Electronic and Instrument Enclosures

Electronic enclosures and instrument enclosures house electronic components and instruments. They are usually designed for handheld or desktop applications. Example applications include calculators, cash registers, remote controls, and data acquisition instruments.  Electronic enclosures and instrument enclosures are typically rectangular, slanted, t-shape, or readout style.  Rectangular enclosures are primarily rectangular in shape with the top and bottom surfaces parallel to each other. The sides of the enclosure may be angled.  Slanted enclosures are also generally rectangular in shape with the top surface angled relative to bottom surface.  T-shaped enclosures are generally used in handheld applications. The "handle” or lower portion of the enclosure is narrower than the upper portion of the enclosure.  A readout style enclosure is a rectangular enclosure with a section of top surface sloped, typically for LCD readout. An example of an enclosure with this shape is a cash register.

The most important specifications to consider when searching for electronic enclosures and instrument enclosures are the dimensions.  The dimensions are typically split into internal and external measurements of length, width, and height or depth.  Cover and assembly options include included covers, equal halves, and assembly styles.  Equal halves enclosures have a construction of approximately two equal halves.  Assembly styles include glue or snap together, hinged cover, and screw together.  End panel options for electronic enclosures and instrument enclosures include aluminum, clear plastic, infrared plastic, solid plastic, transparent red plastic, ventilated, DB9 cutout, and DB25 cutout.  Battery compartment options include a compartment for 1-AA batteries, a compartment for 2-AA batteries or a compartment for 9V batteries.

Common materials of construction for electronic enclosures and instrument enclosures include Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), aluminum, polycarbonate, polystyrene, stainless steel, and steel.  Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is a hard, rigid, thermoplastic polymer. It provides good chemical and creep resistance, and dimensional stability.   Aluminum is a bluish silver-white malleable ductile light trivalent metallic element that has good electrical and thermal conductivity, high reflectivity, and resistance to oxidation.  Polycarbonate is an amorphous material with excellent Impact Strength, clarity, and optical properties. Polycarbonate has excellent mechanical properties, and can be molded to tight tolerances.  Stainless steel is chemical and corrosion resistant and can have relatively high-pressure ratings.  An enclosure can shield against electromagnetic interference or radio frequency interference with EMI or RFI coatings.  Electronic enclosures and instrument enclosures can be constructed of a flame retardant material.  Some construction allows for impact resistance.

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Part Numbers for Electronic and Instrument Enclosures