Guides

Enclosure engineering notes

What we learn machining thousands of aluminum housings — written for the engineer or buyer who has to choose a profile, specify a seal, or explain a tolerance to a supplier.

ENGINEERING · 7 MIN

Extruded vs die-cast aluminum enclosure: which one should you specify?

Tooling cost, wall thickness, sealing and heat: the four factors that actually decide the process choice for a metal housing.

ENGINEERING · 6 MIN

IP65 vs IP67 vs IP68: what protection does your enclosure really need?

Most outdoor failures are not about the rating — they are about glands, gaskets and pressure cycling. Here is what the digits mean in practice.

SOURCING · 8 MIN

How to specify an aluminum enclosure: a 12-point checklist for hardware teams

The drawing that gets a good quote on the first try lists twelve things. Most RFQs we receive list three.

FINISHING · 6 MIN

Anodizing, powder coating or brushing? A surface finish guide for aluminum housings

Finish choice is not cosmetic. It decides corrosion resistance, whether your housing still grounds the PCB, and how the unit looks after two years outdoors.

SOURCING · 6 MIN

Public-mold tooling: how to skip the tooling fee and the 8-week wait

A new extrusion die costs USD 1,500–4,000 and five weeks. If the profile already exists, you pay for metal and machining only.

ENGINEERING · 7 MIN

Heat dissipation in a sealed aluminum enclosure: fins, pads and when to vent

A 10 W load in a small sealed box runs 40 K above ambient. Here is the arithmetic, and the four ways to fix it without a fan.

ENGINEERING · 6 MIN

EMI shielding in an aluminum housing: seams, gaskets and grounding

Aluminum is conductive; your enclosure still leaks. The gaps are at the seams, the cutouts and the coated flanges.

ENGINEERING · 5 MIN

CNC cutouts and cable glands: getting IP65 right on a stock enclosure

A gland is only as waterproof as the hole it sits in. Threads, burrs, wall thickness and washer seating decide whether IP65 survives production.

Need a housing quoted instead of read about?

Send a STEP or a dimensioned PDF — we reply with a price and a drawing review, usually within one working day.

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