OKW: Pioneering FLAT-PACK CASE Celebrates 50th Anniversary
January 10, 2023
OKW is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its award-winning FLAT-PACK CASE – the world’s first standard plastic enclosure for electronic and electrical installations.
FLAT-PACK CASE is perfect for a wide range of desktop and wall-mount electronics. Applications include medical and wellness, measurement and control, laboratory equipment and computer peripherals.
Over the last half-century, FLAT-PACK CASE has become the enclosure for thousands of different devices. These robust housings owe their enduring popularity to their discreet, understated design – and the robust tongue-and-groove construction which provides basic protection against dust and water ingress, even without a seal.
Development of FLAT-PACK CASE started at the end of the 1960s when OKW CEO Dieter Schneider teamed up with the firm’s toolmaking, production and sales manager Erich Ettinger with the aim of creating a standard plastic housing that would suit a wide range of electronics applications. Design work continued into the 1970s and in 1975, FLAT-PACK CASE won two iF Design Awards in Hanover.
FLAT-PACK CASE Design Features & Accessories
Design features include concealed fixing screws, and the U-shaped top which is easy to remove – exposing open sides that give greater access to the electronics for inspection and maintenance. Three different tops are available: N (low), H (high) and A (which has an optional aluminum front panel, and a raised edge to protect the operating elements).
FLAT-PACK CASE is available in 13 sizes from 3.94” x 1.96” x 0.98” to 8.27” x 4.92” x 2.75”. Two sizes offer a carry handle that doubles as a desk stand. All have screw pillars inside for mounting PCBs.
The enclosures are molded from ABS (UL 94 HB). The standard color combination is an off-white (RAL 9002) top with a pebble gray (RAL 7032) bottom section.
Accessories include aluminum front panels, wall suspension elements, assembly kits for wall mounting, tilt foot bars, a belt/pocket clip, snap-locks, anti-slide feet, and self-tapping screws. OKW can supply FLAT-PACK CASE fully customized. Services include machining, lacquering, printing of legends and logos, laser marking, decor foils, special materials, and installation/assembly of accessories.
