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How to Customize Your NEMA 4X Enclosure
There are numerous different sizes and types of enclosures on the market, all designed from varying materials. What’s more, depending on their distinct NEMA or IP rating, they also offer different degrees of protection for your electronics. West Tool Enclosures provides the best NEMA or IP rating electrical enclosure on the market. With a vast catalog
of sizes and configurations to choose from.
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Today, electrical enclosures find use in both industrial and commercial markets by safeguarding varied wiring and automation hardware from various ambient settings. In particular, NEMA 4X enclosures offer a unique degree of protection for the enclosed components, affording both outdoor and indoor solutions to suit your watertight applications.
Even with these unique characteristics, users often request further enhancements to suit and satisfy their varying application needs effectively. Since all enclosures come in standard provisions, additional adaptation to the enclosures requires various modifications to produce a user-specific/custom enclosure.
If you are wondering about how to customize your NEMA 4X enclosure, you have come to the right place. Following is everything you need to know about how to customize your NEMA 4 X enclosures.
What Is A NEMA 4x Enclosure?
NEMA 4X electrical enclosures are products designed to offer both outdoor and indoor protection for electronics/items enclosed within them. According to NEMA, these types of enclosures afford protection to various internal elements against the entry of rain, splashing water, dust, hose-directed water, sleet, and snow. They also safeguard against corrosion, not to mention remaining undamaged even after external ice formation.
To rank as a NEMA 4X, enclosures need to ideally safeguard internal components against hose-directed water emanating from a fire hose ejecting 256L (65 gallons)/minute while subsequently ensuring that there is no ingress of water. Similarly, they also have to pass a corrosion test with salt spray done at 200 hours.
NEMA Type 4X enclosures popularly find use in harsh and extreme environments exposed to caustic cleaners or corrosive materials. They are used in various industries, including the food industry such as in meat processing facilities (prone to total wash downs where disinfectants are repeatedly used) as well as petrochemical facilities such as offshore petroleum facilities.
Process of Customizing NEMA 4x Enclosures
Usually, the process of NEMA 4X enclosure customization starts with the user outlining their unique specifications. This can generally mean the inclusion of additional features either based on a specific size requirement or the setting in which the user wants to use the enclosure, among other factors.
After laying down your specifications, the next step is the design phase. This phase usually includes processes such as panel layout, thermal considerations, and enclosure layout to subsequently determine how your NEMA 4X enclosure needs to be modified to satisfy your requirements.
Numerous enclosure manufacturers provide customized NEMA 4X enclosure as per your unique specifications. What’s more, a few of these firms also offer online graphical configuration provisions which you can use to choose your preferred size, style, and modifications to place in a typical standard enclosure.
Once the design phase is complete, and the blueprint is approved, the steps that follow include:
- Cutting and fabrication of the custom enclosures using automated gadgets, including laser cutting, welding, and bending equipment
- Painting of the enclosures (they can be baked in ovens where necessary)
- Inclusion of electronic drawings like a distinct 3-D and 2-D drawings of the said enclosure with its dimensions
How Can You Customize Your NEMA 4x Enclosure?
All customized enclosures are effectively “built to order”, and therefore you cannot return them unless they get damaged while being shipped. As such, it is essential that you only go for a reliable custom enclosure manufacturer as this will guarantee that the product is tailored precisely to your design requirements.
What’s more, modifications done by an accredited manufacturer limits end-user expenses and boosts overall quality. With their expertise and use of modern machinery, custom enclosure manufacturers can ensure the job is done both precisely and correctly, and better yet, without compromising your enclosure.
Typically, the foremost step in customization is creating cutouts in your enclosure. The various enclosure cutout types available include:
- Meters and gauges
- HMI (human-machine interface)
- Thumbwheels and potentiometers
- Switches, lights, and pushbuttons
- DIN controllers
What’s more, there are also numerous other features that you can incorporate in your custom enclosure like air-conditioning, windows, footings, and sun shield among many others. You can also include various enclosure accessories like external enclosure mounting feet, PCB spacer kits and mounting screws, not to mention aluminum (internal) mounting panels, all which can be ideally customized.
Your Trusted NEMA 4X Enclosure Manufacturer
Owing to the need for proper attention to details, and the buy-to-order characteristic of custom enclosures, you must choose a reliable enclosure manufacturer to get your NEMA 4X customization right. Luckily, here at West Tool Enclosures (WTE), this is our specialty.
At WTE, we operate under the belief that customization should effectively meet both your specified needs as well as the proper enclosure ratings to ideally suit your personal or industrial needs.
All our NEMA 4X custom enclosures are built using modern technology which ensures optimum performance and reliability. We have the expertise and experience to not only design but also manufacture custom NEMA 4X among other enclosures that meet the necessary NEMA certifications.
Our products are created using metallic as well as non-metallic materials, although all are dependent on your precise application requirements as well as your preferred material option. If you need a quality, custom NEMA 4X enclosure, WTE will adequately handle your order.
Before starting your NEMA 4X enclosure customization, we communicate with you to understand your application needs as well as the environmental hazards the enclosure will encounter, allowing us to suggest the suitable modifications necessary.
At WTE, we produce a wide array of distinct NEMA 4X enclosures, available in multiple and varying sizes and styles to suit your applications. As such, you can find your ideal NEMA 4X type of enclosure quite easily.
We offer various quality NEMA 4X-rated enclosures ranging from floor mounts, free-standing, wall mounts, stainless steel double door enclosures, enclosures featuring viewing windows, and free-standing NEMA 4X enclosures fitted with latches and locks among many others. For a more detailed outline, you can always visit our powerful online catalog and configuration tool.
We are here to assist you in designing a custom enclosure which will effectively withstand constant exposure to an assortment of varied environmental settings, from harsh weather and corrosive conditions to rugged industrial settings.
Our flexible manufacturing and engineering systems enable you to ideally customize your enclosure subsequently saving both your valuable time and resources. Besides our dedication to correctly producing your specified product, we also deliver it ready for wiring ensuring that you have the easiest task and time installing it.
Final Word
Numerous steps encompass the process of specifying and customizing a NEMA 4X electrical enclosure. However, as the leading NEMA enclosure manufacturer in the USA, we are well-equipped to help you bring your idea to life. With our dedicated team of experts, aided by the use of innovative modern technology, we can meet all your demands as per your preference, choice, and personal requirements.
We boast a wealth of experience both in designing as well as fabricating unique, high-quality, NEMA enclosures all at a competitive price. Furthermore, considering we rank top among enclosure manufacturers for our ability to deliver fully-assembled products at a remarkably short two week turn-around time, you should have no second thoughts about choosing us for your next NEMA 4X custom enclosure order.
No project is too big or too complicated for us to handle. Feel free to get in touch us at anytime.