Best to use a gland plate?

[Lc85]

Hi,
I am currently designing an instrument panel, if the customer doesn't ask for a gland plate is it always best to give them one for cable/conduit entry?

Thanks

 

[waross]

I expect to see gland plates for two reasons.
1> The cabinet is too thick to be easily punched by a standard KO punch set.
2> High currents and the possibility of single conductor cables where eddy currents and sheath voltages may be an issue. Generally above 200 Amps.
That said, some manufacturers use cabinets with removable gland plates as a matter of course for instrument cabinets.
Your call.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[ScottyUK]

I would want a glandplate which can be removed for drilling. Swarf from a holesaw is bad news in an electrical panel. The coupon from a Q-Max punch is less of a problem, but they aren't commonly used by field installation techs in this country. It may depend on local working methods and customs.

 

[engineeringcalc]

The best option would be to have a glandplate for some reasons:


- The thickness can be higher if this is needed.
- A glandplate can be drilled at site more easily. If it is also for hazardous area, you can loose the certification if you drilled directly a box. I should not be a problem when you drilled just the glandplate (you should check it with the manufaturer)

However, it is not mandatory, you can have directly the holes in the box

Regards,

http://www.engineeringcalc.com

 

[zappedagain]

Electromagnetic shielding will be worse with the gland plate. You might be able to compensate with RF gasket around the edges.

Z

 

[jraef]

Swarf from a holesaw is bad news in an electrical panel.

"Swarf" is my new Word of the Day, thanks Scotty!

I never ever heard that before, nobody I know has ever heard it either. Yet, it appears to be a perfectly legitimate word and in fact is even valid on Scrabble!

I got the chance to use it in sentences 3 times today when discussing drilling out holes in the top of MCCs where the sheet metal screws were over torqued and stripped out the metal. They wanted to drill them out and use a larger screw, I said "No, the swarf will get into the MCC control components." Everyone in the room looked at me as if I had said that kittens would get into the furnace or something. By the end of the meeting, I had managed to drop "swarf" two more times before a co-worker commented that it must be my WOTD!

"Will work for (the memory of) salami"

 

[ScottyUK]

Ha-ha, sounds like you are having fun...

That word would be instantly recognised in any machine shop over here. What do you call swarf on the far side of the water?

 

[jraef]

Apparently, a lot of people more directly in the machining business do call it swarf as I come to find out. I guess that regardless of all of the machine tool retrofits I have done over the years, the subject must have never come up. I've just always called it drill shavings if it comes off of a drill bit or chips if it came from a milling machine. I like this word better though, Im adding ti to my lexicon.

I used it in the kitchen to describe the detritus that was left over from peeling and chopping carrots yesterday, the wife didn't even flinch. I guess she is used to hearing bizarre words coming from me, so it no longer fazes her.

"Will work for (the memory of) salami"

 

[telecomguy]

Hijacked thread: I too am adding swarf to my vocabulary.

Regarding the OP, I typically have a plan for how/where cables will enter and route inside an enclosure so I prefer to provide a gland plate or other cable entry provisions to ensure the equipment is installed as intended. Otherwise, I have no idea where an installer might start punching holes.

http://xternal.me

 

[SceneryDriver]

I almost always use a gland plate of sorts on the cabinets I build. Many of them have XLR and other multi-pin connectors that need to be brought out to the outside world; I have 14ga steel laser cut with all the holes in the right places. All I have to do is to cut a big, easy-to-cut rectangle in the side of the cabinet to mount the plate. It's MUCH easier that way, and it looks much better too.

SceneryDriver

 

[HTNeighbors]

A lot would depend on the final location of the panel, area classification and wiring methods to be used.