Stainless steel control cabinet: the best protection for your machine controls

Which stainless steel control cabinet is suitable for the food industry?

In the food and pharmaceutical industry, it is important that control cabinets meet special requirements. Think of hygienic design requirements in accordance with the EHEDG standard. CC Nederland works with A-brand ILINOX, which has released a special line for this purpose.

Stainless steel control box with Hygienic Design

When determining which control box is best suited for your specific application, the environment plays a major role. In the food industry, we apply the BKH control boxes toe. These have IP69K sealing and are equipped with blue silicone seals according to EHEDG. Due to the IP66/IP69K certification and special silicone seal, the control boxes can also be cleaned with many cleaning agents and hosed down with a high-pressure sprayer. The blue silicone seal can be easily removed from the cabinet for disinfection. BKH cabinets are characterized by their unique design, also known as Hygienic Design. This ensures that unwanted dirt accumulation is not possible.

Unique hygienic design of BKH control cabinets

The BKH cabinets have a standard sloping top of 10° so that dirt and water can drain away easily. This unique Hygienic Design ensures that the cabinets can even be placed directly above the food. The door is equipped with two hygienic and ergonomic handles to turn or tilt the cabinet. The cabinet is made of AISI304 stainless steel as standard. On request, the stainless steel control cabinets are also made in AISI316.

The control boxes are further equipped with special stainless steel cast hinges that ensure that the door can be opened 100° according to the requirements of EN 60204-1. The special HD locks are made of AISI316 and have a blue silicone sealing ring. Due to the HD design of the lock, no unwanted dirt accumulation is possible in accordance with the sanitary requirements of DIN EN 1672-2 and DIN EN14159. In addition, even the placement of the lock has been considered.

The tactical placement of the lock

The lock of the BKH control cabinet is on the side of the enclosure. The advantage of this is that the area of the door that can be used for cutouts, for example for a large HMI control panel, is maximized. After all, a lock in the door itself takes up a lot of space. The BKH control boxes are equipped with the necessary grounding points and mounting points which can also be used for installing a DIN rail. Optional mounting plates are available which can be ordered on request.

The different sizes of the BKH control box

When selecting the right control cabinet, size is important to consider. The size of the components such as an HMI or industrial PC determine which cabinet can be selected.

The BKH is available in four standard sizes:

• BKH43A/304L: 450mm wide, 350mm high and 125mm deep
• BKH54A/304L: 550mm wide, 450mm high and 125mm deep
• BKH65A/304L: 600mm wide, 500mm high and 125mm deep
• BKH75A/304L: 700mm wide, 550mm high and 125mm deep

Control cabinets without specific hygiene requirements

A stainless steel control cabinet does not always have to meet specific requirements. Is the environment non-food and no specific hygiene requirements apply? Then the standard stainless steel BK cabinets suitable. The standard BK enclosures have a polyurethane seal and are IP66. Standard BK enclosures are available in 7 sizes, with and without operating handles.

Mounting options

The control box can be mounted to the wall or to a modular suspension system, straight or curved, with couplings. The coupling of the mounting arm can be connected at the top or bottom of the control box. People often choose a suspension system in order to place the control box in an ergonomic place. In addition, when in use, a suspension system provides flexibility for the operator to operate or read out the machine at any desired location.

Different suspension systems

To mount a control box in an ergonomic location, suspension arms are available with various couplings. The suspension arms have a diameter of 60.3mm and are available in 4 different designs:

• TS arm bent in S, this version is suitable for a standing application where the arm is connected to the bottom of the control box.
• TI arm straight, a straight arm for a hanging or standing application.
• TJ arm bent in J, this is the most commonly used version for a hanging application. Because of the J shape, there are many movement possibilities. In fact, both the arm and the cabinet can rotate.
• fluorescent arm bent in L, this version is chosen when the arm is attached directly to a wall or machine. Only the cabinet can rotate the arm is fixed to the wall.

Couplings and brackets

To couple the arm and control box together, various couplings are available. The type of coupling determines whether the cabinet can be rotated or tilted relative to the arm. Thus, the maximum rotation angle can be set in the coupling using internal adjustment bolts. To mount the suspension system to the machine or wall, angled wall mounting brackets are also available.

Below is an overview of the couplings for BKH control boxes:

• GM60S wall mounting bracket diameter 140mm.
• GKSH rotatable coupling up to 355°, Hygienic Design and blue seal, it fits the existing recess of the BKH and cabinets and attaches from the inside.
• GRH rotatable coupling up to 355°, Hygienic Design and blue seal, it fits on the long upright of the TJ arm and on the GM60-140 angle bracket, diameter 140mm.
• AGKH Blue adapter to tilt the control box by 10°.

Learn more about stainless steel control boxes

After reading this article, do you still have questions about our Stainless steel control boxes, or do you wish personal advice? You can always contact contact one of the CC Netherlands experts. They will be happy to help you get started!