The enclosure is the home for your automation solution, and provides protection and saftey for your automation components.

Enclosures are rated by the type of environmental protection they provide. These ratings are standadized across the industry. The type of enclosure required depends on the environment that the enclosure is being installed into. Type 1 Enclosures offer little ptotection and should rarely be used in automation. NEMA 6P enclosures are waterproof and washdown safe.

Most automation projects require a NEMA 12 enclosure, which is dust-proof. Enclosures that will be used in a wash-down environment should be a minimum NEMA 4X.