Shorter lead time is a distinct advantage for Polycase’s new YH Series Hinged Electrical Enclosure, as it is made in the U.S. “Many comparable enclosures are Asian imports,” explains Brad Bengele, engineering manager for Polycase.
NED: Who do you consider your target audience to be and what benefits will they realize from using this product?
BB:This enclosure series can serve many markets including marine, communications, water treatment, utility, and alternative energy. It’s designed for any environment where non-corrosive, waterproof enclosures are required. If a customer needs to protect high-end equipment, they’ll likely want to use a higher quality enclosure that is better built to protect. The UL listing and NEMA ratings on this box let the customer feel confident their components will be protected.
NED: Why did Polycase decide to market this product?
BB:Our customers were constantly requesting larger sizes of enclosures, enclosures with higher IP ratings, and enclosures with a hinged cover. This series satisfies all those requirements.
NED: How is this enclosure different from similar types?
BB:This series is made from high-quality, impact-resistant polycarbonate with thick walls and a robust hinge design. Unique features of this series include the option of a stainless steel latched cover and the ability to screw the cover down with non-corrosive stainless steel screws. These enclosures are UL listed to UL 508A, Type 1, 2, 3, 3R, 4, 4X, 5, 6, 6P, 12, and 13 (File E352997).
NED: What problems did you encounter during the development process?
BB:We had issues with secondary modifications. This product line expanded the maximum size of our product range to 16 x 14 x 8 in. This required Polycase to modify our CNC milling and printing machines, as well as fabricate new fixtures in order to accommodate these larger sized enclosures. We place a heavy emphasis on our value-added services so we can deliver a turnkey enclosure to our customers. This way they don’t have to incur the time and burden of additional processing to the enclosures.
NED: Did cost factors play a role in the final design of this product? And, if so, in whatway?
BB:Cost is always a factor in every step of the product development process. This is particularly true with products of this size and UL’s involvement. However, the markets and applications that use these enclosures demand high-quality materials such as impact-resistant polycarbonate and stainless steel hardware. While these products are aggressively priced, the overarching principal was quality over cost. This is why the UL listing of these enclosures is not just to 4X (splashing/water jets), but they are UL listed up to NEMA 6P and IP68 for complete water submersion.
NED: Other product sidelights?
BB: Polycase offers CNC machining and printing to all of our customers. We’ve focused on value-added services for 25 years and one of our recent additions is the ability for our customers to instantly generate a firm quote for a customized enclosure, 24/7, with our Quick Quote tool on our website. Polycase has always done traditional pad printing, but we’ve recently added digital printing technology to print full-color artwork directly onto the enclosure’s cover. This gives our customers the ability to differentiate their product from the competition with unique photorealistic artwork