Thinking About a Custom Rack Design? Here's What to Consider

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Racks help organize IT equipment into more collective assemblies that free up space and make efficient use of resources. A rack typically consists of two or four vertical rails for mounting, along with a supporting framework that secures the rails. Both the framework and rails tend to feature aluminum or steel construction, which makes them capable of supporting up to thousands of pounds of IT equipment. The rails also include round or square holes that make it easy to use screws for mounting rack equipment.

If standard rack designs don't work for your application, you may benefit from a custom server rack. When creating your custom rack design, there are many key factors to consider to ensure the best possible rack for your needs.

Things to Consider with Custom Racks & Enclosures

When in the market for a custom electronic rack, there are certain items to consider to inform your design.

Size
One element that will go into a custom rack design is the desired size. Obviously all of your electronic components need to fit comfortably inside, but you also need to consider the space between them to avoid interference. Your rack or enclosure should also accommodate the necessary space needed for maintenance and device assembly or installation.

Regarding external size dimensions, the primary limitation is that the bend radius must not be less than the enclosure material's thickness. Through CNC machining, we can manufacture enclosures as small as 11.75' x 16.5' x 9.5'. We encourage you to contact us about your design to discuss it further with our design engineering team.

Environment
Depending on the application, you'll need to account for any industry standards or ratings that enclosures must meet to protect equipment from dust or water. For instance, equipment may need to meet NEMA and military standards or have an IP rating.

Accessories
Consider the different accessories available to you, which could include:

• Cooling ' Blowers, fans, and fan trays
• Power Management ' Cable support, distribution, and power strips
• Internal Slide Hardware ' Slide brackets and mounting brackets
• External Panels & Hardware ' Blank panels, nuts, screws, and washers
• Shelves & Drawers ' Sliding and fixed shelves and sliding drawers
• Shock, Vibration, and Seismic Resistance ' Open-frame racks and enclosure racks
• Secure Racks ' Blanking panels

Standard Options vs. Custom Design

Oftentimes, you may not need a custom rack cabinet if you can benefit from using standard equipment, which is why this is one of the first determinations to make. Customers may also be able to fit a stock enclosure with various custom features instead of designing an entire custom rack, saving more time and resources.

A&J's racks are modular, which makes them easy to adapt to various hardware and technology.

Other factors to consider include:

• Expandability. At A&J, our kits allow us to gang cabinets together to form a 'suite,' which helps increase stability and enables easier management of interconnecting cables.
• Accessibility. Our cabinets' bolted-together design makes it easy to remove side panels from the exterior, allowing easy access to interior cabling and components.
• Cable Management. Most equipment on a rack requires cabling for operational or network connectivity purposes. Our cable management accessories offer a key solution in these situations.

Benefits of Custom Enclosures from A&J

A&J's custom enclosures offer the following advantages:

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Custom Rack Enclosure. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Lower Upfront Costs
Although you can create custom enclosures in-house, it can be very costly to invest in the required equipment, manufacturing tools, and materials. This equipment can take up a lot of space in your facility and may require lots of trial and error to produce an effective enclosure. Our expertise at A&J can help you avoid these challenges, saving you time and money.

Greater Process Knowledge
Our engineers possess the necessary techniques and expertise to drill into aluminum rack materials without causing any damage.

Lower Labor Costs
When creating custom racks in-house, your staff may have less time to focus on primary goals. It will also make employees work beyond their expertise, leading to reduced productivity. A&J will help reduce labor costs by enabling your staff to spend more time on the tasks they can effectively handle.

Customizing Your Enclosure with A&J

At A&J, we offer custom CNC machining to manufacture custom electronic racks. This allows for precise cuts, reduced scrap, and advanced capabilities. In addition, you'll benefit from engineering support as well as a wide selection of standard rack sizes and models with accessories that we can easily modify to suit different applications.

To order a custom or standard rack, you can take the following steps:

1. Browse our selection of standard rack enclosures and accessories to locate the ideal choice
2. Submit a quote with basic specifications
3. Upload a drawing, ideally a CAD drawing, for our engineering team to review, or we can draft an initial design with the help of our design engineering services
4. Place your order, and we'll ship your rack to the designated final destination

Get in Touch with A&J Today

Want to get started on selecting or designing an electronic rack for your application? Request a quote or talk to an engineer today.

The Pros and Cons of 2-Post Racks and 4-Post Racks

Data center technology is changing all the time, and people must stay on top of new technology as it comes out. For instance, a wide variety of racks are available for your servers and networking gear. Two of these options are 2-post and 4-post racks. You must learn their differences when trying to get the right rack for your data center. Check out our list of the pros and cons of 2-post racks and 4-post racks.

2-Post Racks

The 2-post rack also goes by the name relay rack since it has two vertical upright support beams. Most people use them for light IT equipment, including things like switches and patch panels. However, it's not ideal for heavier equipment, like full servers. You need to bolt your 2-post rack in place for stability purposes.

Since 2-post racks aren't enclosed, your equipment gets a ton of airflow. That means that fans in the equipment can circulate heat out into the open air. They also take up very little space, which is important when there isn't much floor space available. Finally, you can easily access all the equipment you've mounted in the rack. Unfortunately, they don't have as much protection as 4-post racks, so if someone bumps into it, they could do some damage.

4-Post Racks

4-post custom network racks are far more stable since they have four posts. Most have perforated doors in the front and back for better ventilation and access. Since they're usually more rigid, they can hold much more weight than their 2-post counterparts. Given that an enclosed rack surrounds your equipment, it doesn't face damage as easily, and it's less likely that a cord will be disconnected or a component inside of the rack will be damaged. However, it can take up more space than a 2-post rack.

Which Is Best?

When weighing the pros and cons of 2-post racks and 4-post racks, know that neither is better than the other. They can each help you depending on what you're looking for in the layout of your data center. If you don't have a lot of space, you might want to consider 2-post racks. If you have more space in your data center, use the 4-post version. Of course, most data centers incorporate both, which is also a solid strategy.

If you're interested in stocking up on data racks and cabinets, check out AMCO Enclosures! We'll help you find the right data center cabinets and racks for your needs.

Want more information on Custom Enclosure Solutions? Feel free to contact us.