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Is there a standard or requirement to put a sloped top on a custom enclosure (housing robot controllers) if that enclosure is going into a food grade wash-down environment where food is being packaged?

by | Jan 25, 2021

Questions › Is there a standard or requirement to put a sloped top on a custom enclosure (housing robot controllers) if that enclosure is going into a food grade wash-down environment where food is being packaged?
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BeckettSwan asked 4 years ago

Is there a standard or requirement to put a sloped top on a custom enclosure (housing robot controllers) if that enclosure is going into a food grade wash-down environment where food is being packaged? The enclosure will be approximately 10 feet up in the air sitting above the robots.

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Chris Lloyd Staff answered 4 years ago

Electrical enclosures with a sloped top are widely used to prevent the build-up of liquids and other materials, such as debris and dust, around the enclosure. Such build ups may compromise the integrity and service life of the enclosure and the electrical equipment within.

While there are currently no standards or regulatory requirements with regards to using a sloped roof in such situations, it is essential to identify a solution that effectively prevents pooling of liquid or accumulation of debris. In many cases the solution identified will be a sloped roof at an angle of between 8°-20°.

In addition, to ensure your robot controllers are well protected, you need to select enclosures with suitable ingress protection (IP) ratings. For washdown environments like the one you describe, IP69K solutions may be best for your intended application. This rating indicates the enclosure is both dust-tight and able to withstand high-pressure and steam cleaning, making the product suitable for high-pressure, high-temperature washdown.

Finally, you should identify the right material for your enclosure. For example, if the system is likely to be exposed to animal or vegetable fats, you should prefer solutions made of aluminium, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyurethane, duroplastic, thermoplastic elastomers or polyamide. Conversely, polystyrene or acrylnitril-brutadien-styrol (ABS) may not be suitable for food-grade applications.

To find out more about material properties and resistance to different substances, please visit: https://www.spelsberg.co.uk/customising/special-paints-and-materials/materials/

Spelsberg can assist you in determining the most suitable enclosures for your application. Thanks to our extensive expertise, we offer a wide range of off-the-shelf products as well as bespoke solutions. You can explore our complete offering here: https://www.spelsberg.co.uk/product-finder/ and learn more about our in-house customised product development capabilities at: https://www.spelsberg.co.uk/customising/customised-product-development/customised-product-development/

If you have additional questions or specific requirements for your sloped roof enclosure, please feel free to send me a private message to discuss them.