How Choosing the Right Industrial Enclosure Can Mean Big Things for Material Handlers

The rapid growth of e-commerce, combined with an ongoing skilled labor shortage, is pushing today’s material handlers to maximize opportunities and secure a larger market share. This has led to a significant demand for smarter, more powerful conveyor and sorting systems, which in turn require versatile industrial enclosures with a wider range of panel and cable configurations.

However, the challenge lies in optimizing warehouse space while maintaining a smaller automation footprint. The right industrial enclosures, which prioritize flexibility and increased cable and panel density, can help material handlers streamline their automation infrastructure, whether inside or outside the warehouse.

Industrial Enclosures for Material Handling

1. Supporting Warehouse Automation with the Right Enclosure

Speed-to-market and accelerating delivery times are critical for material handlers in this highly competitive industry. Retrofitting existing facilities for warehouse automation has become a valuable strategy to bring new distribution centers online faster. The right industrial enclosures can support this process, allowing them to seamlessly integrate into existing automation systems.

What does the right enclosure look like? **Enclosures designed for Industry 4.0 and IIoT** offer customization options based on unique deployment needs and streamline installation and modification processes, saving time and money.

For example, Rittal’s AX enclosure offers:

• Various mounting capabilities without the need for additional tooling or machining
• Larger gland plates for more flexible cable entry and wiring
• Easy door and hinge assembly reversal, even with double-door enclosures

Additionally, the AX enclosure provides protection and durability without compromising flexibility. Available in carbon steel, stainless steel, and fiberglass-reinforced polyester, the AX can be deployed indoors and outdoors with IP66 and NEMA Type 4X/4/3R/12/1 protection, ensuring long-term durability and reliability.

2. Easily Scalable Enclosures to Meet Growing Demand

In the fast-paced material handling space, the ability to quickly scale automation systems based on demand is essential. The right industrial enclosures help material handlers adjust and ramp up production without disrupting workflows or causing delays.

Scaling production efficiently begins with end-to-end digitalization of the enclosure design process, which provides real-time insights into material sourcing and enables real-time schematic changes. This connected ecosystem allows for easy alterations to panel and enclosure configurations without errors or downtime.

Rittal’s AX enclosures and the new WMV Enclosure Type 3R can be configured and modified using the Eplan Cloud-based design software suite. This fast, error-free design process reduces the need for manual intervention. Additionally, the use of digital twins and 3D control panel visualization streamlines workflows for panel builders and installers, especially when installing power distribution panels and wiring.

What’s more, our enclosures can be quickly and accurately modified at the Rittal Application Center in Houston, Texas, using our Rittal Automation Systems (RAS) suite of tools.

3. Ensuring Easy Maintenance and Troubleshooting

To maximize uptime, the right industrial enclosure should enable rapid troubleshooting and in-field configuration. Rittal’s enclosures are designed with these capabilities in mind. The AX enclosures, for example, provide easy access from the bottom for efficient cable and wiring management. System expansion is also simplified by adding rails to the door or the side of the enclosure, even for dynamic loads.

With the right enclosures, material handlers can quickly scale automation systems to meet production demands and reduce downtime, keeping facilities running efficiently and adapting to market changes.

Conclusion: The Right Industrial Enclosure for Material Handling

Today’s material handlers can bring new facilities online faster by retrofitting existing spaces for warehouse automation, and they can create scalable, adaptable systems that respond to production demands. Rittal’s versatile industrial enclosures help material handlers achieve these critical objectives while maximizing efficiency and minimizing downtime.