Choosing the right “electronics packaging” is often crucial for sales success, and also ensures the long-term, low-maintenance operation of devices. Developers frequently face the question of whether a standard enclosure will meet their application requirements or if a custom-designed plastic solution is necessary. In this article, we will explore the advantages of both options and provide guidance on functionality and cost-effectiveness.
Off-the-shelf enclosure or custom-made design?
Selecting between a standard enclosure and a tailor-made solution presents developers with a strategic challenge. While standard enclosures impress users with their tried and tested functionality, excellent surface finishes and immediate availability, customised enclosures offer the advantage of meeting the exact requirements of the device design. It is important to consider that customised solutions typically require greater investment in tooling and may extend development timelines. Device manufacturers must carefully evaluate the advantages of customised housing designs against the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of established standard products, with the goal of achieving optimal functionality, reducing risk during the market launch phase and securing long-term business success.
Standard enclosure (left) and tailor-made enclosure design (right)
What are the benefits of standard enclosures?
Plastic enclosures available directly from stock offer numerous advantages that can streamline and simplify the development process. Available in a wide variety of versions (e.g. different dimensions/colours, matching accessories, etc.) and designs, they allow the rapid integration of electronic components, drastically reducing the time required. They also ensure reliable seals where required, take advantage of high-quality materials, and benefit from the expertise of the enclosure manufacturers. Equally important are aspects such as material conformity and compliance – areas where suppliers of plastic enclosures are happy to assist. “Material Compliance” is extremely important for companies, as they must ensure that their products meet the relevant requirements of REACH and RoHS regulations. Another advantage is the low initial investment compared to individual enclosure solutions, which is particularly relevant for projects with limited budgets.
Product overview: Plastic enclosures | Aluminium enclosures | Tuning knobs
Various handheld enclosures from the standard enclosures range
When does an individual enclosure solution make sense?
As a manufacturer of standard enclosures, we naturally always strive to ensure that our product portfolio is the first choice compared with customised solutions. However, we also realise that the decision between "standard" and "customised" can only ever be made by the customer. Is it worth investing in dedicated injection moulding tools? From what production volume does it become profitable? How long should the development cycle take?
A customer-specific enclosure solution becomes particularly relevant when certain requirements cannot be met, or can only be partially met, with standard enclosures. An individual solution offers developers the opportunity to respond precisely to technical challenges and subsequent customer benefits. Particularly for complex electronic components or complicated geometrical designs, the effort involved in a tailor-made development really pays off.
By the way, if you are interested in having an enclosure developed exclusively for you, we are able to design and engineer your individual product solution and also build the appropriate injection-moulding tool for prototype, small-batch and medium-volume production runs.
Special enclosures according to customer needs
Challenges when using standard enclosures
A key aspect when working with standard enclosures is that they often offer limited adaptability to specific requirements. Likewise, the complexity of the enclosure design is not always ideally suited to individual space constraints or special connector arrangements, which may necessitate additional modifications. The best approach here would be to select the enclosure first, and only then begin assembling the PCBs and selecting the components. The plastic enclosures can then be adapted to the desired solution using a wide range of service options, e.g. painting in CI colours, printing with logos or device data, EMC coating to protect the electronics from external interference (or to reduce their own emissions), the drilling of holes/cutouts for plugs and connectors, and much more.
Here you will find the complete OKW service Portfolio:
Conclusion:
Which enclosure solution delivers the greatest value for developers?
For developers, the choice between standard enclosures and customised solutions is primarily driven by project requirements. Standard enclosures offer reliable functionality, ready availability and usually cost-effective implementation, offering savings in time and money, particularly in small to medium production runs. On the other hand, a customised enclosure solution allows for the accommodation of specific requirements that standard products may not consistently fulfil. The decision is therefore based on the objective of achieving sustainable business success through optimised solutions.
Example of an injection moulding tool
Leave Your Feedback