As control panels become more complex, space is increasingly valuable. The PanelMax line of products from Panduit Corp. enables control panel engineers to save space, improve performance, increase safety, and facilitate assembly and troubleshooting. The PanelMax line includes includes the DIN Rail Wiring Duct, the Corner Wiring Duct, Shielded Duct and Hinged Cover Duct.

The PanelMax DIN Rail Wiring Duct optimizes the use of enclosure space. This product reduces enclosure size in new projects or can gain space in retrofit applications. The product is compatible with a user’s DIN rail and DIN mount components. By raising components up off the panel, technicians have better access to components and wire ID labels, easing wire installation and troubleshooting.

A typical control panel layout features alternating rows of DIN rail and wiring duct. This is done to allow wiring from the DIN rail-mounted components to be fed and routed on both sides. In contrast, the PanelMax DIN Rail Wiring Duct has two channels, and the DIN Rail is mounted on top of the wiring duct. This allows wiring from the DIN rail-mounted components to feed down into the channels on both sides, which saves space. Compared with conventional products, the PanelMax DIN Rail Wiring Duct can save up to 30 percent in panel space, cut material costs by up to 25 percent, and decrease installation time by up to 50 percent.

In addition, the PanelMax DIN Rail Duct is stronger than traditional wiring duct and easily supports the weight of DIN rail-mounted components.

Another space-saving product is the PanelMax Corner Wiring Duct.

Traditionally, corners in a control panel require two duct channels, which are used to run wires vertically to connect the various horizontal wiring duct runs. These vertical duct channels must be moved out from the corner to allow access to remove the duct covers. Normally, this causes the corner to become unusable “dead” space. But, the PanelMax Corner Wiring Duct can fit tight into the corner of the enclosure, replacing the two vertical channels to save space in existing enclosures on both the side and back panel. This enables engineers to reclaim up to 20 percent more panel space.

Besides saving space, this improves access to components and provides a clean transition of wiring from the back panel to the side panels.

Aside from space, noise mitigation is also an issue with control panel design. Noise causes problems within controls and communications, but these problems can be reduced with a three-step approach:

• Good grounding and bonding to reduce noise sources.
• Segregating and separating signal wires from known noise sources.
• Applying shielding and filtering to control the noise that does get coupled into the circuits.

The PanelMax Shielded Wiring Duct is compatible with the PanelMax Noise Shield to provide versatile protection against noise. The continuous foil shield and the metal noise barrier reduces electromagnetic and radio frequency noise between sensitive and noisy wiring by up to 20 dB or 90 percent NVR (equivalent to 6 inches of air spacing).