Industry
Network equipment ends up on poles, walls, rooftops, and in underground vaults, and it is expected to stay there for a long time. The molded parts around it face sun, water, and cold, and some of them have to let radio signals straight through.
Where it is mounted
The same board can end up in very different housings.
| Location | What the plastic faces | Common choices |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor, in a cabinet or rack | Heat from electronics, flame requirements, handling | Flame rated PC/ABS or polycarbonate |
| On a wall or pole outdoors | Sun, rain driven sideways, freezing, and impact | UV stable polycarbonate or ASA, with a molded or overmolded seal |
| Rooftop near antennas | Strong UV, wind, and radio signals that must pass through covers | Radio transparent resins with no metallic or carbon fillers over the antenna |
| Underground vault or pedestal | Standing water, soil chemicals, and heavy lids | Glass filled grades and sealed closures |
Radio covers
A radome looks like a plain plastic lid. To the antenna it is part of the circuit.
Sealing
It is rarely through the wall of the enclosure.
Outdoor enclosures leak at the lid seal, at cable entries, and around fasteners, in roughly that order. A gasket seat that is flat and continuous around the lid does more for sealing than any resin upgrade. Overmolding the seal onto the lid removes the step of fitting a loose gasket, and the gasket can no longer be lost or twisted during installation.
Cable entries are the other weak point. Molded glands and grommets need to grip a range of cable sizes, and the enclosure boss or thread they sit in has to stay round so the seal compresses evenly.
FAQ
ASA holds its color and surface in sun very well and is easy to mold. Polycarbonate is far tougher against impact and cold. Many outdoor housings use UV stabilized polycarbonate for the body and ASA for exposed trim.
Yes. A TPE seal overmolded onto the lid is common. It saves an assembly step and keeps the seal in exactly the right place.
The rating belongs to the finished product and its testing. Molding makes the seal seat, flatness, and fastener bosses repeatable, which is what makes the product pass consistently.
Yes. Color is set at the press. Utilities and carriers often want a specific gray or green, which is matched and held across orders.
Keep reading
Outdoor resins, sealing parts, and the indoor side of the network.
Color that survives the sun.
ASALids, seals, and mounting.
EnclosuresMolded seals for lids and doors.
GasketsClips and guides for cable runs.
Cable managementSeals molded onto the lid.
OvermoldingRack parts on the indoor side.
Data centersEvery sector page in one index.
Industries hubNext step
Upload CAD with the mounting location, sun exposure, and whether any cover sits over an antenna. DFM checks the seal seat and cable entries first. NetProto manufacturing is ISO 9001 certified.
