CHALLENGER series- Electronics Enclosures

April 14th, 2014

The CHALLENGER Series by SIMCO is a line of over a dozen new, plastic injection molded electronics enclosures. Many of these enclosures are completely new sizes that were designed according to the requirements of existing SIMCO customers. Others include completely new options that make the electronics enclosures more versatile for SIMCO’s customers.

The CHALLENGER electronics enclosures materials

The CHALLENGER electronics enclosures are constructed from the same high impact ABS material as other SIMCO products. The material gives the enclosures their characteristic soft, velvety feel while still being scratch resistant. CHALLENGER Series enclosures are available in SIMCO’s three standard colors – Black, PC Bone Grey, and Dark Grey. Available options with the CHALLENGER enclosures include EMI/RFI shielding, UL 94V9 approved materials, and other options that add value.

The History of Plastic [INFOGRAPHIC]

March 13th, 2014

Have you ever given any thought to what life would be without plastic? Can you even imagine what our society and surroundings would look like if plastic had not been invented and developed? Household items, machinery, furniture, clothing, various industries – these are just a few of the areas in which you can trace the clever use of plastic. Today, plastic is all around us and it occupies a spot in almost each one of the human activities. We have become so accustomed to it that it sometimes goes unnoticed and we take it for granted. But to reach the current state of omnipresence, plastic had to go a long, long way.

Life was certainly a lot harder before plastic was invented. And had the clever men and women who stand behind the development of plastic not worked so hard and had they not been so devoted, we wouldn’t have such great applications for the different kinds of plastics today. The history of plastic spans over a period of more than 150 years and throughout those years there have been some tremendous discoveries, clever inventions and innovative developments in the field. Plastic has come a long way, so let’s take a look at how it all began and the major milestones in its history.

If you like this infographic you can share it on the social networks or use the embed code to publish it on your website:

Please include attribution to http://www.simcobox.com/ with this graphic. <a href=’http://www.simcobox.com/blog/the-history-of-plastic/’><img src=’https://www.simcobox.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/History-of-Plastic-za-bloga2.jpg’ alt=’The History of Plastic’ width=’1000′ height=’2589′ border=’0′ /></a>

Plastic – the history you might want to know

January 28th, 2014

Plastic, where would we be without it? It has become so much a part of our everyday lives that it’s similar to how we react when our electricity goes out – we keep hitting the switch waiting for the lights to come on. If you think you could live a day without plastic, take a good look around and think about how many things that are made of plastic are a part of our everyday life.

We get up in the morning, make our coffee from a coffeemaker that is shaped out of plastic, brush our teeth with a plastic toothbrush and take a swig of orange juice from a plastic container – and we haven’t even left the house yet.

The UL standards and SIMCO enclosures

March 30th, 2012

When you order enclosures from simcobox.com, you are given a choice of UL or non-UL materials. What does that mean? In fact, all SIMCO enclosures are made of materials that meet flammability standards released by Underwriters Laboratories of the USA, but the ones that are labeled UL and have a prefix of UL before the part number are tested to a stricter standard.

UL 94 is the Standard for Safety of Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances. In the test, a sample is held in either a vertical or horizontal position depending on which specification must be met. A flame is applied for a specific amount of time, and the time that it takes for the flame to extinguish itself is measured.

SIMCO’s UL rated materials are tested to the 94V0 specification for flame resistance. This means that after a flame is applied, burning stops within 10 seconds on a vertical specimen. The specification also requires that no flaming drips be produced that ignite a cotton indicator placed below the test sample. In the test, the flame is applied twice.

Standard enclosure materials are tested to 94HB. HB stands for Horizontal Burn. To meet this standard, a sample less than 3mm thick must burn at a rate less than 76 mm per minute.

SIMCO uses POLYLAC® PA-765 CHI MEI CORPORATION – Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS plastic) for UL rated boxes. A data sheet can be downloaded at http://simcobox.com/Spec-Sheets.html

Using UL94V0 rated material ensures greater resistance to flame when exposed to high temperatures and sparks that can be produced in some electrical and electronics applications.

For more information, contact Mike Early at 1-863-452-9090 or visit the SIMCO website at http://www.simcobox.com

SIMCO Disclosures

We discuss all things to do with plastic enclsoures and thier applications in the electronics industry.

Tag Archives: plastic