The mining industry poses many unique challenges from explosions and intense vibrations to extreme weather conditions. Airborne dust, water and accidental impacts can severely damage the sensitive electrical components found in flow meters and weather monitoring systems – hindering mining operations. Because of these hazardous conditions, monitoring equipment must be housed in durable protective enclosures to minimize downtime.
Polycarbonate Enclosures for the Mining Industry
Often used for greenhouse roofing, bullet-proof glass, and automotive parts, polycarbonate is well known for its extreme strength and impact resistance. This high tensile strength makes polycarbonate enclosures ideal for mining environments where falling rubble and heavy machinery can pose a threat.
Polycarbonate also stands strong against environmental factors such as heavy rain, airborne dust and blistering sun. Polycarbonate enclosures have a much wider operating temperature range than other materials (-40 to 265° F) so they can be installed inside the mine or outside in the elements with little to no maintenance. Polycarbonate enclosures are also highly UV resistant, meaning they won’t break down or fade from UV exposure.
However, not all polycarbonate enclosures are created equally. Integra enclosures are expertly engineered with thicker sidewalls, molded in mounting features and 100% corrosion resistant components. These considerations provide a highly robust enclosure that is easy to install and maintain in remote environments.
Integra’s polycarbonate enclosures carry a minimum NEMA 4X protection rating – effectively sealing out water, dust and insects to keep electronics safe. NEMA 6P rated enclosures are also available to provide maximum protection even when temporarily submersed in flood waters. Knowing the environmental conditions of the job site will help determine the level of protection required for remote monitoring devices.
Proven Solutions for Mine Monitoring
With so many enclosure manufacturers on the market, OEMs and consulting engineers often look to brands they trust for the products they need. Building strong relationships with suppliers and compiling a grouping of “tried and true” products is exactly what Summit Envirosolutions has done.
Summit Envirosolutions has been consulting for the mining industry since the 1990’s, creating telemetry solutions to monitor environmental factors. The devices that Summit deploys track the mine’s water cycle, water levels and water chemistry. Each of these metrics is vital to the mining operation in addition to maintaining government compliance. Summit takes pride in the systems they build and has used their decades of experience to find the best combination of components for the job.
“We wanted to implement a telemetry component that’s the best one out in the field at the moment and then compile that with the correct hardware and then enclose it, make it remote, make it secure, and install it that way.”
Kyle Romens – Geologist at Summit Envirosolutions
Because of the importance of these devices, Summit needed a reliable partner to deliver quality, durable enclosures for their job sites. Integra’s durable polycarbonate enclosures have proven themselves in the mining industry and other hazardous applications, offering ample protection for remote monitoring devices and electrical controls. After seeing Integra’s polycarbonate enclosures being used by some of their trusted component partners, they turned to Integra Enclosures.
“With some of those older boxes we used, we had issues with the field conditions that we run into of hot, cold, rain, sun, bugs, insects, rodents, everything likes to get inside of them. And so, we’ve been very pleased with Integra’s product so far in its durability and the customization of them to meet the demands of our products.“
Kyle Romens – Geologist at Summit Envirosolutions
Regular maintenance of monitoring devices can be difficult due to the remote locations of mines and downtime caused by broken equipment and faulty enclosures can be costly. By choosing a quality outdoor rated enclosure, companies like Summit Envirosolutions can trust that their systems will remain protected over the lifespan of the project.
Choosing The Right Enclosure for Mining Applications
Many factors can go into choosing the right electrical enclosure such as weather conditions, nearby hazards, and size of components.
Battling Dust, Sand and Water
A reliable water-tight seal is one of the most important features of a protective enclosure. Mine and quarry operations produce large amounts of airborne dust which can be lethal to sensitive electrical components. To safeguard electrical systems, Integra’s enclosures have a minimum NEMA 4X protection rating. NEMA 4X enclosures contain a dust-tight, water-tight seal that keeps unwanted debris from entering the enclosure. In areas that are prone to flooding, a NEMA 6P rated enclosure may be required. Integra’s NEMA 6P enclosures are rated to handle up to 6 feet of water for up to 24 hours. Knowing the weather hazards of the mine location is key to choosing the right enclosure.
Rising and Falling Temperatures
The temperature and exposure an enclosure can experience varies widely based on its use in the mining industry. Some outdoor enclosures are exposed to harsh sunlight and others are subject to sweltering heat or cool underground temperatures. Integra’s polycarbonate enclosures can withstand all these extremes and keep the equipment protected inside.
Hazard Protection
Depending on the type of mining operation, hazardous and corrosive minerals may be present in the area. All Integra enclosures are built with corrosion-resistant materials like polycarbonate and stainless steel to greatly increase the longevity of the enclosure and the components inside. To ensure the chemicals and minerals found in your application won’t interfere with the integrity of your enclosures, reference Integra’s Chemical Resistance Chart.
Range of Sizes
Integra offers the widest range of polycarbonate enclosure sizes on the market. To determine the proper size enclosure to house your components, you can register for technical drawing access to view 3D models of all Integra enclosures.
Ease of Modification
One of the many benefits of Polycarbonate enclosures is the ease of modifying and drilling holes in the field. Unlike other enclosure materials that require specialty tools and protective equipment, polycarbonate drills easily without splintering. This is especially beneficial in remote applications like the mining industry where specialty tooling may not be accessible.
To make installation even easier for our clients, Integra offers in-house CNC machining on any of our enclosures. Simply provide details on your desired cut-outs during the quoting process and Integra will deliver precise, reliable machined enclosures, ready to be populated.
Contact Us
Integra is committed to providing robust, user-friendly enclosure solutions to meet any application. To learn more about our products or to request a custom quote, don’t hesitate to reach out to our dedicated customer service team today.
