Custom Mounting, Backing & Gland Plates
Custom mounting, backing, and gland plates give a component, a thin panel, or an enclosure opening a flat face that holds its hole pattern. K-Display cuts them from sheet metal to your mating drawings.
Mounting, backing, and gland plates we build
We cut mounting plates that carry components at a hole pattern, backing plates that sit behind a thin panel at a fastener location, and gland plates that bolt over an enclosure opening, from aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel, or galvannealed steel, and weld joined features in carbon steel, stainless steel, or aluminum. Plates ship loose, with hardware installed, kitted with an enclosure or bracket set, or powder coated with the mounting face masked bare. Brackets with bent flanges that hold a component off a frame are Mounting Brackets.
The angle bracket, the thin panel, and the plate behind it share two fastener positions, with a bolt through all three. The nuts seat on the plate, so the thin sheet is never the only thing clamped.
Plates we make
- Mounting plates
- Flat plates, or plates with a stiffening return edge, cut to the hole pattern, slots, and cutouts the components need.
- Backing plates
- Plates that sit behind a thin panel, cut to its fastener positions, with captive hardware where the fastener needs thread engagement.
- Gland and cable entry plates
- Bolt-on plates that close an enclosure opening: round holes for glands and conduit, rectangular or D-shaped cutouts for connectors and entry frames, and a bare pad for a bonding lug.
- Adapter and cover plates
- Plates that convert one hole pattern to another, and blank-off or access plates.
Fit on the plate
- Hole pattern and hardware
- The mating component's mounting drawing sets the pattern, and a pattern that differs from that drawing leaves the component unable to seat. Self-clinching hardware needs the right sheet hardness, thickness, and edge distance to lock in, and a nut set outside them can turn or pull out.
- Cutouts and entries
- Gland, conduit, and connector holes are sized to the accessory that goes in them, and plate thickness sets how much thread the accessory engages.
- Datum face and flatness
- The face that mounts or seals is the datum, and a thin plate can move when it is cut, formed, or welded. A plate that bows leaves a gap at a gasket land or a bonding pad.
- Hole sizes after coating
- Powder coat adds film inside every hole and over every unmasked face, which cuts thread engagement and can spoil a press fit. A mounting face or gasket land that takes coat no longer seats flat.
Keeping the datum face true
A press-in nut or stud enters from one face only, so the hardware side is fixed before the plate is cut.
Cut the pattern
We laser cut or punch the plate, its holes, and its cutouts, and form any return edge.
Weld and install hardware
We weld any joined features, then install the nuts and studs from the face the hardware needs.
Mask and coat
We mask the faces and threads that stay bare, powder coat, unmask, and ship the plate loose, with hardware installed, or kitted with an enclosure or bracket set.
Review each mating interface
Supply the mounting pattern and the accessory cutout drawings together. Mark the face that must sit flat, any gasket or bonding area that stays bare, and whether the hole dimensions apply before or after coating.
Accessory cutouts follow the glands and connectors; the perimeter follows the enclosure opening. Keeping that mounting face flat and preparing the specified bare areas lets the plate fit its hardware and sealing interface.
What to send for a plate quote
- Model or plate
- STEP, DXF, or PDF, or an existing plate to match, with material, thickness, hole pattern, cutouts, and the datum face.
- Tolerances
- Hole position and flatness, where the assembly depends on them.
- Hardware and accessories
- Captive hardware part numbers, gland or connector part numbers, and the panel thickness behind a backing plate.
- Finish
- Coating color and gloss, the cosmetic face, the faces and threads to leave bare, and whether holes are sized for before or after coating.
- Volume and timing
- Quantity and the date you need the plates.