Latest Insights in the Evolving Digital World

Plastic Enclosures: Economical and Effective

Not all electronic enclosures are made of metal. Though steel, stainless steel and aluminum tend to come to mind before plastic as enclosure construction materials, plastic is a major player in the electronic enclosure market. Especially in the cases of small enclosures, enclosures that are intended for outdoor use and enclosures that are intended to be fitted with surface-level buttons, plastic can be a much more favorable material for enclosure construction than metal. Plastic is weather-resistant, which means that it can be used to make enclosures that will be

A lot of different kinds of products qualify as plastic electronic enclosures. A plastic enclosure can be a remote control, part of an electrical plug assembly or an enclosure for a circuit breaker or power meter. What all of the different varieties of plastic enclosures have in common is that they are all used to house circuitry or electrical wiring of some variety.

Plastic enclosures can be made from a variety of plastic materials, including polycarbonate, polyester, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and many other materials. They can be made in a variety of ways, the most common of which are molding processes. One of the other major advantages of plastic enclosures is that they can be made with complex geometries because of the versatility of plastic molding processes. This is often not true of metal enclosures, which are usually formed by rolling, stamping or sometimes extrusion. Having complex geometry can be especially beneficial in the context of small, complex enclosures. Overall, plastic enclosures are very valuable alternatives to metal enclosures.