How the New AX Ex Industrial Enclosure Can Help Enhance Safe Manufacturing Practices
March 14, 2024
As modern manufacturing becomes more variable and automation footprints become larger and more complex, the risk of industrial accidents increases, especially in the form of fires and explosions. While there are certainly precautions and processes manufacturers can implement to combat this risk and ensure safe manufacturing processes, today’s manufacturers need industrial enclosure solutions that are approved for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.
This is where Rittal’s new AX Ex industrial enclosure can help manufacturers across a wide range of harsh, outdoor industrial conditions create a safer operating environment without sacrificing the productivity or configuration flexibility that is associated with Rittal enclosures.
This article will take a quick look at how the new AX Ex industrial enclosure can help enhance safe manufacturing processes in potentially explosive atmospheres.
The AX Ex industrial enclosure offers the highest safety ratings
A big part of what makes the AX Ex industrial enclosure so valuable in enhancing safe manufacturing practices is that the enclosure offers the highest level of enclosure safety certifications on the market today. The new AX Ex enclosure offers ATEX, IECEx, and UL HazLoc approvals to accelerate delivery and deployment on a global scale.
What’s more, the AX Ex enclosure can be mounted via external thread inserts without jeopardizing UL environmental ratings. The AX Ex is also specifically designed for deployment in a variety of outdoor, high-risk industrial environments, some of which include refineries, drilling platforms, oil tankers, pipelines, and facilities that use LNG hydrogen.
Aside from these HazLoc certifications, the AX Ex provides superior durability and reliability via UL Type 1; 3R; 3RX; 4; 4X; and 12 environmental protection, as well as UL F1 outdoor protection against UV. The combination of these global safety ratings make the AX Ex a versatile enclosure solution that can help reduce the risk of accidents in a variety of applications.
The AX Ex industrial enclosure is manufactured using glass-reinforced polyester
Manufactured using glass-reinforced polyester, the AX Ex industrial enclosure is approved for use in potentially explosive atmospheres that contain gasses (Zones 1 or 2) or dust (Zones 21 or 22).
Not only does this help promote a safer automation ecosystem for employees, it also reduces the likelihood of production downtime in the form of damage or unplanned maintenance to your automation systems.
What’s more, the glass-reinforced polyester engineering has improved the ambient temperature range in which the AX Ex can perform at optimal levels. With an ambient temperature range of -40 °C to 70 °C, the AX Ex can help optimize production and efficiency in almost any environment while also increasing the safety of your manufacturing programs.
The AX Ex industrial enclosure doesn’t sacrifice safety in service of improved HazLoc ratings
While other industrial enclosures may prioritize enhanced safety over configuration flexibility, the AX Ex enclosure has global HazLoc certification and is engineered to provide outdoor protection while still providing exceptional flexibility and versatility — all without the need for specialized tooling.
The simplified configuration of the AX Ex offers increased internal mounting flexibility; door-operated switches that can be directly attached to the mounting base; and DIN rails that can be easily attached to the mounting base quickly and easily right on the production room floor.
Plus, the AX Ex is available in eight different dimensions, ranging from 200 mm to 800 mm in width; 300 mm to 1,000 mm in height; and 150 mm to 300 mm in depth.
The ability to configure or modify the AX Ex without the need for specialized tooling accelerates the rate at which the enclosure can be deployed in the field, and it also reduces the time and resources necessary to troubleshoot the enclosure. Not only does this help increase the efficiency of your production, it helps create opportunities for growth by increasing your speed-to-market.
