Electronics Plastic Enclosure: Protect your electronics with a "low cost" plastic case!

An electronic plastic enclosure is mainly a small plastic case or box for integrating electronic components. In most cases, the value of the end application does not allow for the design – manufacture of a customised electronic plastic enclosure dedicated to this application.

Distributors of standard electronic enclosures for remanufacturing, such as OKW, BOPLA, FIBOX or Takachi Enclosure, mainly sell electronic enclosures with the following dimensions

Internal dimensions in mm :

  • Width: 100-150mm
  • Depth: 50-80mm
  • Height: 25 – 70 mm

These plastic electronic enclosures seem to be an economical and fast solution. However, too often, indirect costs for machining the plastic electronic enclosure, painting and marking are forgotten in the calculation of the purchase cost. Thus housing from the ELECTRONICASE range, i.e. pre-designed but entirely custom-made, is, after analysis, more economical for most projects.

The main plastics used are:

  • ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiène styrène)
  • PS (Polystyrène)
  • PC (Polycarbonate)
  • PVC (Chlorure de polyvinyle)

The most frequently used colours :

  • JET BLACK (RAL 9005)
  • LIGHT GREY (RAL 7035)A

A standard electronic plastic enclosure can meet requirements such as IP (protection class) or IK. It may contain a mounting element such as a pin tray.

The IP Standard is a standard for sealing against solids and liquids. The first number expresses the tightness against solids and the second number against liquids. The most common standards are:

IP 54 :

5 = Protected against dust and other microscopic residues

4 = Protected against strong water jets from all directions (12.5 mm nozzle, distance 2.5 m to 3 m).

IP 64 :

6 = Fully protected against dust

4 = Protected against water spray from all directions

IP 65 :

6 = Fully protected against dust

5 = Protected against water jets from all directions (6.3 mm nozzle, distance 2.5 to 3 m, flow rate 12.5 l/min ±5%)

The unit price of a standard electronic plastic case from a catalogue must be completed with the costs of reworking and finishing (painting, varnishing, marking). The price of a plastic electronic box from the ElectroniCase range, on the other hand, directly integrates all these operations and costs.
The advantage of an electronic plastic case from a catalogue is its fast availability, as it is a stocked product that can often be delivered within 24 hours. On the other hand, a custom-made plastic case designed in the ElectroniCase range is available within 5 to 10 days.

Plastic electronic box STANDARD:

The market leaders are names like OKW, BOPLA, HAMMOND, and FIBOX as manufacturers. Distributors offering complementary electronics and components are names like RS Components, Farnell or Conrad.

STANDARD CUSTOM plastic electronic box:

Electronicase : a pre-designed range of models to be configured online.

The customisation of a plastic electronic box is limited to the machining of openings. Depending on their size, these openings are used to pass cables, connectors or mount displays or screens. A standard electronic plastic case can also be personalised by painting, varnishing or marking. An external service provider usually performs these reworking, machining or finishing steps. It is therefore advisable to calculate the additional logistics and manufacturing costs before opting for an electronic plastic case.

In the previous paragraph we mentioned the hidden costs of taking back a plastic electronics box. However, there is a risk that the cost of supplying the plastic electronics box will be higher than expected. To overcome this problem and to be able to budget for a fixed cost, we have developed the ElectroniCase offer.

This offer consists of a fully customised plastic electronic enclosure at a price comparable to that of a standard customised electronic enclosure. This is a custom development with the design and finish adapted to your application. The price of an ElectroniCase is economical as it is based on a range of existing models, optimised for cost-effective mass production. Take the test independently with an immediate online quote.

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