After mining, copper ore is processed and purified. Control systems and equipment used during processing is likley to be exposed to a dirty, dusty and potentially corrosive environment. To avoid shortening the lifetime of sensitive electronics, enhanced environmental protection measures are required.
The customer's application was located in an area with high levels of metallic dust (Copper) and corrosive gases (SO2), and they wanted to prevent premature failures of critical electronics. At roughly 3m³, the controls enclosure was very large and, even with extra efforts to eliminate leakage points, the customer was still concerned that dust and gases would enter via door seals, hinges, windows, and multiple cable entries.
This OEM already worked with Expo on hazardous area systems, so had confidence that we could come up with a solution.