Louvers

Louvers provide ventilation openings in your enclosure, while maintaining a degree of protection against accidental entry of dirt, dripping water, or foreign objects. Louvers are formed using press brake machinery and a special top and bottom die. After the metal has been cut with a pre-slit, the piece is formed using the press brake, with the die pushing into the pre-slit area. The end result is a raised window with protection on three sides and an opening on the fourth side.

Louvers can satisfy NEMA rating requirements up to 3R and IP ratings of IP53.

ProtoSpace Mfg maintains tooling for creating nominal 2", 4" and 6" louvers. We can build enclosures and sheet metal components with louvers in 2-3 days, with no extra lead time or tooling charges.

Louvers

Louver Sizes:

2" (50.8mm)
4" (101.6mm)
6" (152.4mm)

All louvers will have a standard height that will depend on the material thickness used. It will be approximately equal to 0.190" + Material Thickness.

For example, a 2" louver in 16 Gauge 0.063" Stainless Steel will be 0.253" high.

Materials:

Louvers are available on the following stocked materials at Protocase:

Aluminum
Stainless Steel
Cold Rolled Steel
Galvanneal

Material must not exceed 0.1285" (3.264mm) in thickness.

Louver Examples:

louvers louvers louvers louvers

Minimum Separations:

Louvers SizeSpace from Louver to Edge or Bendhorizontal Center to Center SpacingVertical Center to Center Spacing
2" (50.8mm)
0.625" (15.88mm)
2.6" (66.04mm)
1.25" (31.75mm)
4" (101.6mm)
0.625" (15.88mm)
4.6" (116.98mm)
1.25" (31.75mm)
6" (152.4mm)
0.625" (15.88mm)
6.6" (167.84mm)
1.25" (31.75mm)

Minimum Separations:

Louver SizeFastener heightHorizontalVertical Front of LouverVertical back of Louver
2" (50.8mm)
<0.400" (10.16mm)
0.850" (21.59mm)
0.700" (17.78mm)
0.800" (20.32mm)
2" (50.8mm)
>0.400" (10.16mm)
2.315" (58.801mm)
0.700" (17.78mm)	
1.250" (31.75mm)
4" (101.6mm)
<0.400" (10.16mm)
0.850" (21.59mm)
0.700" (17.78mm)
0.800" (20.32mm)
4" (101.6mm)
>0.400" (10.16mm)
2.315" (58.801mm)
0.700" (17.78mm)
1.250" (31.75mm)
6" (152.4mm)
<0.400" (10.16mm)
0.850" (21.59mm)
0.700" (17.78mm)
0.800" (20.32mm)
6" (152.4mm)
>0.400" (10.16mm)
1.315" (33.401mm)
0.700" (17.78mm)
1.250" (31.75mm)

Ultimately, the minimum distance from louver is dependent on the fasteners being used and the specific louver tooling. Our Engineering & Design Services team can verify your design at the quoting stage, and offer suggestions as needed.

Resources:

Louver Size DXF & STEP Files Diagram PDF
2" (50.8mm) Download Download
4" (101.6mm) Download Download
6" (152.4mm) Download Download

Let's Get Started

We believe the onboarding process should be as simple and hassle-free as possible.

Our team can process all of your paperwork to get the ball rolling in order to serve your custom manufacturing needs.