February 28, 2025 By Robert Cox, Vice President of Marketing, ROLEC Enclosures, Inc. When Customization Comes As ‘Standard’ Today’s new standard HMI enclosures are now more customizable than ever because the modifications start on day one – not at the end of the process. Customization is effectively built in as standard, so specifying bespoke panel…
As the industrial landscape diversifies and becomes more complex, companies are looking for industrial enclosure and cooling solutions that can make processes simpler, more automated, and more efficient. Smart automation solutions remove inefficient manual processes that lack visibility and transparency — particularly in the enclosure climate control space — now that integrated enclosure cooling has emerged as a flexible and versatile configuration of enclosure cooling.
What is the future of data centers? It’s an interesting question in large part because, on the surface, it doesn’t seem like there’s much room for change with how data centers are built. At the end of the day, data centers house IT racks that generate heat which must be dissipated in order to create efficient computing. The future of data centers is not necessarily about changing the core components of IT infrastructure — it’s more about thinking of these components in a more flexible way that allows for greater adaptability and scalability, especially given the rapid increase in AI data centers.
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.
The number of data centers across the globe is increasing. While this is good news for data center engineers, it does pose a significant operational challenge when it comes to the amount of energy required to power these IT facilities. This, in turn, will require new regulations to be put in place. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that data centers account for about 1% of global energy demand. But by 2030 it’s estimated that the demand for data center energy will increase by more than 160%. In the U.S. alone, data center workloads are expected to increase by 10% annually through 2030, and this means more energy necessary to power this kind of advanced computing.
If only watertightness were a simple matter of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Unfortunately, it is not. An electronic enclosure that survives some wet conditions may leak in other instances. Pressure is a crucial factor – hence the wide range of ingress protection ratings. IP ratings define how much protection an enclosure offers against solid particles and liquids. The first digit relates to dust/solids; the second concerns liquids. Significantly, a higher IP rating does not always mean ‘better’ – merely ‘different’.
In today’s manufacturing landscape, the speed and reliability of daily operations translate directly into enhanced productivity. Miles of wires underpin nearly every industrial operation, and those wires come together in control panels filled with tray after tray of connection terminals. Due to the high number of conductor termination points, there can be a higher susceptibility of signal loss or intermittence as a result of bad terminations. Any of these interruptions can reduce the ability to meet production goals, as downtime will be necessary until faults are corrected.
In this blog article, you will learn why UPS systems are indispensable for ensuring a reliable and stable power supply in critical infrastructures, which components are needed for this, and which standards they must meet. In the past 100 years, electricity has always flowed in one direction – from the producer to the consumer. However, new technologies, innovative ways of energy procurement and generation, as well as comprehensive digitalisation, are fundamentally changing the market.
For nearly four decades, the Allen‑Bradley PLC-5 and its programming software RSLogix 5 have been the cornerstone for industrial automation. While paving the way for future PLC and software development that we see today, the longevity speaks to its reliability and robustness of the platform. However, as technology evolves, companies must continue to evolve along with it to achieve modern business and expectations. RSLogix 5 reached its final lifecycle phase (discontinuation) on December 31, 2025.
Companies are more concerned with leveraging digital technology to help increase performance and resilience to market fluctuations than ever before. Companies that digitalize their processes can more easily overcome labor shortages while simplifying the manufacturing of custom industrial automation infrastructure. Digitalizing the industrial enclosure design and modification process can help companies accelerate their speed-to-market and respond to sudden changes in production or design specs without incurring costly downtime.
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.
Rockwell Automation, Inc. has recently published its 2024 Sustainability Report, which highlights the company’s sustainability strategy, outcomes, and progress to help build sustainable customers, a sustainable company, and sustainable communities. “We are proud of our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts, which provide the foundation for creating a more sustainable future,” said Rockwell Chairman and CEO Blake Moret.
Data center growth is on the rise. In the U.S. alone, data center demand is expected to increase by 10% annually through 2030, and the global data center market is projected to be just as bullish during the next decade. The increase in the number of data centers to process the amount of data generated by artificial intelligence (AI) means the IT landscape is likely to look very different in the short and mid-term future, particularly in the design and configuration of the ideal IT enclosure to handle AI workloads.
Whether you control a process with a computer, a process control system, a PLC, or a field device, a surge protector can eliminate or reduce the risk of damage to sensitive electronics caused by transient overvoltage. This article will outline three surge protection solutions—for signal lines, for supply lines, as well as for Fieldbus and Ethernet-APL applications.