Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-10-08 Origin: Site
An EV charging enclosure used outdoors has to do more than provide a metal cover for charging equipment.
The enclosure becomes part of the product's environmental protection, structural support, cable-management, thermal-management, and installation system.
This becomes even more important when the equipment is intended for outdoor locations exposed to rain, dust, temperature changes, and coastal conditions.
A recent project for a US EV charging equipment manufacturer involved the development and production of a custom metal enclosure for commercial EV charging equipment.
The customer's requirements included:
Outdoor installation
IP65 protection
Protection for internal components
Controlled cable entry
Heat dissipation
Outdoor surface protection
Repeatable sheet-metal production
Fast production for the initial batch
The first production batch consisted of 100 units and was completed within 40 days.
The project demonstrates how the enclosure manufacturing process needs to be coordinated around the requirements of the customer's complete charging equipment.
The customer was an EV charging equipment manufacturer supplying commercial charging applications.
The enclosure was intended for outdoor installation, including locations where environmental exposure was an important consideration.
For this type of product, the metal housing needs to support several requirements simultaneously.
It needs to provide sufficient structural strength while maintaining the interfaces required for the customer's charging equipment.
It also needs to manage environmental protection without preventing necessary airflow and heat dissipation.
The customer therefore needed more than a standard electrical cabinet.
They required a custom enclosure built around the dimensions, interfaces, and operating requirements of their charging equipment.
One of the key challenges in this project was balancing environmental protection with heat dissipation.
An outdoor enclosure needs to limit the entry of water and dust.
At the same time, charging equipment can generate heat during operation, making thermal management an important part of the enclosure structure.
Simply closing every opening is therefore not necessarily the right solution.
The enclosure needs controlled openings and interfaces that support the equipment's operating requirements while maintaining the specified protection level.
For this project, the enclosure was developed around an IP65 requirement while incorporating the ventilation and cable-entry features required by the customer's equipment.
The enclosure was manufactured from galvanized sheet.
Galvanized steel provided the sheet-metal base for the outdoor enclosure while supporting the required fabrication processes.
The manufacturing process included:
Laser cutting
CNC bending
Welding
Grinding
Powder coating
Assembly
The sheet-metal structure was fabricated according to the customer's enclosure requirements rather than using a standard catalog cabinet.
This allowed the enclosure geometry to accommodate the specific interfaces and installation requirements of the charging equipment.
Cable entry is one of the areas where an outdoor enclosure can become vulnerable to environmental exposure.
The customer's charging equipment required cable access through the enclosure while maintaining the required environmental protection.
The enclosure therefore incorporated sealed cable-entry points as part of the overall structure.
Rather than treating cable entry as a modification after fabrication, the relevant openings and interfaces were incorporated into the enclosure manufacturing process.
This helped maintain a controlled interface between the internal equipment and the outdoor environment.
The customer specified IP65 protection for the enclosure.
For this project, environmental protection was considered together with:
Door and panel interfaces
Cable entries
Ventilation openings
Welded joints
Surface treatment
Assembly
This is important because enclosure protection is not determined by a single component.
A cabinet can have a robust main panel but still have vulnerable interfaces at doors, cable entries, or other openings.
For an equipment manufacturer, the enclosure therefore needs to be manufactured as an integrated structure.
Outdoor EV charging equipment can generate significant heat during operation.
The enclosure therefore needed to accommodate the customer's thermal-management requirements.
Ventilation openings were incorporated into the sheet-metal structure while maintaining the overall enclosure requirements.
The objective was not simply to maximize the number of openings.
The openings needed to be positioned as part of the equipment enclosure so that airflow could be accommodated without unnecessarily compromising environmental protection.
This is one reason why custom enclosure manufacturing needs to be considered together with the customer's equipment layout.
The enclosure used welded sheet-metal construction where required by the product structure.
Welding provided the structural connection between the relevant enclosure components and helped create the required cabinet geometry.
After welding, the relevant surfaces were processed before finishing.
Grinding was used where required to achieve the specified surface condition before powder coating.
For an outdoor commercial product, the appearance and surface condition of the enclosure can be important alongside its structural function.
After fabrication, the enclosure received an outdoor-suitable powder-coated finish.
The coating formed part of the overall surface-treatment system for the outdoor cabinet.
For EV charging equipment installed in exposed locations, the surface finish needs to be considered together with the base sheet material and the intended operating environment.
In this project, the enclosure was manufactured, finished, and assembled before shipment.
The project was not limited to producing a prototype.
After sample verification, the customer proceeded with an initial production batch of 100 units.
The first batch was completed within 40 days.
This required the enclosure structure and manufacturing process to be sufficiently repeatable for production rather than being treated as a one-off fabrication project.
For an EV charging equipment manufacturer, this transition is important.
A prototype can demonstrate that a cabinet can be made.
Production demonstrates that the same cabinet can be manufactured repeatedly according to the customer's requirements.
This project highlights several considerations for equipment manufacturers developing outdoor charging products.
Doors, panels, cable entries, and ventilation openings can all affect enclosure protection.
These interfaces need to be considered together rather than independently.
A sealed outdoor cabinet may need controlled ventilation or other thermal-management provisions.
The enclosure needs to accommodate the customer's equipment requirements.
Cable openings should be incorporated into the enclosure structure and sealing strategy from the beginning.
The sheet material and surface finish should be selected around the intended environment and customer requirements.
For equipment manufacturers, the enclosure needs to remain consistent as production quantities increase.
The goal is not simply to manufacture one successful cabinet.
It is to establish a repeatable manufacturing process for the product.
Standard electrical cabinets may not match the mechanical requirements of a specific EV charging product.
A custom enclosure can be built around the customer's:
Equipment dimensions
Mounting points
Cable routing
Ventilation requirements
Door configuration
Installation method
Environmental requirements
Surface finish
This becomes particularly useful when the charging equipment has its own industrial design or mechanical architecture.
Instead of adapting the equipment to a standard cabinet, the enclosure can be manufactured around the product.
Our scope is the custom metal enclosure and structural sheet-metal components.
We do not manufacture the complete EV charging system.
For charging equipment manufacturers, our role is to manufacture the enclosure around their product requirements.
Depending on the project, this can include:
Custom EV charger enclosures
Outdoor equipment cabinets
Sheet-metal housings
Mounting panels
Structural brackets
Doors and removable panels
Internal sheet-metal structures
The customer remains responsible for the charging equipment and internal electrical components.
Our focus is the metal enclosure and its manufacturing.
This project followed a practical development path:
Outdoor EV charging equipment requirements
↓
Custom enclosure structure
↓
IP65 and cable-entry requirements
↓
Ventilation and heat-dissipation considerations
↓
Sheet-metal fabrication
↓
Surface finishing
↓
Assembly and verification
↓
100-unit production batch
The result was a repeatable enclosure manufactured for the customer's commercial EV charging equipment.
This type of project illustrates why enclosure manufacturing should be considered part of equipment product development rather than simply a downstream fabrication operation.
For EV charging equipment manufacturers developing a new outdoor product, the enclosure often needs to be developed around the actual equipment rather than selected from a standard catalog.
We manufacture custom metal enclosures for equipment manufacturers and can work from:
3D CAD files
2D drawings
Product dimensions
Existing samples
Initial enclosure concepts
Manufacturing requirements
Our manufacturing capabilities include laser cutting, CNC bending, welding, grinding, powder coating, and assembly.
The focus is on producing the metal enclosure and structural components required for the customer's equipment.
If you are developing an EV charging product and need a custom metal enclosure for outdoor use, send us your CAD drawing, product dimensions, existing sample, or initial enclosure requirements.
We can review the enclosure structure and manufacturing requirements for your project.
Request an EV Charging Enclosure Quote →
The enclosure was manufactured from galvanized sheet.
Yes. The customer required the enclosure for outdoor commercial EV charging applications, including coastal environments.
The specified enclosure protection was IP65.
Yes. Sealed cable-entry points were incorporated into the enclosure.
The enclosure incorporated ventilation openings to accommodate the customer's heat-dissipation requirements while maintaining the overall enclosure protection requirements.
The first production batch consisted of 100 units.
The first batch was completed within 40 days.
No. Our scope is the custom metal enclosure and structural components for the customer's EV charging equipment.
Send us your 2D drawing, 3D CAD file, product dimensions, or enclosure requirements.
Our team can review the metal enclosure structure and manufacturing requirements for your EV charging equipment.
Start Your Custom Enclosure Project →
