ITSENCLOSURES Blog

Easily and efficiently sending out a memo or a change of procedure document to ALL employees - at a company - is no small task.

Keeping a large amount of factory employees up-to-date with pertinent information is very overwhelming. Printing out hundreds of pieces of paper, for employees, becomes quite expensive. Plus, most plant floor employees do not have a computer in front of them, so that eliminates email as an effective means of communication. More and more manufacturers are turning to fresh, digital signs to improve morale, increase overall safety, and assist in productivity.

What toll will heat and humidity take on electronics in manufacturing environments?

When choosing a computer enclosure, it is always a good rule of thumb to determine the necessary thermal management. An enclosure that has an internal temperature of over 95°F generally calls for a cooling system that is more powerful than a filtered fan system. Ambient air flow, through a filtered fan system, will not provide enough cooling power to regulate temperatures inside the computer enclosure within the recommended operating temperatures. 

Looking to deploy LCD enclosures in the great outdoors?

Many factors and characteristics should be considered when making an LCD enclosure decision, including the type of enclosure material (stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), LCD size, wiring, gaskets, locks, and windows. Wait a minute… windows are windows, right? They are just a piece of glass that protects the LCD. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Many different varieties of windows exist with an assortment of different films or coating that can be added. With so many options to choose from, this blog will focus on two of the top window materials used when designing and installing an outdoor LCD enclosure.

Is preventative maintenance more of a hobby or a way of life at your manufacturing plant?

Like modern medicine, the idea of proactively taking a role in the “health” of electrical equipment will provide great value to a company. If an illness is approaching, the human body has the ability to provide early warning signs. The same can be said about electronics. While the human body has the ability to cure itself of certain illnesses, if a defect appears on the plant floor with machinery, it is just a matter of time before the electronics ultimately fail. Unfortunately, electronics do not have the ability to “heal” themselves.

The majority of workers will not exert much concern for maintenance until the process is no longer working as it should. Paying little attention to corrective maintenance, on a regular schedule, will cause electronics housed in an industrial computer enclosure to not perform as well as they did upon the original installation. According to the Library at AutomationDirect.com website, “Heat inside an enclosure can decrease the life expectancy of controlling units such as your PLC, HMI, AC drives and other items. Excessive heat can cause nuisance faults from your electrical and electronic components… Heat will also change the expected performance of circuit breakers and fuses, which can cause whole systems to shut down unexpectedly.”

There are many exciting and beneficial aspects of utilizing vibrant outdoor digital menu boards in a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) drive-thru lane.

Menu boards are sleek, eye-catching, and persuasive by themselves, but what technologies can be used to make the menu boards even smarter and ultimately increase food and beverage sales? A QSR’s menu board is one of the most important marketing and communication tools the store has in its arsenal, so why not maximize the utility of the digital menus and make them extremely intelligent? As technology continues to advance at fast rates, there are a few new ways to make digital menu boards extra “smart!”

Many people perceive that computer enclosures are extremely expensive, but the perception could not be farther from the truth!

The initial investment may be higher than the alternative (not using a heavy-duty, tough, industrial enclosure), but the lifetime of electronics housed inside of the enclosure will be maximized when properly protected. Downtime and costly electronics replacements are never issues that a busy manufacturing facility wants to deal with, especially when problems can be prevented. Inexpensive enclosures may be appealing on the surface, but will cause problems in the future. You get what you pay for!  Expensive, vital electronics should be protected in a high quality NEMA rated enclosure to ensure the manufacturing process is up and running 24/7.

Digital displays capture over 400% more views than static displays.*

Banks and financial institutions are progressively installing digital signage to not only reinvent their brand, but to improve the overall banking experience for their loyal customers. Digital signage is an important element in modern banking and can be used to enhance communication between the customer and the bank’s ever changing message. With more and more customers banking remotely on mobile devices, it is imperative that financial institutions take advantage of the middle ground created between virtual and physical, when visiting the drive-thru lane. 

Industry standards for computer enclosures exist to promote safety, encourage design efficiency, and define minimum levels of product performance.  

If industry standards were not set in place, there would be wide variations in enclosure performance and price. More times than not, end users and system integrators do not clearly understand the difference between the standards, which leads to suppliers unable to provide products that meet necessary and vital requirements. When customers tend to focus solely on the lowest price for a product, the decision could ultimately lead to high maintenance expenses, component failures, replacement costs, and safety issues. All of this will just end up costing more money in the long run. Finding a computer enclosure that will withstand various harsh situations will actually save money, because the enclosure will last for many, many years.

Looking to deploy dynamic and vibrant outdoor digital marketing in the New Year?

The food processing industry is quite fascinating, not to mention very important! 

If you have ever watched the popular TV show “Unwrapped” on the Food Network, you were probably amazed at the amount of intricate processes involved in producing one product, like cookies or candy. Did you see the episode about producing fruit juice? The process is quite extensive and remarkable. From processing the fruit to mixing to bottling, the amount of effort that goes into making a simple drink like lemonade is more involved than one would think.