Electronic enclosures collage Products & Services

Protocase manufactures fully finished custom electronic enclosures and associated parts from a wide variety of materials and components, in 2-3 days with no minimum order. Protocase also provides expert and affordable enclosure design services.

Please note: We are currently out of stock of 1U and 2U Aluminum 6063 Extrusion. We apologize, and will update this message when 1U and 2U Aluminum 6063 Extrusions are back in stock.

Electronic Enclosures

Extruded Aluminum Enclosures

Fully Finished
Built in 2-3 Days
No minimum order

Protocase Tech Tip Video
Extruded aluminum enclosures are made of two aluminum extrusions (or side rails, as they're also known), along with a front, rear, top and bottom panels.

Protocase currently offers two stocked 6063 aluminum extrusions:

  • 1U Height: 1.72" | 43.688 mm
  • 2U Height: 3.47" | 88.138 mm

Extruded aluminum enclosures are extremely useful for creating PCB enclosures, as the extrusion's slots allow for easy mounting of printed circuit boards.

Protocase can build your completely customized extruded aluminum enclosures in 2-3 days, in the quantity you require (there is no minimum order - ever!). We offer a wide variety of custom finishes in order to achieve a professional, high-quality look, as well as custom cutouts, fasteners and other hardware.

For an even more durable and sophisticated option, check out our Hybrid Enclosures.

1U Examples

2U Examples

Materials:

Our stocked extrusions are 6063 Aluminum. Top and bottom panels specifically must be 0.064" (mm) 5052 aluminum in order to fit the aluminum extrusion's slots. The front and rear panels in an extruded aluminum enclosure are also typically 5052 aluminum, though any of our stocked sheet metal may be used instead.

Front & Rear Panel Options:

Choose from one of our six standard faceplate styles - or design your own:

1U Profiles:

2U Profiles:

You can mix the panel types to have different combinations, as well as make other customizations to the panels. For instance, you can extend the sides of the front panel in order to mount the enclosure in a rack, or you can bend out the bottom flanges to use as mounting flanges for securing the enclosure in position.

Fasteners:

We use #6 thread-forming screws for attaching the front and rear panels.

Self-clinching fasteners cannot be inserted into an aluminum extrusion unless a particular area on the extrusion is CNC machined first in order to insert the fasteners.

Fasteners can be installed in any of the enclosure's panels, as long as the fastener doesn't interfere with the extrusion once the enclosure is assembled.

Finishes:

The aluminum extrusions (side rails) come in a bare aluminum mill finish. Powdercoat and/or chem filmed can be applied to the extrusion as a secondary finish. We do not recommend applying anodizing to aluminum extrusions.

The panels in an extruded aluminum enclosure can have many of our finishes applied (either for all four panels, or part-by-part):

*Anodizing is completed off-site via a third party supplier. This means there is additional lead time and a minimum lot charge for this service.

Graphics & Permanent Marking:

The panels in an extruded aluminum enclosure can have graphics and other marking applied:

Key Dimensions:

Key Dimensions 1U Extruded Enclosure 2U Extruded Enclosure
External Height 1.72" | 43.688 mm 3.47" | 88.138 mm
Internal Height 1.443" | 36.6mm 3.194" | 81.1mm
Maximum Length 35.0" | 889.0mm 35.0" | 889.0mm
Maximum Width 23.0" | 584.2mm 23.0" | 584.2mm
Minimum Length 2.0" | 50.8mm 2.0" | 50.8mm
Minimum Width 1.625" | 41.275mm 1.625" | 41.275mm

We are happy to provide custom or non-stock extrusion profiles for additional charges and an extended lead time.

Downloads:

Key Resources 1U Extruded Enclosure 2U Extruded Enclosure
Extrusion Dimensions Download (.pdf) Download (pdf)
Side Extrusion Download (.zip) Download (.zip)
Extrusion Case Guide Download (.pdf) Download (.pdf)
Extrusion Case Download (.zip) Download (.zip)

Additional Information:

Get started by choosing one of the following easy design options