Taking a little time now to learn about the NEMA enclosure types can save you a lot of money, stress, and frustration later. Since some of the types bear a strong resemblance to one another, you’ll need to carefully review which conditions each type provides a degree of protection against. For example, how does the NEMA type 12 differ from type 13? The only difference between the two is that one (the 13) protects against oil or coolant spraying and splashing, while the other (the 12) does not. To learn more about the NEMA type 12 enclosure as well as type 12K, please scroll down.
NEMA Type 12 Enclosure
Indoor Protection
First, since this enclosure is designed for indoor use only, we certainly can’t recommend using it outdoors.
Access to Hazardous Parts
Like most types of enclosures, the NEMA type 12 provides a degree of protection against access to hazardous parts. So if you’re worried about the dangers posed to personnel who work near the equipment, a type 12 enclosure will provide some much-needed protection.
Ingress of Solid Foreign Objects
Solid foreign objects will have a hard time reaching your equipment if you purchase a NEMA type 12 enclosure. It provides a degree of protection against three different types of solid foreign objects:
- Falling dirt
- Circulating dust, lint, fibers, and flyings
- Settling airborne dust, lint, fibers, and flyings
Ingress of Water
Although a type 12 enclosure can’t protect your equipment against a hosedown or splashed water, it does provide a degree of protection against two more minor concerns: dripping and light splashing.
Oil and coolant seepage
Finally, type 12 enclosures offer a degree of protection against oil and coolant seepage. They cannot, however, protect against oil or coolant spraying or splashing them. If this is a concern for you, look into the type 13 enclosure.
NEMA Type 12K Enclosure
Reviewing all of the conditions that the NEMA type 12K enclosure provides a degree of protection against would be superfluous, as it closely resembles the type 12 enclosure. In fact, the only difference between the two is that the 12K includes knockouts and the 12 does not.
A knockout, sometimes abbreviated as KO, is a partially stamped opening in an electrical enclosure. You can securely and easily fit a wire, cable, or pipe through the knockout to the enclosure’s interior using a connector or fitting. Since you can “knock out” the knockout with a flathead screwdriver, just about everyone is capable of using this design tool. Knockouts provide flexibility during the installation of enclosures, cables, and wiring.
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So what do you think? Could a NEMA type 12 or 12K enclosure meet your needs? To view all of the NEMA enclosure types, please visit the NEMA website.
Finally, if you’re on the hunt for a company that can manufacture premium metal enclosures on your behalf, check out American Products Contract Manufacturing. Our high-quality, innovative enclosures enable our customers to assist the telecommunications industry in expanding and improving their network services. We offer NEMA type 1, type 2, type 3, type 3-R, type 3X, type 4, and type 4X metal enclosures. Plus, we manufacture these enclosures from aluminum, galvanized steel, carbon steel, and stainless steel to create a rugged and reliable structure and to meet your environment conditions. Give us a call at 1-877-960-3703 to learn more, or request a free quote online.
