Individual manufacture of DIN-Rail enclosures

Paul Boughton

Fuses, terminal blocks or relays – without DIN-rails many electrical components would not be securely fixed within a control cabinet. Combined with DIN-rail enclosures, the sensitive parts are optimally protected.

The design possibilities for DIN-rail enclosures are just as numerous as their application areas. The apra-group provides both standard enclosures as well as those tailored to the customer's needs.  An innovative production concept ensures that 'individual manufacture”' does not automatically mean expensive.

The die shop is one of the most important areas in the manufacturing industry. After all, it is interface between product development and serial production. Within the process chain, the die tool manufacture is also a significant cost factor. Depending on the industrial sector, tools account for up to 30 per cent of the entire production costs.

Tool costs also play a considerable role in the manufacture of classic top hat rail enclosures. However, in the case of the apra-Rail DB enclosure series, apra – a medium-sized company specialising in enclosures – is breaking new ground. On the one hand, the enclosure is available in several standard versions, which cover the majority of customer requirements – for example, closed, ventilated or open for connector blocks. The standard types are immediately available from stock and consist of a top and bottom shell, DIN-rail clips and circuit board holders. [Page Break]

“We also know from experience, however, that many customers require a version that is precisely tailored to their needs,” explains Thomas Ostermann, Sales Director at apra-norm Elektromechanik GmbH, which specialises in standard enclosures. “apra offers numerous possibilities for achieving individual enclosure requirements.”

Mr Ostermann explains: “The savings generated through our flexible tool concept lie at up to a third of the costs for a complete tool.

“In the case of larger volumes, we rely on an innovative tool concept which increases productivity and reduces costs,” says Mr Ostermann. “The key lies in the flexibility of the tool. The tools are designed in a modular way, comprising several tool segments. We can exchange the individual tool segments, replacing them with new, customer-specific segments. In this way, we can use a large part of the standard tool, and the customer invests only in a single tool segment or in several of them. The basic form of the top shell remains the same, but the result is a customised enclosure with the desired cut-outs for connectors or push-buttons.”[Page Break]

In the case of smaller to medium volumes, the apra-Rail DB standard enclosure is machined until it meets customer requirements. There are also projects in which only the apra bottom shell including the top hat rail clips is taken as a basis, and the customer together with apra develops a complete, customised top shell.

Besides standard enclosures and precise, customised manufacture, apra also provides the opportunity for individual design. “We provide the enclosure with a customer-specific design,” says Mr Ostermann. “Depending on the batch size, we even can produce the enclosure from coloured plastic meeting customers corporate design requirements. Screen or pad printing as well as front foils and foil keypads for optimum handling complete our offer.”  

For more  information, visit www.apra.de.