Panel Fabrication
Machining, wire prep and engraving in the panel shop
WESA machines control enclosures on a CNC machining center, cuts and strips panel wire on an automated system and engraves legend plates and device tags. All of it happens in our Elgin shop.
The machines we run
Enclosure work runs on a Steinhauer ModCenter, a CNC machining center built for control-cabinet parts. It drills, taps, mills and cuts device openings in flat mounting plates and in fully assembled enclosures, working any side of the box. Steel, stainless, aluminum, copper and machinable plastics all run on the same machine, and an automatic tool changer covers the operations in one setup.
The machining program is built from DXF or DWG geometry, which standard electrical CAD produces and which our own panel layouts already carry. Send the file and the openings land where the drawing puts them.
Milled openings come off the machine with clean edges, ready for devices without much bench work. A layout error shows up at the machine, before components go in.
Panel wire is cut and stripped on an automated wire stripper and cutter system. Conductors come off it cut to length with the ends stripped.
What the shop handles
What we cut, drill, tap and strip before a panel is wired.
- Device cutouts
- Openings for disconnects, HMIs, pilot devices and displays, milled in doors, back panels and mounting plates.
- Drilling and tapping
- Mounting holes and tapped threads are cut in the same setup, so hardware goes in without a second operation.
- CNC machining center
- A Steinhauer ModCenter works flat plates and fully assembled enclosures on any side, in steel, stainless, aluminum, copper and machinable plastics.
- Cut from your layout
- The program comes from your DXF or DWG panel layout. The machine cuts what the drawing shows.
- Clean machined edges
- Milled edges need less hand deburring than hole-saw and nibbler work before devices go in.
- Automated wire cutting and stripping
- An automated wire stripper and cutter system cuts panel wire to length and strips the ends.
Legend plate and tag engraving
Plates and tags are engraved on a rotary engraver and two laser engravers, one of them a fiber laser.
- Legend plates and push button tags
- Tags for 30mm and 22mm push buttons, including E-stops, plus standard legend plates.
- Full-size fascia panels
- Fascia panels are engraved full size, up to 24 by 40 inches.
- Device, asset and safety tags
- Device tags inside the panel, asset tags out in the plant and safety signage including lockout/tagout labels.
- Plate and tag materials
- Two-ply and three-ply plastic, traditional or reverse, plus aluminum, stainless steel and brass. Tags come with adhesive backing.
Need machining or engraving quoted?
Send the enclosure and the panel layout, or just the devices you need to mount, and we will quote the machining. For engraving, send the text and the material, including legends for equipment already in service that we did not build.