Telecommunications Enclosures
Many industries use electrical equipment to transport voice, video, and data across long distances. By nature, this type of equipment is sensitive to many indoor and outdoor conditions. Telecommunications enclosures, which are also referred to as telecommunications cabinets, are fully enclosed cabinets that help protect electrical cabling and other equipment from potentially damaging environments, including those that contain dust, rain, ice, and external heat.
Benefits of Telecommunications Enclosures
Although the primary purpose of telecommunications enclosures is to protect the contents enclosed within, these cabinets offer other benefits as well. For example, electrical enclosures can organize equipment, keeping it tidy for efficiency and ease of use. In fact, many organizational configurations can be achieved with custom shelving and equipment racking. These cabinets can also ensure that the equipment is only accessible to authorized personnel and that it won’t accidentally harm someone.
What to Look For
Every enclosure is different. As a business owner, you need to figure out which telecommunications cabinets meet your application and needs. As you shop for an enclosure, consider the following:
NEMA Standards
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) uses a standard rating system that defines the types of environments in which an electrical enclosure can be used. First, know what type of environment (indoor or outdoor, wet or dry, etc.) your equipment might be exposed to. Then, find an enclosure rated to withstand those environmental conditions.
Climate Control
Extreme cold and heat can damage electrical equipment, so many enclosures offer customized climate control solutions. For example, they can include built-in air conditioners and external coolers for ventilation. These features prevent overheating and can sometimes extend the life of your products.
Customization
Many types of enclosures are used within the telecommunications industry, including standard wall-mounted enclosures, junction boxes, floor-mounted enclosures, and free-standing enclosures. The benefit of choosing a standard enclosure is that they often cost less and arrive much sooner than custom cabinets. However, sometimes an off-the-shelf cabinet just won’t cut it. American Products offers customized telecommunications cabinets to meet the specific, unique needs of your sensitive equipment. To decide whether or not you need a custom enclosure designed, explore the standard enclosures available and discuss your needs with our enclosure specialists.
Safety
Because the equipment contained within telecommunications enclosures can present a significant risk for fires, safety features on your cabinet are crucial. Find an enclosure that uses the right materials to ensure maximum safety, security, and stability.
Our Products
At American Products, we assist the telecommunications industry by offering all of the following:
- Standard and custom NEMA enclosures
- Standard and custom shelving and equipment racking
- Enclosures made from corrosion-resistant materials, such as aluminum and stainless steel
- Designs for special indoor and outdoor telecommunication applications
We manufacture telecommunications enclosures that meet or are designed to 3R, 4, and 6 NEMA-type ratings and standards. You might be interested in our AP FORT™, an exclusive line of telecommunications shelters made from heavy-duty steel and designed to provide superior protection when confronted with extreme weather, moisture, and other hazards. This line of thermal outdoor shelters is suitable for FTTx, wireless communications, power/equipment storage, telecom, fiber optic, minicell, microcell, femtocell, and 3G and 4G applications. To explore all of our telecommunications cabinets, check out our Products page.
Please contact us if you have any questions. Our experts will work with you to select or design an electronics enclosure that meets your specific application.
AP FORT® | MINIFORT® | INDEPENDENCE® | FREEDOM™ | PATRIOT® | MINUTEMAN™ | UTILITY™ | BATTERY™ | AP LIBERTY® | AP BUNKER™ | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bays | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 - 3 | 1 | 2 - 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 - 2 | 1 | 1 |
RUs | 9 - 24 | 16 - 42 | 32 - 126 | 16 - 42 | 16 - 126 | 32 - 60 | 5 - 32 | 42 | 7 - 39 | 9 | ||
NEMA | 3R* | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4* | 4* | 3R* | 1* | 3R* / 4* | 3R* / 4* | 4* | 6 |
ETL | 50 / 50E | 50 / 50E | 50 / 50E | |||||||||
Indoor | X | |||||||||||
Outdoor | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Fiber / FTTx | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
CATV | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
Cellular Base | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
Satellite / Microwave | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
Gen. Industry | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
Headend | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
OLT | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
PON Fiber | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||
Active Fiber | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||
Radio/Basestation | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
Curbside | X | X | ||||||||||
DAS / Small Cell | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
CCTV | X | X | X | |||||||||
Battery Backup | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
SAN / Edge | X | X | X | |||||||||
Backhaul | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
*Designed To Spec. |