1.
DustShield LLC |www. dustshield.com
1
Performance of DustShield™ Computer / Printer Enclosure in Extreme Freezing Storage Environments
Technical Update: February 24th
2012
Field trial conducted by Matt Case, DustShield at
Cold Zone at Springfield Underground in Springfield, Missouri
Primary Audience: IT Managers, Warehouse Managers, Inventory Managers
Primary Application: Extreme cold environments, below freezing temperatures
Summary: DustShield enclosures are used in nearly all manufacturing environments, to the extreme. A
trial was conducted in a FDA requirement meeting cold storage facility to test internal temperature
maintenance in extreme cold temperatures. Both a DustShield with an active fan/filtration system and a
DustShield unit without a fan/filtration system were tested in this trial. The DustShield without the
fan/filtration system maintained a higher internal temperature while the DustShield with the
fan/filtration system maintained a cooler internal temperature but still maintained a temperature that
was significantly above the external temperature (35.2o
above the external temperature). Overall, both
DustShield Enclosure Heating Upgrade configurations successfully maintained elevated internal
temperatures in sub‐freezing temperatures.
Description of Problem: Most electronic printing equipment and the accompanying media cannot
survive alone in extreme environments and temperatures. Exposed to the most unforgiving of frozen
environments, various components in the printer may fail and adhesive and paper materials change
consistency which leads to product failure.
Materials and Methods: A commercial‐industrial cold storage unit meeting all FDA walk in freezer
requirements was used to test the thermal performance and capability of a DustShield enclosure model
used to protect barcode thermal label printers. The unit did not house any printer equipment as this
test was designed to more fully understand the thermal performance of the DustShield unit alone. The
thermostat was set at its mid‐range setting (directly in the middle) labeled “Comfort Zone”. The two
units tested were identical other than the fact that the first unit tested did not have a fan filter system.
Results:
NO FAN FILTER SYSTEM
TEST UNIT SPECIFICATIONS
DustShield Enclosure: DS 316L
 Insulating Foam
 Rubber Cable Port Grommet
 Enclosure Heating Upgrade: 200 Watt Industrial coated bulb heater
Table 1: NO FAN FILTER SYSTEM
NO FILTER SYSTEM External Temperature Internal Temperature
+ 15 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 67.6o
F
+ 30 MINUTES ‐ 07o
F 69.9o
F
+ 45 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 69.1o
F
+ 60 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 69.6o
F

2.
DustShield LLC |www. dustshield.com
2
Notes: No condensation or ice was found on, within or around the enclosure or the fan/filtration system
WITH OPERATING FAN FILTER SYSTEM
TEST UNIT SPECIFICATIONS
DustShield Enclosure: DS 316L
 Insulating Foam
 Rubber Cable Port Grommet
 Enclosure Heating Upgrade: 200 Watt Industrial coated bulb heater
 DustShield Fan/Filtration System with DS 512 Filter
Table 2: WITH OPERATING FAN FILTER SYSTEM
WITH FILTER SYSTEM ON External Temperature Internal Temperature
+ 15 MINUTES ‐ 09o
F 32.9o
F
+ 30 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 27.5o
F
+ 45 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 25.8o
F
+ 60 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 24.2o
F
+120 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 24.2o
F
+135 MINUTES ‐ 11o
F 24.2o
F
Notes: No condensation or ice was found on, within or around the enclosure or the fan/filtration system
Conclusions: The DustShield Enclosure Heating Upgrade can successfully maintain an internal
temperature of 24.2o
F in a frozen cold storage environment at ‐11o
F. Adding computers and other
electronic devices inside of the enclosure may add to the heat produced inside of the enclosure to some
extent. As increasing the thermostat setting for the Enclosure Heating Upgrade would increase the
thermostat’s target temperature, additional tests may show that higher internal temperatures may be
maintained with higher thermostat settings and conversely, lower temperatures may be maintained
with lower thermostat settings.
When clean filtered cold air is forced into the enclosure, the heated air (produced by the Enclosure
Heating Upgrade) is immediately forced out and exits the enclosure through the label slit. The constant
addition of cold air and loss of heated air may be undesirable in the most extreme sub‐freezing
environments. Therefore, the benefit of the fan filtered air to protect the internal electronic
components must be weighed with the benefit of the desired internal temperature to protect the media
and the performance of the media.