Our Online store is a great place to source your enclosure hardware from stock on quick delivery – we have all the main types of enclosure and cabinet sealing strips for doors and for glazing to facilitate windows in panels.
This includes sections to fit door channels and “P” type designs with clip-on spines to fit frame or door edges. Specialist window clamping sections and self-adhesive closed-cell gasket are available in a variety of sizes.
As a market-leading specialist hardware company we have addressed the needs of panel builders and installers with a range of removable pin hinges – now available ex-stock for urgent delivery from our Online Shop. Easily removable hinge pins facilitate better access during manufacture and installation by allowing doors to be removed from enclosures and cabinets then simply refitted when each process has been completed.
Hinges with removable pins are offered in stainless steel for extra robust usage or corrosion resistance. Various types are offered including polyamide, steel, zinc die and stainless steel – concealed pins are not accessible when the door is closed but are quickly removable when open so that installation, service, adjustment and repairs may be easily achieved.
These locks now available from our Online store present an externally visible notch or marking to indicate their status of either latched or unlatched so a quick glance can easily confirm that the panel is secure.
Many of these locks with visual indicators are in stainless steel, with high degrees of dust and water sealing, e.g. up to IP67 by virtue of the aggressive situations where they are needed. Likewise, ex-stock compression designs which offer anti-vibration characteristics, and so protect against nuisance opening.
The ability to visually check latching status is especially important with quarter-turn locks/latches which are generally small and round without positional reference, unless specifically added in manufacture – unlike L or T handles or swinghandles whose positional status can readily be seen by virtue of their operation.
Similarly with the intermediate presentation of companion wing-knob designs, which may be aligned to indicate their open/closed position – e.g. by having all adjacent handles oriented in the same direction, so that any stand out is immediately obvious.
We are delighted to offer a diverse selection of swinghandles at our Online store for ex-stock delivery. These include reinforced polyamide, zinc die and stainless steel for enclosures and cabinets up to IP65 as used in specialist installations throughout industrial environments and for outdoor applications.
Flush mounting locks are often used for cupboard access or passenger doors on rail carriages, coaches and ferries/cruise ships because of their discrete appearance without protrusions, which enhances safety. These features allow door panels to be left smooth in narrow corridors or other small spaces such as walk-in storage rooms.
Many flush locks from FDB Panel Fittings combine depth adjustment to suit variable panel thickness, together with compression operation which provides protection against opening in vibration prone conditions as well as firm closure and gasket sealing.
Adjustment of the cylinder body in the housing collar enables depth to be quickly matched to the door. They may also provide visual status indication by means of coloured notches – demonstrating alignment or otherwise. FDB also offer a flush lock mechanism with tool free latch adjustment to accommodate various door to frame depths.
Hinges for enclosures and cabinets are core to our Online offer where we provide urgent ex-stock availability on specialist industrial hinges of all types including lift-off, polyamide, zinc die, steel, stainless steel, parallelogram, continuous (piano) spring and friction types.
The team here at FDB Panel Fittings have noticed that in the past thirty years or so electronic devices have almost completely replaced electrical controls and yet the type and style of housing have remained remarkably constant through that time. From small boxes, desktop cases, and wall-mounted enclosures to complete suites of cabinets primarily in steel and stainless steel they have all required locks, hinges, fasteners, gaskets. For research, development, pharmaceutical production, instrumentation and controls for motors, machines and systems, all our weighing, sorting, processing, controls for other machines and equipment is done with electronics housed in purpose-designed enclosures of some kind.
Looking at housings for these electronic assemblies the trend has been that security needs have grown to accommodate the more sophisticated controls and their associated risk of data theft, which has become a factor with digital equipment that simply was not there in the past. In addition, the internal equipment itself is more vulnerable to physical damage from unauthorised access, so that today there is a greater need than ever for small quarter turns, special coded locks or keys, concealed hinges, gasket profiles in small sections for boxes and small enclosures, or in large sections for bigger cabinets.
Standard hardware for boxes, cases, desktop equipment, wall mount enclosures, free-standing and desk mounted control panels has been developed over time to meet these needs, and a whole marketplace of quite specialist but yet standard and ex-stock hardware has grown up. This is a marketplace that adjusts quickly to panel manufacturer/installer needs to facilitate the production of equipment such as graphic instrumentation panels, electronic pump controls, specialist panels for industrial controls and motor control centres. Often this adaptation is accomplished with simple modifications to established designs to create a custom variant that can readily be achieved through your supplier/manufacturer.
It is especially in the area of large 19in data racks and cabinets where Mechatronic locking swinghandles are growing in popularity and where sophisticated simple components like ¼ turn pop up fasteners are called for e.g., on removable front panels to make installation and removal so much quicker than previously.
Electronic systems are found everywhere and each installation calls for a protective housing with suitable hardware – from stainless steel oil rig panels to railway rolling stock and locomotive or line-side control boxes. There are rugged specialist standard products available ex-stock designed for the purpose. Likewise, specialist vehicles for recycling, or emergency services such as police, fire, ambulances, chemical plants, sewage processing systems, controls for stores, warehouses and distribution centres for things like chillers and H&V installations, gas heating controls.
Simple locking systems include IP65 three-digit combination quarter-turn lock or IP65 cylinder quarter-turn locks with finger pull or dust cover. Common in computer-related applications is the key-operated or push-button snap lock with cylinder style key for small housings while quarter-turn wing handles in black or chrome with or without cylinder lock are a common sight on small enclosures and housings.
Push-fit pin hinges like the concealed 120-degree SNAP-LINE are suitable for side panels of 19in racks and light-duty cabinets. Their compact clip-in design allows for an easy and quick installation and removal of the door. Larger weld-on/bolt-on concealed 120-degree hinges are offered for surface mounted doors. For larger doors and more arduous environments, there are AISI 316 Stainless steel external hinges with reverse stud fixing which offer 180 degree opening and are suitable for nested doors.
IP65 swinghandles in zinc die (black or chrome) or reinforced polyamide – suit 5 or 7 pin profile cylinders, combination lock or inserts. We are looking forward to the new E-LINE vandal-resistant electronic swinghandle range for the security of larger electronic cabinets in outdoor/public environments.
For easy lifting and manual transport, there are simple low-cost black polyamide bridge handles with through fixing – handles in moulded reinforced plastic or in steel to enable stainless steel (AISI 303) carry/bridge style handles with reverse fixings. IP65 recessed side mounting handles with positive grip D-SNAP technology allow easy lifting of electronic equipment.
An extensive range of gaskets is available on the market, along with customized sections based on a customer’s unique application needs. Depending on a customer’s requirements, manufacturers can provide gaskets made of PVC, EPDM, Neoprene, NBR, or a combination of foam rubber and PVC.
For example, many of the EPDM seals by FDB Panel Fittings sales partner DIRAK adhere to UL (Underwriters Laboratories) safety standards. This certification constitutes the basis for a final UL approval for the entire enclosure/cabinet and is increasingly useful as the UK gears up for growth in worldwide export markets.
In addition to standard self-locking door sealing profiles, insert profiles and rectangular self-adhesive sections, FDB offer edge protection designs and window glazing gasket. Where electromagnetic compatibility is necessary, they can also supply special profiles with EMC/RFI shielding in combination with water and dust sealing.
Our association with the company Dirak and their extensive range of standard enclosure hardware has enabled us to support our customers through the past couple of “Covid years” with Brexit disruptions and subsequent regrowth of our industrial sector.
As a main distributor, we rely on our principle manufacturers so that you can rely on us. We wish you a Happy New Year and a successful 2022.
Traditional style L and T enclosure handles in stainless steel with or without cylinder key locking mechanism, are now available ex-stock from the FDB Online store. Special versions are designed for use in hygiene areas in food, pharmaceutical and related areas, where it is important to manage and minimise the accumulation of biological material – by design, by manufacturing quality and by pressure washdown. More generally they are suited to stainless steel or plastic enclosures/cabinets for machine controls or power management – also for office, industrial, and other heavy-duty environments where their high performance characteristics are desirable.
Gary Miles, M.D. at FDB Panel Fittings explains that “traditional L and T style handles are now available from our Online Store – these are increasingly used in place of other materials for their robust mechanical characteristics as well of course for their corrosion resistance. We have AISI 316 versions sealed to IP65 with matching cams to suit quarter turn latching applications from electrical cabinets, specialist control panels and enclosures to storage units and HVAC units.”
The Panel Fittings online range includes high-performance handles which meet Hygiene requirements acc. to DIN EN ISO 14159 and DIN EN 1672-2 with housing and handle in mirror-polished AISI 316 L stainless steel featuring especially smooth designs for RH or LH application. Sealing is in FDA compliant blue silicone to IP 65/67 DIN EN 60529.
The FDB team are able to simplify assembly and logistics issues by organising specific site delivery pre-assembled with cam upon request – under their Rocfast program. This allows the whole assembly to be installed in a standard 20.1mm cut-out as a pass-through operation, with securing backnut and serrated screw for electrical earthing also in stainless steel. Handles are lockable or non-locking (latch handles) to varying sealing degrees, although most are to IP65 or higher.
