One domain of Preis Ingenieurbüro is the development of control units for automobile manufacture and commercial vehicles. The units must be encapsulated in a suitable enclosure in order to withstand the sometimes rough use.
An important criterion for such enclosures is dust resistance and resistance to splash water. There are relevant standards for this, e.g. DIN EN 60529 (VDE 0470-1): 2014-09 Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code). Previously, enclosures from the catalogues of different providers were used.
In 2015, one commercial vehicle customer wished to convert his connectors to HDSCS. For this reason it was necessary to search for suitable enclosures. As installation was planned on the outside of a vehicle, it quickly became clear that protection class IP9K6K had to be complied with. At first this appeared to be a standard task: have a quick look for the appropriate enclosure in online catalogues and carry out tests together with the desired HDSCS connector. Unfortunately, such enclosures did not exist on the market.
Select one or more images to display in this gallery
As the connector and its sealing are decisive factors for the tightness of the control unit, it was necessary to completely redesign the enclosure and the connector. A plastic suitable for use had to be chosen. Fortunately Preis Ingenieurbüro has been cooperating for decades with Ingenieurbüro Kaiser, which has the necessary know-how.
The geometrical requirements were defined and first prototypes designed. Climatic tests were carried out on the prototypes. It became apparent that the connector seal did not have the desired effect; dust and water penetrated into the enclosure. Further optimisation was therefore necessary.
The climatic tests were then repeated with a new development status, and the long-term strength was also calculated. Finally the result was so good that the enclosures could be used in series production for the customer.
The development of the control unit lasted for more than one year, because the tests were very time-consuming. However, we can now offer an enclosure certified in accordance with protection class “IP6kX: Dust test” and “IPx9K: High-pressure cleaning”.
The enclosure is available in different versions:
- Length 98 mm with 2 fixing points
- Length 98 mm with 3 fixing points
- Length 75 mm with 2 fixing points
- Length 75 mm with 3 fixing points