Press: Terminal boxes now safer and cleaner

Terminal boxes are used for holding electrical and electronic components. Rittal has developed special Hygienic Design (HD) terminal boxes for use in hygiene-critical applications in the food industry that can be easily cleaned in frequently recurring cleaning cycles, so meeting the hygiene requirements. The tried and tested Hygienic Design features apply, just as with the larger HD enclosure series.

The safe and gap-free gasket between the enclosure and cover is achieved by an external, blue silicone seal. In comparison to conventional seals, it is much more stable in contact with detergents, acids and alkalis, and it can also be replaced more easily. One particular benefit of this sealing concept is that it permits an enclosure technology which is free of dead spaces.

In addition, the sides of the enclosure and cover, with a slope of 3 or 10°, ensure the highest hygienic characteristics. While traditional terminal boxes are fastened with a large number of screws, the new HD versions get by with just four easy-to-clean terminal boxes. Instead of cross-head screws, Rittal employs easy-to clean hexagon bolts.
The new HD terminal boxes, which can be mounted either horizontally or vertically as desired, are offered in five standard sizes. These range from square 150x150x 80 mm (WxHxD) to rectangular enclosures of 400x200x 120 mm in size.

Depending on size and use, the HD terminal boxes offer sufficient space for compact sensors or I/O components. The enclosures are equipped with two mounting rails as standard. What is new is the tighter pitch pattern (6.25 mm instead of 12.5 mm), which allows them to be mounted even more flexibly, for instance with support rails. The mounting plates of Rittal's proven KL terminal boxes can also be installed during assembly.

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Rittal GmbH & Co. KG

Rittal GmbH & Co. KG, which has its headquarters in Herborn, Germany, is one of the world's leading system suppliers for housing and enclosure technologies, power distribution systems, system climate control and IT infrastructure. Customers from all sectors of industry, from mechanical and plant engineering, as well as from the IT and telecoms market, are making use of system solutions from Rittal.

Its broad product range also includes complete solutions for modular and energy-efficient data centres: from innovative security concepts for data systems (formerly known as Litcos) through to physical data and system security for IT infrastructures (formerly known as Lampertz). The leading software providers Eplan and Mind8 - Rittal subsidiaries - are supplementing the Rittal product portfolio with interdisciplinary engineering solutions.

Founded in 1961, Rittal is now active worldwide with 12 production sites, 63 subsidiaries and 40 agencies. With 9,000 employees worldwide, Rittal is the largest company of the proprietor-run Friedhelm Loh Group of Haiger, Germany. The entire group employs more than 10,500 people and generated revenues of more than € 2.2 billion in 2008. Further information at www.rittal.com and www.friedhelm-loh-group.de.