Dampness and dust are the enemies of a great deal of equipment. Besides that, the housing for equipment must be able to withstand the penetration of dampness and dust. Electrical equipment must be constructed so that it provides protection against the penetration of objects. For instance, users want to use a hair dryer to dry their hair but they don’t want to burn their fingers on the heating element. This is why more and more directives are included in product standards that regulate that such equipment is dust and waterproof.The products from Eaton Holec A/S in Denmark must also comply with these standards. Eaton Holec A/S sent their Tabula system to Arnhem.
Alex Dam is an R&D Engineer/CSC Manager at Eaton Holec A/S in Denmark. The company dates back more than 100 years. It develops, manufacturers, and sells all types of products in the mid and low voltage segment. The company employs some 110 people and 92 of them work in Vejle. The Tabula system was developed and made in Vejle. It is a housing system for switchgear panels. Alex Dam: “All sorts of installations are built and housed in our Tabula system. From small switchgear and control panels to the largest main distribution boards. So it’s vital for our customers to have the assurance that when they use Tabula they’re using a perfect product.”
IP and NEMA
Products, appliances, equipment, and housing must comply with a wide range of criteria and standards. At the present time, more and more directives are being included in product standards for dustproofness and waterproofness. That dustproofness and waterproofness is laid down in the international IP Standard EN/IEC 60529 and/or the North American NEMA 250 Directives.
Safe
“The Tabula housings,” says Alex Dam, “meet the criteria nd expectations of panel builders. What’s more they are very safe. Safe not only for the people that build in the switchgear panels, but also safe of course for the people that must ultimately work with these panels. Our products comply with the highest criteria and many of the tests we conduct ourselves in our laboratory in Henegelo (NL), which has been certified by KEMA. Tabula must also comply with the regulations for dustproofness and waterproofness and has been issued an IP54 approval. However, our lab in Hengelo is not equipped to perform these IP tests. We are familiar with KEMA from the certification of our systems, so we also chose KEMA to conduct the IP tests. And we’re very pleased with this teamwork. The KEMA people are very professional. They know what they want and they know what we want. They think right along with you when it comes to solutions for possible problems.” KEMA is one among few in Europe that can offer both IP and NEMA. All the required IP and NEMA tests can be conducted in KEMA’s laboratories – and that’s not only unique in Europe, it’s unique in the world.
Now and then it’s pretty intense in the water lab. KEMA personnel are busy with a fire hose testing how waterproof the Tabula-system is.”Following every test we look into the equipment we’re testing to see if there has been any penetration of dampness,” says Gregor Willemsen, KEMA project manager. “Of course,if and how much dampness may be allowed to penetrate the equipment depends on the directives for the equipment that’s being tested. Moreover, the location where the equipment will be used also determines the degree of waterproofness required. For instance, one type of equipment might only need to be able to withstand some spatters while another might need to withstand submersion higher than a meter. In our water lab we can unleash the whole water spectrum on the equipment to be tested from drops, spatters, rinsing, and streams of water right up to a sea of water and total submersion.” After the test, the Tabula-system undergoes extensive inspection. The thumbs are raised as a sign of victory. Not a single drop of water has penetrated the cabinet!
Dust
The Tabula-system of Eaton Holec A/S goes to KEMA’s new dust lab. Gregor Willemsen: “We’ve only had this dust lab a couple of months. The big advantage is that this dust lab is big enough so we can even test this huge system.” The dimensions are 270 cm by 270 cm by 270 cm. Gregor: “We can let the dust circulate in the dust lab. The principle of the test is simple. We place the equipment in the dust lab, blowt the dust arounde in the room and – actually just like in the water lab – in due course we check to see if dust has penetrated the housing. It’s even possible to create underpressure or overpressure in the equipment in order to test the Tabula also waltzed through the dust test with flying colors.
Fast
The Tabula-system passed all the tests and is returned to the manufacturer together with an IP approval. “Speed is one of our strongest points,” says Gregor Willemsen. “The Tabula came here just three days ago and now it’s already on its way back to the customer. That is pure time saving. Because customers can come to us for both IP and NEMA, they also gain time as a result. And it’s even possible to gain more time. As early as the development trajectory, customers can have us test components delivered by third parties for waterproofness and dustproofness.”
Perfect combination
Alex Dam of Eaton Holec A/S: “One of the most important reasons for choosing KEMA is the speed with which tests are carried out. And also the spacious testing labs. Particularly because a Tabula system can be as high as two meters. At KEMA we could have our Tabula tested at one location and that’s certainly not possible at every testing institute. KEMA and Eaton Holec A/S. That is a perfect combination!”
