Edge Server Enclosure with EMI Shielding
Project ID: PRJ-2024-EE7
Industry: Electronics / Edge Computing
Region: Europe
Volume: 1,200 units/year on 3-year contract
Customer Background
European edge computing OEM building rugged outdoor enclosures for 5G base stations and industrial IoT gateways. Needed EMI shielding plus IP54-equivalent housing geometry.
Part Specifications
- Dimensions: Two-part enclosure, 480 × 380 × 220mm
- Material: EMI-shielded ABS substrate (built into the sheet)
- Critical features: EMI shielding effectiveness ≥40dB across 1-6 GHz, sealed cable entries, integrated heat-sink mounting bosses
- Surface finish: Textured matte black exterior, conductive interior
Engineering Approach
EMI shielding on thermoformed parts has 3 paths. We chose the EMI-shielded substrate because:
- vs. conductive paint: better shielding effectiveness, no chipping risk
- vs. discrete EMI gasketing: eliminates assembly labor, no gasket failures over time
- Verified 42dB attenuation at 2.4 GHz and 38dB at 6 GHz on independent lab test
Production Outcomes
- First-article cycle: 5 weeks
- Production yield: 98.2% first-pass
- Tooling cost: $9,200 (block aluminum, both halves)
- Per-piece price: €31 at 1,200/year
- Compliance documentation: RoHS, REACH, CE EMC test reports passed through
Why This Project Worked
Customer’s electronics design team and our engineering team joint-DFM’d the heat-sink mounting and the cable entry geometry. Saved one full tooling iteration. NDA in place from day 1, drawings handled in our isolated ERP.
Capabilities Demonstrated
- EMI-shielded substrate forming (specialty material)
- IP54-grade housing geometry
- RoHS/REACH/CE compliance documentation pass-through
- Joint DFM with customer electronics team
- EMI shielding effectiveness ≥40dB verified