Thorlabs Inc.
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19" Rack Hardware

  • 7' x 19" EIA Width Full Size Floor Standing Rack
  • Side Holes Allow Multiple Racks to be Bolted Together
  • Weight Capacity: 750 lbs (Load Must be Evenly Distributed)

Extensive Series of Quick Connect
Subpanels (Not to Scale)

RK3884

Easy Access to Your Optical Layout when Open
Fully Protected when Closed

RBX-APC

RBX-SMA

RBX-FAN

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OVERVIEW

These heavy-duty 19" equipment racks are an ideal lab organizer, capable of holding up to 750 lbs of evenly distributed weight along their height. Thorlabs offers a wide variety of accessories to enhance the functionality of these racks ranging from fiber and BNC patch panels to modular prototyping enclosures and storage shelves. Each component that fits in the rack system has a height defined in rack units (U). This unit indicates how much space the component will take up in the equipment rack. A comprehensive list of rack products and related accessories are available below.

19" equipment racks that attach directly to our ScienceDesk™ Workstations or Nexus® Optical Table Workstations are also available.


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SMART PACK

RBX-FAN SmartPack Packaging
Click to Enlarge

RBX-FAN Packaging

Smart Pack

Item #% Weight
Reduction
CO2-Equivalent
Reductiona
RBX-FAN 12.21% 0.60 kg
RBX-AC 14.97% 0.73 kg

Smart Pack

  • Reduce Weight of Packaging Materials
  • Increase Usage of Recyclable Packing Materials
  • Improve Packing Integrity
  • Decrease Shipping Costs

Thorlabs' Smart Pack Initiative is aimed at waste minimization while still maintaining adequate protection for our products. By eliminating any unnecessary packaging, implementing packaging design changes, and utilizing eco-friendly packaging materials for our customers when possible, this initiative seeks to improve the environmental impact of our product packaging. Products listed above are now shipped in re-engineered packaging that minimizes the weight and the use of non-recyclable materials.b As we move through our product line, we will indicate re-engineered packages with our Smart Pack logo.

  • Travel-based emissions reduction calculations are estimated based on the total weight reduction of packaging materials used for all of 2013’s product sales, traveling 1,000 miles on an airplane, to provide general understanding of the impact of packaging material reduction. Calculations were made using the EPA’s shipping emissions values for different modes of transport.
  • Some Smart Pack products may show a negative weight reduction percentage as the substitution of greener packaging materials, such as the Greenwrap, at times slightly increases the weight of the product packaging.

Hide 19" Equipment Rack

19" Equipment Rack

  • Standard 19" EIA Equipment Rack
  • 7.00' (2.1 m) Tall, Floor-Standing Rack (45U Mountable Space)
  • Heavy-Duty, 3" Wide Vertical Channels
  • Weight Capacity of 750 lbs (340 kg) (Load Must be Evenly Distributed)
  • Mounting Holes: 12-24 Tapped Holes on a 5/8", 5/8", 1/2" Alternating Hole Pattern
  • Side Holes Allow Multiple Racks to be Bolted Together
  • Includes 50 12-24-Threaded Mounting Screws

This heavy-duty instrumentation rack is manufactured from industrial-grade aluminum, U-channels and angle extrusions. The rack is 7.00' (2.1 m) in height with 45U of space for mounting rack shelves and components. It can support up to 750 lbs (340 kg) when the weight is distributed evenly throughout the height of the rack. 50 mounting screws are included with the RK3884. Additional 12-24-threaded mounting screws are sold at the bottom of the page (Item # RK5000).


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RK3884
19" x 7' Floor-Standing Equipment Rack
$310.06
Today

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Fixed Rack Shelves

Rack System Storage
Click to Enlarge

Equipment Rack with Optics stored in an RK4102 Shelf and Optomechanics Essentials Kits on RK4101 Shelves

Thorlabs' Rack Shelves are ideally suited for storing optomechanical components in a standard 19" rack. The RK4101 Rack Shelf provides a flat surface that is perfectly sized for holding our optomechanics essentials kits. The RK4102 Rack Shelf contains 77 Ø1/2" holes on 1.5" centers, allowing components mounted on Ø1/2" posts to be conveniently stored.

When used with our 19" equipment rack, these shelves take up 3.5" or 2U of space. These shelves attach to a standard 19" equipment rack using 12-24-threaded mounting screws, which are not included. Mounting screws are sold at the bottom of the page (Item # RK5000).


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RK4101
Fixed Rack Shelf, Plain 17" x 11" Surface
$73.95
Today
RK4102
Fixed Rack Shelf, Ø1/2" Holes, 1.5" Centers
$104.84
Today

Hide Rack Drawers

Rack Drawers


Click to Enlarge

Open RAU400 Drawer Unit Showing Included RAU001 Divider Kit
  • Available in 3 Heights: 2U (3.5"), 3U (5.25"), and 4U (7.00")
  • Full Extension Ball-Bearing Drawer Sliders
  • Black-Powder-Coated Finish
  • Internal Rubber Mat
  • Sold Complete with Divider Kit (Item # RAU001)
  • Lockable for Added Security

This versatile drawer assembly is ideal for general storage. It fits 19" rack systems and is available in 3 heights: 2U (3.5"), 3U (5.25"), and 4U (7.00"). The drawer is made from 1.2 mm (0.05") thick steel with a black-powder-coated paint finish. It moves on smooth roller bearing runners and features a coupling on the drawer slide, allowing for removal of the drawer from the housing. Each drawer is lockable and comes with two keys, four 12-24 UNC screws with nuts for securing the drawer to the rack chassis, a rubber base mat, and an RAU001 divider kit. Further RAU001 divider kits are available separately.

The RAU001 drawer divider kit is provided to allow the user to build smaller storage bins. As shown to the right, it is comprised of two plastic pieces that span the length of the drawer and two that span the width. The dividers can be moved and interlocked to build different arrangements; they can also be cut into smaller lengths to build custom bin sizes.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RAU200
19" Rack 2U Drawer with RAU001 Divider Kit, Lock, and Keys
$200.76
Today
RAU300
19" Rack 3U Drawer with RAU001 Divider Kit, Lock, and Keys
$206.69
Today
RAU400
19" Rack 4U Drawer with RAU001 Divider Kit, Lock, and Keys
$212.64
Today
RAU001
19" Rack Drawer Divider Kit
$38.81
Today

Hide Rack Electronics Enclosures

Rack Electronics Enclosures

Enclosure
Item #
Height in Rack Units Enclosure Dimensionsa
(W x D x H)
EC2U 2U 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 88.4 mm
(19.00" x 14.85" x 3.48")
EC3U 3U 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 132.9 mm
(19.00" x 14.85" x 5.23")
EC4U 4U 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 177.4 mm
(19.00" x 14.85" x 6.98")
  • These dimensions measure the outside of the enclosure, including the mounting brackets. Detailed dimensions of each enclosure are available by clicking on the red Docs icons () below.
Opened EC2U Rack Enclosure
Click to Enlarge

Opened EC2U Rack Enclosure
for Electronics
  • Empty Housings for Electronic Assemblies
  • Designed for 19" Racks
  • Three Heights Available: 2U, 3U, or 4U
  • Click Here for Full Presentation

These rack enclosures for electronics are designed for customers interested in assembling their own 19" rack-mounted electronic devices. Three sizes of housing are available (see the table to the right for details). The aluminum enclosures sold here come with blank front and rear panels, as well as two mounting brackets.

Four M3 button head cap screws are included with the enclosure for securing the ECUMB mounting board or MSBU3038(/M) breadboard inside (each sold separately). The ECUMB mounting board provides a surface with 18 mm x 5 mm slots for holding electronic components, such as PCBs, development boards, and power supplies. Alternatively, the MBSU3038(/M) breadboard features a high-density hole pattern of 8-32 (M4) and 1/4"-20 (M6) tapped holes to allow optomechanical components to be mounted inside the enclosure. The ECCP platform has four 38 mm swivel casters and two foldable handles for easily transporting the 19" rack enclosures. The enclosures can also be converted for benchtop use using additional accessories. For more information on these enclosures and their accessories, see their full web presentation.

To open the enclosure, remove the countersunk screws on both the rear and bottom panels using the included 2 mm hex key, and then slide off the top of the enclosure. Detailed instructions on opening the enclosure are available in the spec sheet via the red Docs icons () below.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
EC2U
19" Rack 2U Enclosure for Electronics, 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 88.4 mm
$296.16
7-10 Days
EC3U
19" Rack 3U Enclosure for Electronics, 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 132.9 mm
$356.41
Lead Time
EC4U
19" Rack 4U Enclosure for Electronics, 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 177.4 mm
$408.31
Today

Hide Fiber Connection Panels

Fiber Connection Panels

  • Optical Fiber Subpanels for Our RBX32(/M) Rack Box Chassis
  • Each Panel Contains Four Fiber Mating Sleeves
    • RBX-FC: ADAFC1 FC/PC to FC/PC Mating Sleeves
    • RBX-APC: ADAFC4 FC/APC to FC/APC Mating Sleeves
    • RBX-SMAF: ADASMA SMA to SMA Mating Sleeves
  • "Snap-On" Modular Design

Thorlabs' selection of fiber connection panels allows setups or instruments inside a rack box chassis, such as our RBX32(/M) available above, to be connected to fiber components outside of the rack box. Each panel contains four mating sleeves that can be removed, allowing for panels to be customized according to the requirements of the system. The "snap-on" panel design allows for quick attachment to or removal from a rack box chassis.

Electrical connection panels and blank panels with the same profile are also available below.

RBX-FC
Our RBX-FC panel contains four ADAFC1 FC/PC to FC/PC Mating Sleeves designed for 2.2 mm wide key fiber optic cables. Flat FC/PC connectors are significantly less alignment sensitive than their angled FC/APC counterparts, making these wide-key-slot mating sleeves acceptable for narrow and wide key FC/PC connectors. Although these mating sleeves are mechanically compatible with narrow key FC/APC connectors, the wide-key slot makes it difficult to properly align the angled, narrow key FC/APC connector. For FC/APC applications, we therefore recommend the RBX-APC panel. 

RBX-APC
Our RBX-APC panel contains four ADAFC4 FC/APC to FC/APC Mating Sleeves designed for 2.0 mm narrow key fiber optic patch cables. These narrow-key-slot mating sleeves allow for proper alignment of angled, narrow key FC/APC connectors. These sleeves are also mechanically compatible with narrow key FC/PC connectors, but the flat FC/PC connector is significantly less alignment sensitive, which makes the RBX-FC wide-key-slot mating sleeves shown immediately above an acceptable alternative.

RBX-SMAF
Our RBX-SMAF panel conatins four ADASMA SMA to SMA Mating Sleeves. It is directly compatible with SMA905-style connectors and is not intended for mating an SMA906-style connector to another SMA906-style connector.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RBX-FC
FC/PC to FC/PC Optical Fiber Subpanel
$73.95
7-10 Days
RBX-APC
Customer Inspired! FC/APC to FC/APC Optical Fiber Subpanel
$73.95
Today
RBX-SMAF
Customer Inspired! SMA to SMA Optical Fiber Subpanel
$73.95
Today

Hide Electrical Connection Panels

Electrical Connection Panels

  • Electrical Connection Subpanels for Our RBX32(/M) Rack Box Chassis
    • RBX-BNC: Four BNC Connectors, Each with Rear Solder Terminals
    • RBX-DB9: Two Female DB9 Connectors, Each with Rear Solder Terminals
    • RBX-SMA: Four T4285 SMA Female-to-Female Connectors
  • "Snap-On" Modular Design

These panels provide common electrical connections for standard 19" racks. Thorlabs also offers a complete selection of BNC, SMA, SMC, and banana plug electrical adapters and cables.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RBX-BNC
BNC-to-Solder-Terminals Electrical Feedthrough Panel
$35.05
Today
RBX-DB9
DB9-to-Solder-Terminals Electrical Feedthrough Panel
$22.93
Today
RBX-SMA
SMA Female-to-Female Electrical Feedthrough Panel
$116.12
Today

Hide Cooling Fan Panel

Cooling Fan Panel

  • 115 V/230 VAC-Powered Cooling Fan
  • Operates at 3000 RPM
  • Maximum CFM Rating: 25
  • Four 8-32 Button Head Screws Included

This cooling fan attaches to a wide slot on the back of our RBX32(/M) Rack Box Systems (pictured above). Up to two fans may be attached per chassis. The metal panel contains four through holes that accept the four included 8-32 button head screws.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RBX-FAN
Cooling Fan Panel
$79.00
7-10 Days

Hide AC Power Entry Module Panel

AC Power Entry Module Panel

  • 125/250 VAC Compatible
  • Current Rating: 0.1 to 15 A
  • Four 8-32 Button Head Screws Included
  • C14 Three-Pin Inlet Connector Compliant with IEC/EN 60320-1

This power module attaches to a wide slot on the back of our RBX32(/M) Rack Box Systems (pictured above). The metal panel contains four through holes that accept the four included 8-32 button head screws.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RBX-AC
AC Power Entry Module Panel
$91.76
7-10 Days

Hide Blank Panels

Blank Panels

  • RBX-BLK1F: Blank Panel for 1 Standard-Width Slot
  • RBX-BLK5F: Blank Panel for 5 Standard-Width Slots
  • RBX-BLK1B: Blank Panel for 1 Wide Back Slot
  • "Snap-On" Modular Design

These blank panels are ideal for customers who wish to design their own connector layouts or use connectors that are not offered from our stock. They can also be used to prevent dust from entering through unused slots.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RBX-BLK1F
Blank Panel for 1 Standard-Width Slot
$17.40
Today
RBX-BLK5F
Blank Panel for 5 Standard-Width Slots
$28.63
Today
RBX-BLK1B
Blank Panel for 1 Wide Back Slot
$17.82
Today

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Pilot Point Pan Head Screws

  • Rack Screws with Large Pan Heads
  • 12-24 Threading
  • Pilot Point Reduces Cross-Threading
  • Includes Hard Plastic Washers to Eliminate Marring of Instrumentation

These rack screws are designed to mount our Rack Box Chassis, Fixed Rack Shelves, and other rack-mountable equipment into standard 19" equipment racks. Sold in packs of 50, they feature a combination head compatible with both Phillips and flat head screwdrivers. Hard plastic washers are also included.


Part Number
Description
Price
Availability
RK5000
Pilot Point Pan Head Screw and Washer, 12-24 Threads, Qty. 50
$18.59
Today