Industrial Control Cabinets for Automation – TPS 19 Inch Rack Platform (15U / 24U / 42U)
When you plan a new automation cell or test equipment rack system, you quickly face the same question: which 19 inch industrial cabinet should we build on? Do you need a compact 15U rack, a mid-size 24U rack cabinet or a full-height 42U rack for complete control cabinets? How much space should you reserve for PLCs, DIN rail devices, copper busbars, UPS units and cabling?
This page introduces the TPS 19 inch rack cabinet platform used in our integration solutions. These free-standing, sheet-steel industrial cabinets form the mechanical backbone for industrial control cabinets, PLC control cabinets and test equipment rack systems in factories and labs. You will see how 15U, 24U and 42U variants map to typical applications, what makes an industrial cabinet different from a generic server rack, and when it makes sense to let TPS deliver a fully wired control cabinet instead of starting from an empty enclosure.
TPS builds industrial cabinets with this 19 inch platform for automation OEMs, test labs and equipment makers. The same mechanical design supports PLC control cabinets, DIN rail cabinets and mixed installations that combine rack-mount instruments with DIN-mount power supplies. Our own factories manufacture the sheet-steel frame, doors and mounting plates, then our integration team configures each cabinet with power, terminals, copper busbars and E-stop options to fit the project.
1. Why start from a 19 inch industrial rack instead of a generic server rack?
At first glance, a 19 inch rack might sound like an IT server rack. In practice, an industrial control cabinet needs very different features from a generic network server rack. Server cabinets focus on high airflow for IT equipment in clean rooms. Industrial cabinets must survive vibration, dust, metal chips, production fluids and sometimes outdoor conditions. They also need more flexibility around mounting DIN rails, copper busbars and automation enclosures for I/O, PLCs and safety relays.
A typical TPS industrial cabinet is a free-standing, modular 19 inch rack with single front and rear doors, fixed side panels and removable top and bottom panels. Heights follow common standards like 15U rack, 24U rack and 42U rack, so you have enough panel space for equipment today and expansion tomorrow. In contrast to many server racks, these industrial cabinets are built from heavy sheet steel, with reinforcing frames, cable entry plates and prepared mounting points for E-stop switches, cable ducts and control cabinet wiring accessories.
2. TPS 15U / 24U / 42U industrial cabinet lineup
TPS offers 19 inch industrial cabinets based on three standard heights that you will also find on our European e-commerce site: 15U, 24U and 42U. Each free-standing rack cabinet is engineered as a floor-standing industrial enclosure, not a lightweight office rack. The mechanical design is suitable as an industrial data cabinet, an OEM PLC control cabinet or a combined test equipment rack system for power supplies and measurement devices.
| Cabinet type | Typical use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15U 19 inch industrial cabinet | Compact test equipment rack, small automation cell, R&D setup | Lower profile for lab benches or under-line mounting; optional casters for mobility. |
| 24U 19 inch rack cabinet | PLC control cabinet with drives, power supplies and I/O; pilot lines | Good compromise between footprint and internal volume for medium-size systems. |
| 42U industrial electrical cabinet | Full automation line, multi-bay test equipment rack system, power racks | Maximum vertical space for rack-mount equipment, DIN rail sections and cable management. |
All three sizes share the same basic construction: a frame-mounted 19 inch rack made from powder-coated sheet steel, with front 19 inch rails and provisions for rear rails and mounting plates. Optional castors and leveling feet simplify installation and relocation. When combined with rack-mount DIN rail panels or a separate DIN rail cabinet section, these racks become a flexible platform for both control cabinets and measurement systems.
3. Industrial control cabinets vs. PLC control cabinets vs. test racks
Many engineers use “control cabinet”, “PLC cabinet” and “test rack” almost interchangeably, but they describe slightly different roles. A PLC control cabinet focuses on automation control: PLC, I/O modules, safety relays and communication hardware. Guides such as E-abel’s PLC cabinet design articles highlight cooling, wiring and protection standards as key selection criteria. A test equipment rack system, in contrast, dedicates most of its 19 inch space to programmable power supplies, loads and measurement devices.
TPS industrial cabinets are designed to cover both worlds. You can use a 24U rack cabinet as a PLC control cabinet with DIN rail, copper busbars and a small UPS 19 inch rack shelf, or you can pack a 42U rack with rack-mount power systems for an EA power rack configuration while reserving a DIN rail section for auxiliary controls. The mechanical platform is the same; the difference lies in how we configure mounting plates, DIN rails, busbars and wiring.
4. Mechanical design details that matter in automation
For automation enclosures, mechanical construction directly impacts reliability and ease of integration. TPS industrial metal cabinets use robust sheet steel frames, with doors and side panels that can be removed for integration and maintenance. The 19 inch rack dimensions adhere to standard EIA rules, but the depth and width are tuned for industrial equipment, cable radii and copper busbars rather than just IT gear. Features such as perforated doors, cable entry plates and optional air-conditioning cutouts support industrial electrical cabinets that need higher ingress protection.
For projects that require safety functions, we provide prepared mounting positions for emergency stop buttons, E-stop switches and safety relays on the door or frame. The cabinet design also anticipates earthing: a grounded copper plate and vertical copper busbars make it easy to bond DIN rail sections, door earth braids and PE conductors. This reduces noise and improves EMC behavior when your cabinet later goes to pre-compliance testing at a lab such as TPS Lab’s industrial automation EMC test service.
5. From empty cabinet to fully wired industrial control cabinet
Some customers only need the mechanical platform and prefer to handle control cabinet wiring themselves. Others want TPS to deliver a fully wired cabinet with power distribution, terminals, labeling and documentation ready for inspection. Our integration team uses the same 19 inch industrial cabinets shown here to build complete automation enclosures, often coupled with EMC pre-compliance work for industrial PSUs and DIN-rail systems.
A typical configured cabinet might include:
- Rack-mount AC input distribution and main disconnect.
- DIN rail power supplies and DC distribution for PLCs, sensors and drives.
- UPS 19 inch rack modules for ride-through on sensitive loads.
- Copper busbars for PE and DC distribution, with short wiring paths.
- Door-mounted emergency stop button and key switch plus safety relay wiring.
- Documentation: wiring diagrams, terminal lists, cable labels and device layout drawings.
This page is best classified as Product Introduction → Industrial Control Cabinets. It complements your design-oriented power architecture guide by focusing on the mechanical cabinet platform and TPS’s ability to deliver ready-to-wire or fully wired industrial cabinets.
FAQ – TPS Industrial Control Cabinets
1. What is an industrial control cabinet based on a 19 inch rack?
An industrial control cabinet based on a 19 inch rack is a floor-standing sheet-steel enclosure that follows 19 inch rack dimensions but is engineered for factory environments. It can house PLCs, DIN rail devices, power supplies, drives and test equipment while providing proper earthing, cable routing and support for safety devices such as E-stop buttons. Compared with a generic server rack, it offers heavier construction and better options for DIN rail, busbars and industrial wiring accessories.
2. How do I choose between a 15U, 24U and 42U rack cabinet?
Choose a 15U rack cabinet when you need a compact enclosure for a single machine, lab bench or small test equipment rack. A 24U rack provides more vertical space for PLCs, drives and auxiliary equipment while staying manageable in height. A 42U rack is best when you need to integrate many 19 inch units or create a full automation or test system rack with room for future expansion. If you are unsure, many customers start with 24U and move to 42U once they standardize on a platform.
3. What can TPS pre-install inside an industrial cabinet?
TPS can deliver an empty cabinet with only 19 inch rails, or a configured cabinet that includes mounting plates, DIN rail sections, copper busbars, main disconnect, terminal strips, UPS 19 inch rack units, cable ducts and door hardware. For integration projects, we also add wiring, labels and documentation so your team can focus on connecting field wiring and commissioning the system.
4. How does this relate to UL/CE and EMC testing?
The industrial cabinet itself is one element of a complete control panel or test system. When TPS integrates power supplies, wiring and protection devices inside the cabinet, we design with UL/CE and EMC requirements in mind and often combine the integration work with EMC pre-compliance testing for the overall system. Final certification still depends on the complete machine or installation and is usually performed at an accredited lab or panel shop.
5. Can these cabinets be used only for automation, or also for test equipment?
The same 19 inch industrial cabinet platform works for both automation and test. Many customers use 24U and 42U cabinets as test equipment rack systems that combine programmable power supplies, loads and measurement devices with a small PLC or industrial PC for control. Others use smaller 15U racks as OEM cabinets for individual machines that are shipped worldwide.
