Should One Supplier Handle Busbar Design and Fabrication?
Many panel builders and OEMs find themselves asking the same question when planning a stainless steel switchboard. Should they buy their busbar system and enclosure from separate suppliers, or should the task fall to one team?
Asking two different suppliers to design and produce these related products means asking them to design a product to a drawing from another company. A slight discrepancy in a busbar design and fabrication or clearance can see both sides returned to the drawing board, and the time spent on this investigation will fall to you to bear.
Buyers also ask this question due to concerns over verification. A design that meets your consultant specification on paper still has to be tested and signed off against a standard, and dividing the task between suppliers only makes verifying a sign-off more complicated.
What Busbar Design and Fabrication Entails at A&T Enclosures
At A&T Enclosures, our engineers design, punch, fabricate and finish in-house; this extends to the busbar system. Our 2D and 3D design software means you can see the system in place before we commit any metal to a particular shape.
Our Design Verified busbar systems currently start at 400A, and carry Icw values from 30kA to 100kA. We fabricate to BS EN 61439-2, and ongoing testing enables our engineers to advise you on a design that is likely to meet your electrical consultant's specification.
We also give particular attention to materials:
- We have a supply of HDHC copper in stock, ready for production
- We can use tinned copper for greater corrosion resistance in waste treatment plants
- Our fabrication uses CNC machining in addition to conventional manufacturing techniques
- We conduct punching and cut-outs in-house to control fit
This combination enables us to give you a single point of responsibility; should a dimension require adjustment, one team makes the alteration and checks its impact on the rest of the design.
Why Stainless Steel Changes the Brief
Stainless steel is used when a standard enclosure can't be relied upon to withstand the conditions of its environment. For this reason, our stainless steel electrical enclosures in the UK can be used in food processing, on machinery, in hostile environments, and in coastal and marine environments. Both indoor and outdoor applications are possible.
The material, stainless steel, requires some consideration regarding fabrication, though; our fabricators use TIG or MIG welding methods and work in clean rooms to avoid cross-contamination, which could be an issue if the enclosure is going to be located in a hygienic or corrosive environment.
It also informs decisions on the busbar system; stainless steel electrical enclosures in the UK are more likely to be used in arduous environments, and having our engineers familiar with the likely conditions from the outset enables us to select a copper finish, plan a layout and set cut-outs in one step.
Choosing the Right Stainless Grade
Buyers frequently tell us they are unsure what to specify. We use CR12 (1.4003), 304 (1.4301) and 316 (1.4401) steel in our fabrication, and we will advise on the most value-conscious grade for your application rather than recommending the most expensive option.
As a rule of thumb, the grade should be suited to the conditions. A dry indoor plant room and a coastal, outdoor site will place very different demands on a material. Tell our engineers where the enclosure will be installed and we will advise on a grade that is suitable.
If you are considering who should handle busbar design and fabrication for your next stainless steel enclosure in the UK, we would like to hear about it. Send us your specification, your site conditions and your timeline, and our engineers will review them. Request a quote from A&T Enclosures through our contact page today.