Custom Rack-Mount Enclosures
A rack-mount enclosure is carried in the rack by its ears or by side slides. K-Display makes rack-mount enclosures for 19-inch racks in heights such as 1U, 2U, and 4U, with shelves, ears, and adapter brackets, from your drawings.
Rack-mount enclosures we build
We build rack-mount enclosures, shelves, ears, and adapter brackets for 19-inch racks, on ears alone or on slides. Bodies are laser cut or punched and formed from carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, galvanized steel, or galvanneal, joined by welding in aluminum, carbon steel, or stainless steel or by fasteners, then powder coated, with captive screws, standoffs, ground studs, and handles installed. Delivery is bare, coated, or with slides fitted.
We build the floor-standing cabinet that receives the box as server cabinets & rack frames, and the board guides and backplane rails inside the box as chassis & card cages.
Pulled forward on its two side slides, the enclosure moves through the space in front of the rack posts its ears bolt to. The slide positions set how wide the body can be and how far it travels.
Rack-mount parts we make
- Rack-mount enclosures
- Formed bodies and front panels in rack-unit heights, with ears or flanges drilled or slotted for the rack's fastener.
- Rack shelves
- Fixed shelves on the front rails or on front and rear rails, and sliding shelves on slides, sized to the rack depth.
- Rack ears and brackets
- Separate ears, rear support brackets, and adapter plates made to the rail hole pattern and fastener.
Fitting the box to the rack
- Rack units, ears, and fasteners
- The ears fasten the box to the rail, and height in rack units, ear hole shape, and ear position (front, mid, or set back) set where the holes land. A hole that misses the rail hole, or is the wrong shape for the rack's thread or cage nut, leaves the ear unable to take the fastener.
- Depth and rear clearance
- Doors and handles in front of the ears, and connectors, cable bend, rails, or a PDU behind the rear panel, all limit the depth of the box and the reach of its rear cutouts.
- Slides and side clearance
- Slides carry the loaded weight and mount at the hole positions and side clearance on the slide maker's drawing. A slide hole that is off that drawing binds the slide's travel.
- Vents and airflow
- Rack rails and slides often block side vents, so airflow direction decides where vent area and fan openings can go. A vent that sits behind a rail or slide passes no air.
From ear holes to a fitted enclosure
Ear holes, cutouts, and slide mounts are laid out together before the body is formed, so a slide change is caught before coating.
Cut the body and front panel
We cut the ear holes, vents, and slide holes into the flat body and front panel, by laser or CNC punching.
Form and join
We form the flanges and ears, then weld or fasten the body.
Hardware, coat, and slides
We press in self-clinching standoffs, nuts, and studs, mask threads and ear faces, and powder coat. Captive screws with plastic or spring parts, handles, and slide members go on after the cure.
Specify the rack as well as the box
Send the rail hole type and fastener alongside the enclosure model, then add the slide maker's mounting drawing. The front mounting pattern and the side clearance are separate constraints on the same box.
The ear's mounting slots have to meet the rail's hole pattern. Rail hole style and the selected fastener determine the final slot size and position on the enclosure drawing.
What to send for a rack-mount enclosure quote
- Enclosure drawing or model
- STEP model or drawing with material, thickness, height in rack units, depth, front and rear cutouts and vent patterns dimensioned from datums, and quantity.
- Rack interface
- Rack model or rail hole type, rack fastener, and ear hole shape and position.
- Slides and weight
- Slide part number and mounting drawing, and the loaded weight of the unit.
- Hardware and finish
- Captive screw, standoff, ground stud, handle, and slide part numbers, coating color and texture, and areas left bare.