KDM: Your Professional Steel Electrical Enclosure Manufacturer

KDM knows all your requirements on steel electrical enclosure, send us your drawing and we’ll custom your best electrical enclosures!

KDM provides a wide range of steel electric enclosures, which are made of carbon steel, including free-standing electrical enclosures, wall mount electrical enclosures, floor mount electrical enclosure, junction box enclosure as well as the modular electrical enclosure.

Send Your Inquiry Now

As one of the most widely used materials around the world, carbon steel is a very cost-effective material for electrical enclosures compared to various types of stainless steel and galvanized steel.

Therefore, KDM is able to provide you with the type of electrical enclosures in carbon steel at a very reasonable price.

And the powder-coated steel electrical enclosures provided by KDM are also able to meet the requirements of the specific NEMA or IP protection standards based on your applications.

Send Your Inquiry Now

In addition, the powder coating itself is an environmentally friendly process compared to the conventional coating methods as it creates a minimal amount of waste.

It will help your enclosure last longer and therefore let you spend less afterward.

Steel Electrical Enclosure: The Ultimate Guide for Importers

Steel is an important material in electrical enclosure applications.

Electrical enclosures are today used in a whole host of environments and areas.

From small home applications to large industrial settings; electrical enclosures can be found everywhere.

Now, in most of these areas, harsh conditions like rain, sun, dust, humidity, etc. can be a problem.

They bring about premature wear, tear, and abuse of electrical equipment and components.

As such, electrical equipment in such areas needs to be protected from any harsh conditions.

The enclosure housing it shouldn’t also pose a risk by suffering from corrosions and other problems arising from the elements mentioned earlier.

Luckily, there’s is a solution, steel electrical enclosures. Steel Electrical Enclosure

What is a Steel Electrical Enclosure

Simply put:

Steel electrical enclosure is a cabinet for housing and protecting electrical equipment and is made out of steel material.

You see, electrical enclosure manufacturers use a variety of materials to make these structures.

A good number of these materials are more durable, reliable and long lasting while others are costly to acquire and maintain.

Now, with affordability being a high priority for industrial users, steel electrical enclosures have a lot to offer.

Not only are steel enclosures affordable, but they are also low maintenance.

And, compared to other metals used in enclosure construction, steel is cheaper and lighter.

But more so, it is highly resistant to environmental stresses like dust, rain, winter ice, and humidity.

Additionally, many types of steel are resistant to fire, rust, mold, and many pests that would be the undoing of softer materials.

If you want a robust electrical enclosure that is built to last through different levels of erosion, steel is quite literally an excellent choice.

Just keep in mind that there are different types of steel.

There is carbon steel, stainless steel, and galvanized steel.

I will explain this later in this article.

Having said that, let’s look at the various designs of steel electrical enclosures.

Designs of Steel Electrical Enclosures

Steel electrical enclosures are available in a plethora of designs.

You can choose your design based on the mounting option, a number of doors and the additional accessories needed.

At the end of the day, you have to choose an enclosure design that is very specific to your requirements.

So here are the design options for steel electrical enclosures:

· Floor Mount

As I’ve said, steel electrical enclosures come in different mounting options.

There are the floor mount enclosures that come with a balancing floor stand.

Floor mount electrical enclosure

These only require ground support. They can stand freely, against the wall or other objects.

· Wall mount

Wall mount enclosures are mounted on a flat wall using hardware brackets, screws or pads.

Wall mount electrical enclosure

It all depending on what wall mounting option the manufacturer provides.

Wall mount cabinet enclosures are a cost-effective electrical enclosure solution.

But, only where equipment needs are modest and not likely to increase for an application.

· Freestanding

As their name suggests, free-standing steel electrical enclosures are free standing.

These enclosures don’t require any mounting or support to stay in place.

Free standing electrical enclosure

The advantage of freestanding electrical enclosures is that you can move them wherever and whenever.

They are thus suitable for on the go applications.

· Single door

Single door enclosures as you can guess are built with one single door for accessing contents.

These are mostly installed in smaller enclosures that are meant to house minimal contents.

· Double door

This is a design that incorporates two doors in a single enclosure.

They are usually considered to provide easy access to contents.

Double door electrical enclosure

Double doors are most common in larger steel electrical enclosures.

· Multiple doors

Multiple door enclosure presents more than two access doors.

These doors are spread out through the front panel to provide compartmental access to contents.

Multiple door electrical enclosure

Multiple doors are mostly considered for enclosures meant for large industrial applications.

Other design elements that you can consider when opting for a steel electrical enclosure include;

• Door opening mechanism; lever or hinge
• Locking mechanism
• Ventilation

Quality Standards for Steel Electrical Enclosures

Most steel electrical enclosures in the market are designed and built in adherence to the set industry standards for performance and reliability.

These standards include:

1. NEMA

Steel electrical enclosure for whatever type of application is often designed to NEMA standards.

NEMA is an international organization that regulates the electrical and electronics industry.

The body has put forth standards for which electrical enclosure products have to adhere to ensure reliable performance and protection.

So when looking to import a steel electrical enclosure, you should check to ensure that it is NEMA rated.

But don’t stop there, ensure that the product rating is suitable for your application.

There are 13 NEMA types, and each of the 13 has a different protection specification.

In this case nonetheless, anything from NEMA 4 and above would suffice.

2. IP (IEC 60529)

IP protection ratings are put to assure users that electrical enclosure products are safe from intrusion by foreign solids and water.

Usually, IP ratings are two digits that indicate the level of protection of a product from solids and water to a certain degree.

For steel electrical enclosures thus, you want to ensure that it can protect against the ingress of dust, dirt, water, ice, etc.

As such, you should look out for a product with an IP65 rating and above.

3. UL

The universal laboratories is an internationally recognized body that performs a test on product samples to ensure that it conforms to industry standards.

This safety measure is mandatory for electrical and electronic products entering the US.

So if you are importing your steel electrical enclosure, you might want to ensure that it is UL listed.

Otherwise, you’ll experience difficulties having the product cleared for entry into the US.

4. RoHS

In this era of global warming, it is only wise if we are careful about what materials we release into the environment.

Materials like mercury, lead and cadmium are known to hazardous both to human health and the environment.

It is because of this reason that the RoHS standards were put in place to restrict the use of these materials in electronic and electrical products.

So be sure to check and ensure that your product is RoHS certified.

5. CE

CE is a mandatory safety mark for products that are manufactured and sold in the European economic zones.

A CE mark on steel electrical enclosures indicates that the product conforms to the set EU health, safety, and environmental regulations.

Steel Electrical Enclosures Specifications

Steel Electrical Enclosures Welding

Choosing a steel electrical enclosure or any enclosure for that matter is as easy as some may think.

So what elements should you look out for when looking for a cabinet to house your valuable electrical equipment?

i. Material

As I said earlier in this guide, there are three types of steel materials for electrical enclosures.

There is carbon steel which is mostly used for outdoor electrical enclosure applications.

Carbon is a low-cost material that makes for a perfect fit for the affordable electrical enclosure.

Note however that carbon steel requires some coating/painting to prevent it from rust and corrosion effects.

This means that carbon steel electrical enclosure is a more viable option for less corrosive environments.

Otherwise, once the coating/paint peels off, the material becomes highly susceptible to rusting.

There is stainless steel, the most popular steel material in the manufacturing of electrical enclosures.

Stainless steel, please note, is popularly used by enclosure manufacturers due to its special anti-corrosion qualities.

The material is also naturally appealing, strong, and highly durable.

With a stainless steel electrical enclosure, you can rest easy knowing that the material won’t succumb easily to impact damage.

Last but not least, there is galvanized steel.

Now galvanized steel is not so popularly used to manufacturer electrical enclosures because it is heavy and expensive.

But the few that use it do it because of it unwavering resilience to harsh environments.

Remember that galvanized steel that has a protective zinc coating.

The coating helps to enhance the resistance of the steel to impact, abrasion, and corrosion.

Steel Electrical Enclosures Material

It also makes steel highly durable and attractive.

So generally, steel is available in three forms, as I’ve mentioned.

And, as you can see all three types of steel vary in attributes and each has its advantage and disadvantage.

The best way to choose the best steel material regarding electrical enclosure is to determine your application and needs.

This is the only way you’ll be able to select a suitable steel electrical enclosure that can withstand the most stringent environmental conditions.

ii. Heating and cooling

The internal temperature of your steel electrical enclosure is crucial for the well being of the enclosed equipment.

You should know that steel tends to absorb heat faster than anything else.

And, too much heat in the enclosure can’t be good for your electrical equipment.

As such, you should speak to your manufacturer to implement a heating and cooling system in your steel electrical enclosure.

Insulation, broadly, can help ensure that the safety of your equipment in high-temperature applications.

iii. Size

Size is a crucial factor to consider when choosing a suitable steel electrical enclosure.

Different sizes of steel electrical enclosure

There are different sizes of this enclosure in the market.

The right enclosure for you, therefore, will depend on several things.

The contents you need to enclose, the design you want, and the installation space.

So choose a size that best suits your needs and application.

iv. Mounting and orientation

How do you want to mount your steel electrical enclosure?

You need to determine this to be able to choose a suitable enclosure for your application.

Steel electrical enclosure

There are many options; there is the wall mount, free-standing, and floor mounting options.

Further, you can choose an enclosure that uses screws or that comes with mounting brackets.

v. Protection

Before you buy a steel electrical enclosure, you need to check its protection ability.

Can the enclosure protect against ingress of foreign solids and water?

Is it suitable for use in the outdoors, indoor, or both?

Lockable steel electrical enclosure

How safe is it to human health and the environment?

All these are things that you’ve to consider when looking at the protection level of the product.

In this regard, you need to review the product’s NEMA and IP ratings as well as check for UL, CE and RoHS markings.

Other elements to consider are ventilation, accessories, frame and earthing.

KDM Steel Enclosure Manufacturer

KDM steel is an industrial steel electrical enclosure manufacturer with long-lasting experience in this.

The company provides top quality off the shelf and custom made stainless steel electrical enclosures.

Our off the shelf models are designed with strength and durability in mind.

At KDM steel, we can also plan and quickly execute custom enclosures based on existing, modular designs.

Alternatively, our expert designers can create something from scratch based on unique specifications customized to meet your precise requirements.

Plus, our prices are quite reasonable.

So call us now and let’s make you a strong, corrosion free, and durable steel electrical enclosure.

Conclusion

Steel is generally the perfect material for an electrical enclosure especially in harsh environments – it provides the best solution for all-round physical protection.

A steel electrical enclosure will offer a rugged solution for the application.

It’ll ensure that your electrical equipment doesn’t fail due to impact damage caused by vandalism or due to corrosion.

This means that it will save you a lot of headache and costs of repairs and replacements of equipment.

In simple words, invest in affordable, utilitarian and attractive KDM steel electrical enclosures that are built tougher to last longer.

Send Your Inquiry Now