New SLIM-CASE Handheld Enclosures For OEM Mobile Electronics

SLIM-CASE is our next generation of handheld enclosures

With 18 models in our handheld enclosures range, you’d think we’d covered every base. Almost, but not quite. Something was missing…

Think about the enclosure you hold most every day, the one you’re virtually addicted to: your mobile phone. If you were designing a new phone (or a data transfer device you wanted to look and feel like a mobile), which OKW plastic enclosure would you specify? Our range is huge.

DATEC-POCKET-BOX is the right shape but at 120 mm x 46 mm, would it be large enough for hands now accustomed to bigger mobiles? And would its top recess be large enough? DATEC-COMPACT is slightly bigger (136 x 74 mm) and has a more generous recess. Or there’s SOFT-CASE for wide-format/landscape viewing applications. But you need something different…

So we created our 19th handheld enclosure, SLIM-CASE – a brand new range of sleek, sophisticated and robust housings designed specifically for mobile electronics. Applications include measuring and control, wireless communications, IoT/IIoT, healthcare, laboratories, offices, safety engineering and environmental technology.

SLIM-CASE range (below)

Going Big: High Performance, Low Profile

It’s important to go big with a launch so SLIM-CASE is available in six versions from day one. These allow the designer to choose the right model, depending on the type of user interfaces being employed (such as push-buttons or touchscreens). Choose from:

• Version I – with a smooth top for your operating and display elements
• Version II – with a 1 mm recess for a product label
• Version III – with a 1.6 mm recess for a touchscreen display or membrane keypad
• Version IV – with smooth top and a soft-touch TPE intermediate ring for added comfort and protection
• Version V – with 1 mm recess and TPE intermediate ring
• Version VI – with 1.6 mm recess and TPE intermediate ring.

SLIM-CASE in six versions (above)

There is one plan size: M (148 x 74 mm) and two heights (19 mm without TPE ring, 22 mm with TPE ring). Foregoing a battery compartment keeps the enclosures slim: mount a low-profile battery directly to your circuit board. SLIM-CASE can accommodate inductive charging (with the correct coil) and NFC technology (with Qi chargers).

For added security, the enclosures are assembled using four Torx T8 stainless steel screws. The cases’ standard colour is off-white (RAL 9002) and the TPE intermediate ring is in volcano grey.

SLIM-CASE has been designed so the device keypad, display or touchscreen can be used in portrait or landscape (shown below) orientation. The enclosure feels natural to hold either way round.

Suitable for portrait or landscape orientations (below)

Bigger On The Inside Than It Looks

As slim as these new enclosures are, they still have plenty of room inside. Remove the four assembly screws holding the two sections together and you’ll find two sets of PCB mounting pillars inside – four in the top, four in the base. PZ1 and Torx T8 self-tapping screws are available as accessories for mounting the PCBs or electronic assemblies.

SLIM-CASE ergonomic slim design (above)

So how did our designers manage to create so much space inside an enclosure that makes a virtue of its slimness? Easy – by fooling the eye. Look at the base of SLIM-CASE; it tapers away. View the enclosures from above and you will see a narrow edge. It’s as if the case is floating just a few millimetres off the ground. That aesthetic touch also makes SLIM-CASE more comfortable to hold – and it offers more space inside. The inside is more spacious than the exterior first suggests.

Protecting The Mobile Device

Handheld OEM electronics tend to be used a wide variety of environments: office, factory or even outdoors.  SLIM-CASE provides protection for the electronics for all these possible applications. Versions I, II and III are rated IP 40 as standard but this can be increased to IP 65 when the accessory seal is fitted to the top part. Versions IV, V and VI have the TPE intermediate ring which provides IP 54 as standard.

Optional IP 65 sealing ring (above)

Like so many new OKW models, SLIM-CASE is moulded from ASA+PC-FR (UL 94 V-0) for added strength, UV stability and fire resistance. ABS might be a good plastic but ASA+PC-FR is more robust for both indoor and outdoor use.

Designers can also specify the optional clear transparent screen which fits into the 1.6 mm recess in the top of version III and VI cases. This provides protection for displays and touchscreens. The screen is fitted to the case with double-sided adhesive foil (accessory). OKW can print a border on the underside of the screen (in the customer’s desired colour) to hide the adhesive foil.

Optional clear transparent screen (above)

Customising Your SLIM-CASE

Today’s mobile phones all look very similar. Put them in a line-up and they all look pretty much the same – a large slab of impact-resistant glass and an aluminium or plastic rear shell. Subtle variations of framing aside, there’s little to differentiate one from another.

SLIM-CASE, on the other hand, is instantly more visually interesting – either with or without its distinctive and highly practical TPE ring. So you may decide that the standard colour option of off-white (RAL 9002) is exactly what you need. Or you could opt for some customisation. It doesn’t take much…

Custom version in lacquered in silver (above)

Yes, you can specify the main case body in a different colour. You could opt for a UV-resistant lacquer that creates a different lustre, a metallic look or a soft-touch feel. Or you could let your imagination run riot with photo-quality digital printing. But here’s where that TPE ring provides another benefit. Simply changing the colour of the ring may be all the corporate branding or colour-coding you need. Add a little machining, perhaps some digital printing. Sometimes less is more.

And that’s the whole point of customised enclosures vs custom enclosures. That’s why we offer 19 different handheld enclosures and a plethora of other desktop, wall-mounted and wearable cases. So you can get as close to perfect as possible – straight off the shelf, with as little extra customisation work as possible.

That’s why we created new SLIM-CASE.

SLIM-CASE Technical Video

Further reading...

• 4 Questions To Ask When Specifying Handheld Enclosures  
• Which Plastic Enclosure For My Handheld Electronics? 
• Guide To Specifying Enclosures 

View SLIM-CASE range >>