Quick guide: industrial components for your indoor cabinet

When tight tolerances are needed, go for a hex head cap screw. Metal cap screws are especially ideal if you need high strength, though they’re also available in other materials. Consider stainless steel with a zinc plated finish to resist corrosion and staining of adjoining materials.

Use confirmat screws for the easy assembly of panels. Confirmat screws also make it easy to dismantle the cabinet if needed. These screws tighten and loosen with an Alley key and are made of zinc-plated steel for strength and corrosion resistance.

Cage nuts are specifically used for data cabinets and industrial equipment enclosures. Specifically, they’re used on square holes common to mounting rails. A cage nut used on a square hole allows for your choice of nut and bolt sizes.

Joint Connector Nuts are used with Joint Connector bolts for a long-term fixing solution for furniture and cabinets. The head size of the bolt and nut match, which provides an excellent surface finish on both sides of the assembly. Easily applied with an Allen key.

A flange & lock nut is a hex nut with a flange on the base, acting as an integrated washer. This type of nut spreads the load and prevents damage to the part, while also reducing the risk of the nut loosening in application.

Use a dome nut, also called a cap nut, to cover and protect a bolt or screw’s external thread.

Choose cabinet door handles with an ergonomic grip for comfort. Cabinet pull handles are a great choice for rack enclosure cabinets and other indoor cabinets. An arch handle cabinet pull is ideal. With a through hole angled arch, this is an ergonomic door handle design with aesthetic appeal. If the environment for your cabinet demands hygienic solutions, these stainless-steel cabinet handles are a great choice.

Another option is a plastic pull handle with a female arch. These arch cabinet handles are lightweight, which works well for indoor applications.

For electrical junction box types and other indoor electrical cabinets, think about a recessed door handle. A recessed handle is mounted flush to the door and is perfect when space is limited. If you’re looking for a quick and easy application, go for snap-in recessed handles. These types of handles also work well for indoor telecom cabinets. Screw-mount versions are also available.

A clamping lever is a handle that operates by lifting and rotating. The push button allows for release and adjustment. The adjustable clamping handle here lets the user position it for maximum leverage.

For an industrial cabinet housed indoors, consider an L handle cam latch. L handle cam latches offer ease of use, especially if space is limited. Turning the handle activates the mechanism. The cam rotating inside the handle opens the door.

With so many different types of cabinet hinges, you have a lot to choose from. It’s not unusual for indoor cabinets to be placed in tight, awkward spaces. In these instances, side hinges are a fantastic choice, providing a 180˚ rotation. The one you use depends how heavy your cabinet doors are. If you’re designing say, a data centre server cabinet, then consider a lightweight, but strong side hinge made of zinc alloy and stainless steel.

For heavier doors where security is a consideration, such as an indoor electrical enclosure, use side hinges mounted with nuts.

There are many different types of butt hinges. The butt hinge is comprised of two parts that remain flush with each other when the cabinet door is closed. The advantage of butt hinges over flush hinges is that they can support heavier doors.

Rising butt hinges, also known as lift-off screw-mount hinges, consist of two parts: one fixed to your frame and the other to your indoor cabinet door. When the door is opened, the leaf fixed to the door rises up. Rising butt door hinges work well when the door has to bypass a thick floor covering, such as carpet, or perform on an uneven floor. Available as stainless steel rising butt hinges.

A continuous door hinge, also known as a piano hinge, evenly distributes the weight of your cabinet doors. A continuous hinge is the ideal solution when your customer has to frequently open and close the doors. Continuous hinges are designed to stand up to wear and tear.

With so many door latch types available, your choices are varied. Some can even act as your handle. To choose your door latch locks, decide your priorities. If space and safety are issues, consider lift and turn cam latches. The handle folds away when not in use, avoiding catching clothes and skin. Go with compression latches if vibrations will be a factor. They can also be used outdoors.

If vibration resistance is a concern, a T-handle latch, specifically an adjustable T-handle with compression, is a good option. With an ergonomic grip, this compression latch provides sealing to stand up to vibration conditions.

You can also consider sliding snap latches, which keep the panel door closed during vibration.

Quarter turn latches with wing knobs offer a rubber gasket to provide a good seal. Also available: quarter turn latch with wing knob with extra-long housing for sound proofing, useful for a server rack cabinet.

A cam lock latch is ideal for smaller cabinets, such as a filing cabinet or wall data cabinet. It can also serve as glass cabinet hardware. Cylinder locking cam latches come in different types, keyed alike, keyed different, and one where the key can’t be removed.

To create a compression seal for your cabinet door, use EPDM gasket. Your cabinet door will need additional sealing to fill the space where surfaces mate. Use sealing gaskets on your panel edges, which will also protect against dirt and dust ingress, vibrations and humidity.

To prevent debris from falling into your fan blades and causing obstruction, consider this metal fan guard made of steel. Fan guards are essential for protecting electronics that your cabinet will house. The fan guard shown here is simple to install with a screw mount application.

Fan filters keep airflow unrestricted while ensuring that clear air cools the electronics in your cabinet. You can also use a fan filter mesh sheet. The beauty of mesh sheets – and metal fan filters in general – is that they’re very easy to clean.

Door gaskets and seals

Your cabinet will need additional sealing to fill the space where surfaces mate. Use sealing gaskets on your panel edges. These are clip-on profiles that protect against dirt and dust ingress, vibrations and humidity. The flexibility of gaskets are the ideal solution for irregular surfaces. Gasketing made of EPDM also has EMI shielding applications to prevent distortion and data loss.

Fasteners

Typically, the fastener material you use should be the same as the materials you’re fastening. Nylon push rivets, specifically fir-tree rivets, are another matter. Also called push-in rivets, the ribbed design can securely hold different materials, such as metal. When pushed into a hole, the flexible ribs spring back to lock in place.

Grommets

If your cabinet is going to contain wires and cables, you’ll most likely need a cable grommet to allow them to pass through a panel without being damaged. A good example are standard grommets, which can be inserted in any panel within your cabinet and are available in different materials. The standard grommet you choose will depend on the cabinet’s environment. PVC offers flexibility. TPE is a greener option than PVC and stands up in harsh environments. If it’s a rubber cable grommet you want, look at TPR, which resists most oils and greases. Another excellent choice is EPDM, which resists high temperatures.

Fasteners

Quarter-turn fasteners, or quarter-turn panel fasteners, join a fixed panel with a removable panel to enable easy access to the electronics contained within your cabinet. Quarter-turn panel fasteners have two parts. The base snaps into the fixed surface and the slotted screw head inserts into the removable panel. A quarter turn of the screw head will loosen or tighten the fastener.

Cable tie mounts

If you want the design of your cabinet to enable easy cable management for your customers, think about cable tie mounts (cable ties and mounts, all in one). Adhesive cable tie mounts in particular are convenient, as they can quickly and easily be applied by hand to provide a secure hold. You can place adhesive cable tie mounts on any cabinet panel.

Ideal for lightweight wire bundles, this four-way cable tie mounting base gives your customers the option of which direction they want to run their cables. These are another example of self-adhesive cable tie mounts, although they’re also available with a screw mount cable base.

Cable ties

Releasable cable ties are perfect if your customers need to access cables from time to time. They remain locked until released and can then be locked again. Releasable cable ties are made of nylon 6/6 for strength and durability.

Cable clips

If you’re housing cables that run outside of your cabinet, you’ll need cable clips, or wire clips, as they’re also called. For convenience, this wire clip bundles and secures your cables while holding the clip. This is also an adhesive cable clip, so customers can affix it where it best suits their needs.

Cable glands

If your indoor cabinet has an industrial application, use a cable gland. You might know it as a strain-relief cord grip, because that’s part of its purpose. A cable gland, or cord grip, provides an enclosure cable entry while controlling the arc of the cable bend. It also seals against contaminants while protecting your cable from damage.

Feet

If your indoor cabinet will be supported by the floor, consider stud-mount levelling feet. Rigid levelling feet adjust to uneven floors while the smooth plastic face protects flooring from scuffing. Feet with a swivel base offer articulated feet and also provide solid levelling and support.

If your cabinet will be bearing a heavy load, then add non-slip rubber pads for extra friction, which will prevent movement.

Adjustable feet are excellent for levelling your cabinet. You can get adjustable cabinet feet as standard, non-articulating or one with an articulating swivel. Both adjustable levelling feet come with a plastic base to protect the floor.

If controlled movement is what you want, think about caster wheels, which enable mobility. These swivel caster wheels rotate 360˚, so they can be steered if that’s what you want. They’re available with or without brakes. If you want cabinet stability, choose brakes. You can also get rigid wheels so that your cabinet only moves in a straight line.

Caster socket hole is a metal caster socket with a grip neck stem. It fits into a tube to secure stem caster wheels to your cabinet.

Use hygienic feet for certain types of medical cabinets. Stainless steel levelling feet adjust for uneven floors and are easy to clean and are accept ed by the USDA.

LED hardware

LED mounts allow lights to be mounted at a 90˚ angle and are easy to mount by hand.

LED spacers space your LED from the surface of your PCB. They’re ideal for minimising shifting and height variations to give your assembly uniformity. The internal tapered dividers guide the lead wires and prevent the leads from shorting.

An LED lens holder is used for holding a through hole LED in place. This LED lens holder supports a standard T-1 3/4 LED while transmitting light at a 10˚ angle. It’s also available with or without a sealing o-ring.

PCB standoffs and spacers

If you have a printed circuit board design, you need PCB standoffs. This male hexagonal standoff can be installed by hand, without requiring assembly tools. It’s ideal if high mechanical strength is needed and provides sturdy, insulated spacing for high-power electronic applications.

PCB support pillars are self-retaining round spacers that snap into place. When the screw is removed, these spacers still maintain your desired spacing.

Female threaded round standoffs are installed by hand without tools. These are actually female-to-female PCB nylon standoffs, perfect when you require high mechanical strength for high-power electronic applications.

PCB card guides

Snap-in horizontal card guide is tapered on both sides to make it quick and easy to mount your PCB in tight spaces. Made of nylon, which mitigates the risk of short circuits.

PVC card guide with an adhesive mount provides stability and a longer life for your application.

A horizontal snap-in card guide with a deep channel. This makes it ideal for high-vibration applications, such as data cabinets.

Circuit card puller

A card puller attaches to the PCB, enabling the technician to help pull it out and push it back into position with ease. This example offers curved tabs for fingertip grip to make it easier for the technician to use.

PCB mounting block

The PCB mounting block gives you electrical and mechanical connection between the chassis and the board. This block mounts printed circuit boards and small panels at right angles within the equipment. For secure mounting, they’re good to use instead of aluminium brackets.

PCB screw grommet

Plastic screw grommets made of polycarbonate provide a strong screw for securing heavy printed circuit board components. As the screw is tightened, legs expand for a secure lock.