Enclosures Materials Overview
B&R supply a wide range of enclosures in different enclosures materials. There are various reasons why you would choose one material over another which are summarized below.
Please note that specific site conditions can significantly influence the choise of enclosure materials. The best way to select the right material in usually to look at the performance of similar materials on site. As such the following are general guidelines only.
Plastics
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Used for enclosures of with few requirements and for resistance to corrosion that would be problematic for metal enclosures. Plastic enclosures are a versatile choice.
Their disadvantages are that they are not as strong as metal enclosures and cannot be built to anywhere near all the sizes required for industry. They can also be suseptable to damage from the sun.
Steel
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The base choice of metal enclosures. Steel can be used for applications where there is little chance of corrosion or that the enclosure will become scratched or damaged.
Steel enclosures are strong and robust, but steel can be suseptable to corrosion from the environment once the surface powdercoating in damaged.
Aluminium
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Powdercoated aluminium can be considered as the next step up for resistance to corrosion. It is substantially better as resistance to salt water, although in many cases should not be used for applications where strong alkalis might be present.
Aluminium is a great choice for applications in remote locations due to this higher corrosion resistance and it's lighter weight which enables it to be manhandled rather than machine lifted in many applications.
Stainless Steel
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The highest grade of material B&R manufacturers. Using 316 grade stainless only, this material offers excellant resistance to salt water and most other forms of environmental corrosion. These tend to outlast enclosures in any other materials.
316 stainless steel is also a great choice for enclosures you want to look good. B&R use a special N4 surface finish that helps minimise corrosion and provides a great 'brushed metal' look.