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In the field of electronic equipment, industrial control, instrumentation, etc., aluminium enclosure is a key component to protect the precision components inside the equipment and ensure the stable operation of the equipment, and it is very important to choose the appropriate aluminum electrical enclosure to enhance the safety of the equipment and prolong its service life.
This article will take you to a comprehensive understanding of aluminum enclosure, from its basic definition, and gradually analyze its advantages and disadvantages, applicable scenarios and selection of the details that need to be noted, and its multi-dimensional comparison with stainless steel enclosure, to make clear the main differences between the two, to help in your selection of custom aluminum enclosure when you and make a scientific and wise solution when you select the custom aluminum enclosure.
What is an aluminum enclosure?
aluminium enclosure is a kind of protective enclosure made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, which is widely used to protect all kinds of electrical and electronic components, precision instruments and mechanical equipments from the external environment. aluminium enclosure is usually manufactured by extruding, die-casting and sheet metal processing.
extruded aluminum enclosure: extruded aluminum enclosure is the most common process, can produce a variety of cross-sectional shape of the aluminum profile, and then cut and processed into enclosure. this way is cost-effective, suitable for mass production.
die cast aluminum enclosure: die casting is suitable for the manufacture of complex shapes, integrated structures, and high strength requirements of the sealing enclosure.
In order to further enhance the performance and appearance of custom aluminum enclosure, it usually requires surface treatment such as anodizing, sandblasting, powder coating, etc., which can produce a variety of colors and enhance the surface hardness and corrosion resistance.
Rapid Prototype Turnaround
Committed to exceeding expectations for quality and rapid turnaround, and meeting high-quality sheet metal parts.
On-Demand Sheet Metal
Whether it is rapid prototyping & large-volume manufacturing, we will implement it according to customer needs and standards.
Real Fabricators Price
Integrate product design, bending, stamping, cutting, surface treatment, etc. to provide a series of manufacturing solutions.
Advantages and disadvantages of aluminium enclosures
The aluminium enclosure excels in many metal enclosures due to its material properties, but it also has some limitations. Understanding these advantages and disadvantages is very important for us to make a correct and scientific decision on enclosure selection.
Advantages of aluminium enclosure
Excellent thermal performance: This is one of the most significant advantages of aluminium electrical enclosures.
Aluminum's thermal conductivity of about 237W/(m・K), is more than 3 times that of steel, can quickly absorb the heat generated by the equipment components and conduct to the enclosure surface, through the air convection and radiation emitted to reduce the accumulation of heat.
This reduces heat buildup and reduces the dependence of custom aluminum enclosures on external heat dissipation systems, improving the reliability and service life of the equipment.
Good corrosion resistance: Aluminum in the air will naturally form a layer of dense and hard alumina protective film, can be isolated from air and moisture, has good corrosion resistance.
Moreover, the surface treatment of aluminum electrical enclosure, such as anodic oxidation and plastic spraying, greatly improves its corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance and aesthetics.
High strength-to-weight ratio: The density of aluminum is about 2.7g/cm³, much lower than that of steel (7.8g/cm³) and stainless steel (7.9g/cm³), which has a very high strength-to-weight ratio.
In the same volume, its weight is much lighter than custom steel enclosures and custom stainless steel enclosures, and at the same time can provide strong physical protection.
aluminium enclosures are especially suitable for the need to move or reduce the weight of the scenario, such as hand-held electronic devices, vehicle equipment, drone accessories, etc., can reduce the overall load of the equipment. It can reduce the overall equipment load.
Good electromagnetic shielding effect: aluminum electrical enclosure can effectively shield electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference, provide protection for precision electronic components inside the equipment, prevent external signals from interfering with the operation of the equipment while also preventing internal electromagnetic leakage.
Easy to process: aluminum metal is easy to extrusion, cutting, drilling and bending and other mechanical processing, high design flexibility, to meet a variety of complex structures and customized needs.
Recyclable and environmentally friendly: Aluminum is a recyclable metal, in line with modern green and sustainable design concepts.
Limitations of aluminum enclosures
Relatively low mechanical strength: Compared to custom stainless steel enclosures and custom steel enclosures, custom aluminum enclosures have lower hardness.
It may be more susceptible to denting, deformation or wear in application scenarios where it is subjected to impact, heavy pressure or high intensity friction. It is not suitable for high-frequency stress scenarios such as heavy industrial equipment (e.g., machine tool enclosures) and outdoor impact-resistant installations.
Average temperature resistance: Although aluminum dissipates heat well, it has a low melting point (about 660°C). In extreme high-temperature environments, its strength decreases significantly, while stainless steel maintains its performance better.
Some aluminum alloys are susceptible to low-temperature embrittlement and reduced toughness in low-temperature environments (below -40°C), and may crack under vibration or impact, making them unsuitable for use in low-temperature scenarios such as polar exploration equipment and instruments used in cold-chain environments.
Not applicable to highly corrosive environments: Although the oxide film on the surface of the aluminum enclosure can provide basic corrosion protection, the oxide film is easily damaged in strong acid, strong alkali or high salt spray environments (such as coastal areas, chemical workshops), resulting in corrosion cracking of the aluminum electrical enclosure, which requires additional corrosion-resistant coatings to be used. In this case, custom stainless steel enclosures or custom plastic enclosures with special treatment (e.g. passivation) show better corrosion resistance.
Higher cost than plastic: Although generally cheaper than stainless steel, aluminum electrical enclosures cost more than custom plastic enclosures (e.g. PC or ABS).
Lower surface abrasion resistance: Aluminum has a lower surface hardness and is susceptible to scratches and abrasion without special treatment, which may damage the surface oxide layer and require additional hardening treatments (e.g. hard anodizing).
aluminum enclosure use scene
With its comprehensive advantages of good heat dissipation and light weight, aluminum electrical enclosure is popular in many industries and applications. Its main application scenarios can be summarized into the following categories:
- Telecommunication and network equipment: 5G base station/Radio Frequency Unit (RRU/AAU), Optical Fiber Terminal Box (ODF), network switches, routers, antenna enclosures, etc.
- Industrial automation and control system: sensors, measuring instruments, industrial PLC enclosure, etc.
- New energy and power industry: photovoltaic inverter, charging pile module, switching power supply enclosure, etc.
- Consumer electronics and high-end equipment: professional-grade drone enclosure, high-end gaming computer chassis enclosure, headphone charging case enclosure, Bluetooth speaker enclosure, sports bracelet charging base enclosure, etc.
- Aerospace & Transportation: airborne equipment, onboard control system, rail transportation electronic equipment, etc.
- Outdoor and harsh environment equipment: outdoor monitoring equipment, small solar controller enclosure, LED street lamp drive power enclosure, etc..
In short, aluminum electrical enclosure is very suitable for the equipment that needs “heat dissipation” + “light weight” + “electromagnetic shielding” at the same time. equipment at the same time. It is an indispensable part of modern electronic equipment, spanning consumer electronics, industry, communications, energy and other fields.
No design files? Let Supro MFG do it for you.
We often come across clients who have no professional design drawings and documentation, only a creative idea, which leads to the project being at a standstill.
If you are in this situation, then contact our team of experts.
Supro MFG, as an industry-leading custom metal fabricator, has an ever-experienced team of engineers who utilize their extensive fabrication experience and technical expertise to build your idea into a real product and create design files such as STEP/STP/SLDPRT/DXF/PDF/PRT/DWG/AI.
That’s what makes SUPRO MFG so great, and 2,000 corporate, entrepreneurial, artist, and other purchasers from around the world enjoy working with us and benefiting from our one-stop manufacturing services.
Comparison between aluminum enclosure and stainless steel enclosure
Enclosure Type | aluminium enclosure | Stainless steel enclosure |
Strength-to-weight ratio | Medium strength but light weight with a high strength to weight ratio. | Extremely high strength and hardness, very heavy, lower strength to weight ratio than aluminium enclosure |
Heat Dissipation | Very good | Difference |
Corrosion resistance | Good, often requires anodizing | Excellent, especially 316 grade stainless steel, superior resistance to acid, alkali and salt spray corrosion |
Processing Difficulty | Easy, easy to extrude, cut, drill and perform CNC machining | Difficult, high hardness, fast tool wear, long machining time. |
Electromagnetic Shielding | Good, provides effective electromagnetic shielding | Excellent, good conductor of magnetic fields, provides top level shielding effectiveness. |
Cost | Medium, below stainless steelenclosure | Very high |
Applicable environment | Electronic equipment, communication base stations, instrumentation, consumer products, light industrial environments | Food and medicine, chemical marine, outdoor extreme environment, heavy industry, medical and surgical equipment. |
What to pay attention to when choosing the right aluminium enclosure
Choosing the right aluminum enclosure for electrical equipment is very important, and we usually need to consider the following factors when making decisions
Evaluating the environment to match the type of aluminium enclosure material and protection level
First, we need to assess the risks in the environment, understand what kind of threats the equipment will face, and determine the type of material and the required level of protection for the aluminum electrical enclosure. For example:
For the threat of UV radiation in the environment: the aluminum enclosure can be coated with UV resistant powder to avoid the oxidized layer on the surface that is prone to peeling off in the long term exposure to the sun, which affects the protection.
For the threat of corrosive substances in the environment: if the environment is mildly corrosive, you can choose the ordinary anodic oxidation treatment of aluminum electrical enclosure. in the chemical industry and other strong corrosive environment, you can choose to use 5052 aluminum alloy enclosure.
For the threat of moisture in the environment: most outdoor or humid industrial environments recommend the use of IP64 aluminum enclosure or higher; may be flushed occasions, recommend IP65 aluminum enclosure; need to be short or continuous immersion in the environment, recommend the use of IP67 aluminum waterproof IP67 aluminum waterproof enclosure is recommended for environments requiring short or continuous immersion.
Sizing the aluminium electrical enclosure
Secondly, the aluminum electrical enclosure needs to be able to accommodate the equipment components and allow some additional space for wiring, ventilation and maintenance.
Determine whether the aluminium electrical enclosure requires additional functional components.
Finally, determine whether the aluminum enclosure needs additional functional components, such as: hinges and locks, when the need to open and close often can choose to have hinges and locks with the aluminum enclosure, which can enhance the safety and convenience; to confirm whether the enclosure installation needs to be installed rails or rack accessories.
custom aluminum fabrication services
Supro MFG possesses extensive manufacturing experience and specialized technical expertise in custom aluminum fabrication, enabling the rapid implementation of various precision manufacturing processes or combinations thereof to achieve batch production and rapid prototyping of customized aluminum products.
aluminum laser cutting
aluminum sheet metal
aluminum extrusion
aluminum welding
Surface treatment
aluminum bending
aluminum CNC machining
aluminum stamping
Summary
If you are looking for aluminium enclosure manufacturer, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Supro is a professional aluminium enclosure manufacturer, with the advantage of advanced equipment, rich manufacturing experience and professional engineering team, providing perfect aluminum electrical enclosure for more than 3,000 companies worldwide.
Supro is a professional aluminum enclosure manufacturer, with the advantage of advanced equipment, rich manufacturing experience and professional engineering team, providing perfect aluminum electrical enclosure solutions for more than 3000 companies worldwide, and providing real manufacturer quotes.
As an industry-leading aluminum enclosure manufacturer, we can deliver a wide range of products efficiently and on time. From product design and rapid prototype fabrication to mass production, we offer professional technical support and superior quality. And we can provide you with one-stop manufacturing solutions and cost-competitive product supply!
