# Sheet Metal Fabrication for Telecommunications

https://kdisplay.com/industries/telecommunications

K-Display fabricates outdoor equipment cabinets, 19-inch and 23-inch shelves and rack-mount boxes, antenna and radio mounts, and junction boxes in Chicago for telecommunications equipment makers. Parts are made from your drawings in galvanized, galvanneal, or stainless steel, powder coated, with hardware installed.

## Overview
Telecom equipment mounts in two places: frames with 19-inch or 23-inch rails in the central office, and cabinets at roadsides, cell sites, and building walls in the outside plant. Telcordia GR-487 sets mechanical and environmental criteria for outside-plant cabinets, including salt fog and wind-driven rain. An outdoor cabinet therefore takes galvanized, galvanneal, or stainless steel and a powder coat system chosen for the weather. In telecommunications sheet metal fabrication, K-Display supplies the cabinets, shelves, and mounts powder coated in-house, with hinges, locking handles, and hardw…

## Process
- Cut and form from the flat pattern: We laser cut and punch the cabinet bodies, shelves, and mounts, placing each radio bolt hole in the flat pattern so it lands correctly after the bends. We then press-brake form the parts and MIG or TIG weld the stainless parts.
- Hardware in, then powder coat: We install self-clinching studs and nuts and ground studs, mask the grounding points, and powder coat in-house. Hinges and locking handles go on after the coat.
- Assemble and pack by site: We fit gaskets, hang doors, and assemble shelves and rails, label each cabinet with your part number, and pack by site or by release.

## Typical parts
- Outdoor equipment cabinets: Cabinet bodies, doors with gasket lands, sun shields, and mounting rails for outside-plant electronics and power, welded in stainless steel and assembled with hardware in galvanized steel.
- Equipment shelves and slide trays: Formed shelves and slide trays for 19-inch and 23-inch frames and cabinet rails, sized to the equipment footprint, with tie-downs and vent openings.
- Rack-mount assemblies: Boxes and brackets with 19-inch or 23-inch mounting ears for the central office frame.
- Antenna and radio mounts: Tilt brackets and remote radio unit mounts formed from galvanized or stainless steel, with bolt holes placed for the radio's pattern.
- Junction and terminal boxes: Wall-mount boxes with cable entries and grommet openings for cable termination, formed to the box size you send.
- Bulkhead and grounding plates: Bulkhead plates and ground bar mounting plates, cut and drilled for the studs and cable entries on your interconnection plan.

## Requirements
- Rack pattern: 19-inch or 23-inch mounting, the hole pattern, and the rack-unit height of each shelf and rail.
- Central office criteria: The equipment-space criteria the product is qualified to, such as Telcordia GR-63, and the load each shelf carries.
- Outdoor cabinet criteria: The criteria the cabinet is designed to, such as Telcordia GR-487 or a NEMA type.
- Mount interfaces: The radio's bolt pattern and the hole spacing of the support the mount attaches to.
- Corrosion protection: Galvanized, galvanneal, or stainless steel for outdoor mounts, and the powder coat color, gloss, and system for cabinets.
- Hardware and gaskets: Hinge, handle, and gasket part numbers with the quantity per cabinet, and the locations for studs, nuts, and ground studs.

## Related pages
- [Powder Coating](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/finishing/powder-coating)
- [Hardware Installation](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/finishing/hardware-installation)
- [MIG & TIG Welding](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/welding/mig-tig-welding)
- [Custom Outdoor Equipment Cabinets](https://kdisplay.com/products/electrical-enclosures/outdoor-equipment-cabinets)
- [Custom Rack-Mount Enclosures](https://kdisplay.com/products/chassis-cabinets/rack-mount-enclosures)
- [Custom Junction Boxes & Terminal Enclosures](https://kdisplay.com/products/electrical-enclosures/junction-terminal-enclosures)
- [Custom Sheet Metal Mounting Brackets](https://kdisplay.com/products/brackets-plates/mounting-brackets)
- [Custom Mounting, Backing & Gland Plates](https://kdisplay.com/products/brackets-plates/mounting-backing-plates)