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
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.
Item # | % Weight Reduction | CO2-Equivalent Reductiona |
---|---|---|
RBX-FAN | 12.21% | 0.60 kg |
RBX-AC | 14.97% | 0.73 kg |
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.
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 |
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RK3884 | 19" x 7' Floor-Standing Equipment Rack | $310.06 | Today |
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 |
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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 |
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 |
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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 |
Available Subpanels |
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Fiber Connector Panels |
Electrical Connector Panels |
Cooling Fan Panel |
AC Power Entry Panel |
Blank Panels |
These versatile prototyping Rack Box Systems are ideal for building custom fiber-based assemblies. Fourteen subpanel slots allow for an extensive series of quick-connect subpanels that provide support for fiber optic and electrical systems. Subpanels designed for fiber connections, electrical connections, cooling fans, and AC power entry are available below, as are blank panels. The chassis is offered without subpanels for customers wishing to build application-specific systems.
These systems lock the chassis in place when open. To close the chassis, press the green button located on its side (see image to the right). When the chassis is closed, the maximum height of a mounted assembly is 4.7" (119.4 mm).
These rack boxes attach to a standard 19" equipment rack using 12-24-threaded mounting screws, which are not included. When used in a rack system, the height of the rack box is 5.20" or nearly 3U. Mounting screws are sold at the bottom of the page (Item # RK5000).
Part Number | Description | Price | Availability |
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RBX32/M | Rack Box Chassis with Slide Out Rails, M6-Tapped Breadboard | $862.43 | Lead Time |
RBX32-BFP/M | Rack Box Chassis with Blank Front Panel, M6-Tapped Breadboard | $825.61 | 3 weeks |
RBX32 | Rack Box Chassis with Slide Out Rails, 1/4"-20-Tapped Breadboard | $862.43 | Today |
RBX32-BFP | Rack Box Chassis with Blank Front Panel, 1/4"-20-Tapped Breadboard | $825.61 | Lead Time |
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 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 | Lead Time |
EC3U | 19" Rack 3U Enclosure for Electronics, 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 132.9 mm | $356.41 | 3 weeks |
EC4U | 19" Rack 4U Enclosure for Electronics, 482.6 mm x 377.2 mm x 177.4 mm | $408.31 | 3 weeks |
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 | Lead Time |
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 |
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 |
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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 |
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 | Lead Time |
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 | Today |
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 |
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 |