NEMA Rated Sealed Enclosures Prevent Ingress

June 10, 2022

Keeping possible contaminants from entering sensitive equipment is the best line of defense for protecting your company’s investments. After all, in any busy industrial, manufacturing, or warehousing space, employee downtime can be crucial to a company’s bottom line. Even in cases where contamination can be cleaned or removed, losing the service of critical equipment can be costly.

Dust, grime, debris, and humidity can all find their way into sensitive equipment and clog cooling fans causing electronics to overheat. That’s why for decades Dust Free PC has been providing NEMA rated sealed enclosures to protect sensitive equipment from the filthiest workplaces like processing plants and temperature controlled storage facilities.

It's unlikely that the dust or debris that settles on the computer components will stop the equipment from functioning, but overheating can. When contaminants block your fan and cooling system, your electronic equipment can be at risk. Although electronics must have cool-clean air to function properly, workplace contaminants do not have to be a problem.

Sealed Enclosures for Contaminant Exclusion

Contaminants cover the workplace with an unattractive buildup that everyone can see, but underneath that grit and grime can be damage that is destroying your equipment. All too often, a company will look for a temporary solution to protect computers, printers, or another sensitive piece of equipment from dust, moisture, and other environmental hazards. Unfortunately, contaminant ingression is more often an ongoing problem rather than a temporary one.

If the problem isn’t fixed, a makeshift solution typically only delays an inevitable equipment failure. Even though you may routinely clean the outer surfaces that alone cannot prevent the ingress and buildup of harmful contaminants. Plus, electronic equipment generates heat and clogged airflow is a leading cause of overheating. Our goal is to provide you with NEMA rated sealed enclosures that don’t require excessive cleanings and will keep your equipment working to avoid expensive repairs.

NEMA Rated Workplace Equipment Enclosures

When electronic components are exposed to contamination, it is like pouring gasoline on a fire. In order to avoid overheating, your computerized equipment uses fans to cool the internal components. Problem is, over thousands of operating hours the fan-driven movement pushes debris deeper into the crevices of your equipment where it becomes a magnet for an electrostatic buildup of the very contaminants that need to be averted.

Discussed below are NEMA  ratings for enclosures that are intended to keep out a variety of workplace hazards and contaminants, such as:

• NEMA 1 Enclosure – Indoor protection from falling debris and protection against incidental contact with the enclosed equipment.
• NEMA 2 Enclosure – Same protection as #1 but with a degree of protection against dripping and light splashing of liquids.
• NEMA 3 Enclosure – Similar protection as #2 but with additional degree of protection against rain, sleet, snow, windblown dust... and will be undamaged by external formation of ice.
• NEMA 3R Enclosure – Ingress protection like #3 but with the least demanding rating for outdoor use.
• NEMA 3S Enclosure – Protection of #3R but external mechanisms remain operable when enclosure is ice laden.
• NEMA 4 Enclosure – Like #3S but has advanced sealed protection against hose-directed water like that used for washdown.
• NEMA 4X Enclosure – Exclusion like #4 but also offers protection against the ingress of corrosive agents.
• NEMA 5 Enclosure – Indoor protection like #2 but provides a degree of protection against settling airborne dust, falling dirt, and dripping non-corrosive liquids.
• NEMA 6 Enclosure – Same indoor or outdoor protection as #4 but prevents the entry of water during occasional temporary submersion to a specified depth.
• NEMA 6P Enclosure – Like #6 but also prevents the entry of water during prolonged submersion at a limited depth.
• NEMA 12 & 12k Enclosure – Similar protection to #2 but indoor only enclosure is constructed (without knockouts #12) and (with knockouts #12K).
• NEMA 13 Enclosure – Indoor protection as #12 but protects against seepage of water, oil, or noncorrosive coolants spraying and splashing.

Defining your specific needs for an equipment enclosure can ensure against accidental access to equipment as well as allow you to use NEMA rated sealed enclosures in areas that require washdown or where coolants are needed to lubricate and cool other equipment. Whereas water can enter a system from a plethora of outside sources, moisture can come from condensation due to poorly managed temperature control inside the unit or enclosure.

With a little pre-planning, Dust Free PC can help you protect your computers, printers, barcoders, and other sensitive equipment from harmful contaminants with NEMA rated sealed enclosures. Remember, taking the necessary steps now can save you money in the long run. Contact Dust Free PC today to learn more…