical/electronic inner life of defective universal housings is no longer guaranteed by the environment. This can occur due to damaged screw connections, mechanically damaged housing parts or missing, cracked or porous seals.