Featured Articles

The biggest priorities for designing power generation and storage facilities are scalability and flexibility. The rapid increase in the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and solar and wind power facilities demonstrates the need for flexible automation solutions that can be scaled to meet demand without compromising productivity. Whereas more traditional block-and-cable power distribution solutions create some significant roadblocks in terms of accelerated configuration to meet increases in demand, busbar power distribution combines superior configuration and deployment flexibility with the ability to handle the kind of elevated amperage loads today’s energy & power applications require.

Increasing engineering productivity is one of the top technology concerns for industrial companies heading into 2025. Enhancing design engineering productivity helps companies both acquire customers and reduce a variety of operational stressors, such as overcoming labor shortages and meeting tight delivery timelines. For today’s panel shops and systems integrators, this means embracing automated panel building systems to increase throughput, accelerate speed-to-market, and execute more complex and precise panel building tasks.

Harsh environmental conditions are part of the modern manufacturing landscape, especially as the EV charging station network in North America continues to grow. The number of public EV charging stations increased by almost 5% in the first quarter of this year, and the number of private EV charging stations increased by a little more than 3%. The ability to facilitate a nationwide EV charging infrastructure relies on the durability and reliability of the industrial enclosures used in station construction. While the kind of material and design features can help identify whether an outdoor enclosure is suited for challenging or intense environments, there are a variety of certifications engineers should look for when specifying enclosures for these kinds of deployments.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) ratings play a vital role in helping North American manufacturers select the right industrial enclosure for their specific production environment. Similar to IP ratings, NEMA ratings designate the level of protection industrial enclosures provide against environmental influences such as dust, dirt, water, corrosion, ice formation, and other forms of potentially hazardous ingress. NEMA 3R is a very specific type of industrial enclosure rating, one that equips the enclosure to adequately house and protect sensitive electronics in outdoor applications.