The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Perfect Shower ...

The choice of shower enclosure is very important for the design and function of a bathroom. It is not just a useful feature; it&#;s a statement of style, comfort, and practicality. Whether you are embarking on a bathroom renovation or building a new one, you should really think about which shower wall will work best for you.

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This complete guide will help you find your way around shower enclosures. Learn about different types and materials, and discover how to choose the best size and layout for your needs. Join us as we unlock the chance to transform your bathing experience into a luxurious and personalized retreat.

Exploring the Diversity of Shower Enclosure Options

Frameless Shower

Frameless enclosures are known for their minimalist and sleek appearance. This enclosure, made of thick tempered glass panels, has no visible metal framing, creating a clean and modern look.

Framed Enclosures

The metal frames around the glass panels in these enclosures give them support and stability. Framed enclosures last a long time and come in a range of styles to match your bathroom design.

Semi-Frameless

Semi-frameless enclosures combine elements of both framed and frameless designs. They have minimal framing, usually just around the edges, so the glass is the main thing that you see.

Sliding Door on Shower

Sliding door enclosures are ideal for saving space in smaller bathrooms. They feature two glass panels, with one sliding over the other to open and close. They are practical and stylish.

Pivot Door Enclosures

They have one glass door held in place by hinges and swing open like a regular door. They are flexible and can work in a variety of bathroom setups.

Corner Shower

The design of these enclosures fits snugly into the corner of a bathroom. They maximize space and often have a neo-angle design with angled glass panels.

Walk-In Shower

Walk-in enclosures are open and do not have any barriers in the way. They are popular for modern bathrooms because they are easy to get to.

Quadrant Shower

Quadrant enclosures have a curved front with sliding or hinged doors. They are excellent for small bathrooms and provide a unique visual appeal.

Steam Shower Enclosures

A steam enclosure is a sealed unit that has a steam generator inside it. These enclosures create a spa-like experience by filling the shower area with steam, offering relaxation and health benefits.

Custom Shower Enclosures

With these enclosures, you can tailor-fit them to your specific preferences. You can choose the glass type, hardware, and layout to match your bathroom&#;s design perfectly.

Shower Enclosure Materials and Finishes

Shower Enclosure Materials

Glass

Clear Glass: Provides a clean and modern look, allowing maximum light and visibility.

Frosted Glass: Offers privacy while still allowing some light to filter through.

Patterned Glass: Adds texture and style to the enclosure while maintaining privacy.

Frame Materials

Aluminum: Lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant. Plus, there is a wide range of color options for the final coating.

Stainless Steel: Strong and resistant to rust, stainless steel is a popular choice of frame finishes.

Brass: Offers a timeless, classic look that never goes out of style. It may come in a polished, glossy finish or satin brass for a more muted, vintage vibe.

Acrylic

Acrylic panels are lightweight and easy to clean. These are quite common in budget-friendly shower enclosures.

Composite Materials

Some shower enclosures feature composite materials that combine the benefits of glass and other materials like fiberglass or acrylic.

Shower Enclosure Finishes

Metal Finishes

Chrome: Provides a shiny, reflective finish that complements a contemporary bathroom.

Brushed Nickel: Offers a matte, brushed appearance, resisting fingerprints and water spots.

Oil-Rubbed Bronze: This creates an antique, rustic look with its dark, aged finish.

Frameless Finishes

Frameless enclosures typically feature hardware in chrome, brushed nickel, or other metal finishes to match the overall bathroom decor.

Custom Finishes

Some manufacturers offer custom finishes for shower enclosures, allowing you to choose unique colors or patterns to match your style.

Glass Coatings

Anti-Limescale Coating: This helps prevent the buildup of limescale and mineral deposits on the glass, making it easier to clean.

Hydrophobic Coating: Repels water, reducing water stains and soap scum buildup.

Etched or Printed Glass

Etched or printed designs on glass panels can add decorative elements to the enclosure, including patterns, images, or text.

Frameless Minimalism

Frameless enclosures, often characterized by the absence of visible framing, create a clean and modern look.

Shower Enclosure Size and Configuration

Shower Enclosure Sizes

Standard Size

Typically, a standard shower enclosure measures 36 inches by 36 inches or 48 inches by 36 inches. These sizes are suitable for most bathrooms and offer a comfortable showering experience.

Small Size

Small shower enclosures can be as compact as 30 inches by 30 inches. They are ideal for bathrooms with limited space, such as guest bathrooms or small ensuite bathrooms.

Large Size

A big shower enclosure can be at least 60 inches by 36 inches. They have a lot of room for a luxurious shower and might have more than one showerhead or bench built right in.

Custom Size

Is your bathroom oddly shaped, or is it bigger than usual? No worries. You can make the most of the room you have by customizing it. You can always ask a contractor for home renovation so you can have your shower enclosures fit snugly in every bathroom.

Shower Enclosure Configurations

Alcove Enclosures

Alcove shower enclosures are installed between three walls, with a shower door on one side. They are a common choice for standard bathrooms and are cost-effective.

Corner Enclosures

Corner enclosures fit snugly into a corner of the bathroom and have two glass panels meeting at a right angle. They maximize space utilization and can be a space-saving option.

Neo-Angle Enclosures

Neo-angle shower enclosures have a shape like a pentagon, with three glass panels and two sides that are angled. They look great in corners and are sure to give your bathroom a premium look.

One-Wall Enclosures

One-wall enclosures are perfect for bathrooms with a single open side. Contractors typically use them in small bathrooms or as part of a larger walk-in shower area.

Two-Wall Enclosures

A two-wall enclosure has two fixed glass panels and a shower door. It is a semi-enclosed choice that can work with a variety of bathroom designs.

Three-Wall Enclosures

Three-wall enclosures are completely closed off on three sides, giving you the most privacy and protection from splashing. They are often used in bigger baths.

Frameless Enclosures

Frameless enclosures have very little framing, so the glass itself has a clean, modern look. You have several options to choose from, such as alcove, corner, and neo-angle.

Walk-In Enclosures

With only one glass wall and no door, walk-in enclosures are open and do not have any barriers. They are easy to get to and give a roomy, modern look.

Do you want to elevate your bathroom space with a stunning shower enclosure? Then look no further than Love Home Renovations! Our skilled professionals are committed to turning your bathroom into a luxurious and stylish haven. With years of experience in bathroom remodeling, we understand the importance of a well-designed and perfectly crafted shower enclosure. Whether you envision a sleek, frameless masterpiece or a space-saving corner solution, our bathroom designer has the skills to make your ideas come to life. 

Trust Love Home Renovations for top-quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and a dedication to go above and beyond your expectations. Let us be your partner in creating the bathroom of your dreams with the perfect shower enclosure as its centerpiece. Call us today to request a quote.

How to Select the Best Method to Manufacture Your Product Enclosure

Detailed comparison of all the various methods for manufacturing your product&#;s enclosure.

Written by Alex Berrou who is a fantastic mechanical engineer and one of the experts available to help you inside the Hardware Academy.

Designing an enclosure is one of the most critical steps in the development of a new electronic product.

The enclosure is a major component both technically, as it will determine the resistance to various outside factors of your product, and commercially, as it will be the outer appearance that your prospective customers see first.

Like the cover of a book, its importance as a first contact for customers cannot be overstated.

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The factors that go into play for the design of an enclosure are numerous, and can get overwhelming.

Here are the most important ones:

What kind of functions does your product have? Buttons, LEDs, plugs, motor outputs? Some technologies will adapt more easily to these types of secondary functions.

What outside constraints will your product be subject to? Heat, impacts and chemicals are the big ones, which include the IP rating.

IP rating: the Ingress Protection rating determines your product&#;s air- and water-tightness. It is designated &#;IPXY&#;, where X is a number between 0 and 6 that describes increasing air-tightness, while Y is the same between 0 and 8 for water-tightness.

What volumes are you aiming for? Higher volumes mean that you can afford to spend more on design and setup costs if they lead to a lower per-part cost.

How critical is the appearance? Will your enclosure be visible to the user, and if so how should it look? The aesthetic quality of different manufacturing technologies can vary wildly.

These factors will in turn decide the criteria that go into your choice of technology, and I have listed them in the table at the end of this article.

Setup vs per-part cost, appearance vs flexibility, and whether you need to hire a professional designer like myself to make your enclosure are some aspects that you will need to consider.

Let&#;s go over the most common production methods, and a few more specialized ones.

Off-the-Shelf Enclosures

Image courtesy of Polycase.

It isn&#;t always necessary to design your own enclosure : in some cases, off the shelf solutions are available for direct purchase from retailers.

These exist in all shapes and sizes, and with a variety of characteristics, such as IP rating, materials and transparency. They are generally injected plastic or sheet metal, but other possibilities exist.

Applications

Off-the-shelf enclosures are best for early prototypes. You can easily find the perfect shape for an Arduino or Raspberry, for instance. They are also good for products where size and appearance are not critical.

Pros

Their level of design is generally excellent for their price, and they can be obtained very quickly. They do not require a designer.

Cons

The dimension choices are limited, and they are seldom optimal in terms of appearance or size. Secondary functions are limited.

Online Suppliers

Many retailers offer off-the-shelf enclosures, including some hardware stores. Online sources include Polycase, Box Enclosures, Farnell/Newark and others.

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3D Printing (SLS / MJF)

SLS and MJF are two 3D printing technologies based on powder sintering. Both have had a precipitous rise in popularity over the last year, hence they have become very affordable (about double the price of FDM).

They have clean, commercially acceptable results, excellent mechanical properties, and are comparable to injection molding.

MJF is slightly cheaper and more accurate than SLS, and will likely replace it over time.

Applications

Prototypes and low-run production, up to 500 units in general.

Pros

There is no setup cost, and lead time is very quick. Design is easy, since there are very few restrictions in terms of shape. This allows for very creative shapes without the fabrication constraints of other methods.

Cons

The price per unit is high, and the final texture is always granular. The texture isn&#;t necessarily unpleasant, but keep in mind that it cannot be smooth. Limited colors are available. Strength and durability may be lower than other options.

Online Suppliers

Proto Labs, Sculpteo, Hubs, Shapeways and i.materialise are some of the market leaders. There is however an ever growing number of suppliers in this field, so finding one in your area shouldn&#;t be an issue.

3D printing (FDM)

The oldest and most common 3D printing technology, FDM printers melt and deposit a plastic filament onto a heated plate layer by layer.

FDM is an omnipresent, cheap, accessible and well-polished technology, which means that it retains considerable merit in the prototype manufacturing field.

However, the decreasing price of the altogether superior SLS and MJF prints means that the fields of application for FDM are narrowing.

Applications

The low price and short lead time of FDM allows for iterative design, optimizing a 3D design based on the results tested on successive prototypes. It can also work for parts where appearance and resistance are not critical.

Pros

The main attraction of FDM is its availability. You almost certainly have an FDM print provider near your place of work, and if not it is fairly easy to purchase and master your own machine.

Prices remain the lowest for prototyping, and lead time is generally twenty-four hours or less. All of this can be further decreased if you buy your own machine.

Cons

The layer based nature of the print makes them mechanically irregular, requiring greater volumes for solidity.

The plastics used are all vulnerable to high temperatures (100°C at best).

Finally, and most critically, the texture and appearance of FDM printed products are almost never acceptable for commercially sold products.

Online Suppliers

Same as SLS/MJF: Proto Labs, Sculpteo, Hubs, Shapeways and i.materialise. Can also purchase your own FDM 3D printer for a reasonable cost.

SLA 3D Printing (SLA)

Stereolithography 3D printing is a process by which a vat of resin is polymerized by UV or other lights. As each layer is solidified, the print is progressively pulled out of the resin vat.

SLA printers are the second most common after FDM. They are most popular with jewelry or figurine designers due to their incredible details and beautiful results.

Formlabs carved a niche market in dental prosthetic printing using very high-end SLA printers. The results are still not certified in most countries, though.

Applications

To put it simply, SLA is an artist&#;s technology and not an engineer&#;s. It is often used for decorative parts or scale models.

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It can also be used to make prototypes of transparent products, as it is the only 3D printing technology that can produce them.

Pros

SLA offers incomparable detail and resolution, down to the 0.05mm scale on normal print quality. The final results are beautiful and smooth, and can be transparent.

Cons

SLA printing is slow, requires considerable post-treatment, and printers are typically small. All of this sharply limits volumes.

The results are fragile and prone to shattering, particularly if an attempt is made to machine them or insert screws.

Online Suppliers

Same as SLS/MJF: Seeed Studio, Proto Labs, Sculpteo, Hubs, Shapeways and i.materialise.

Vacuum Molding / Urethane Casting

Vacuum molding is an alternative to injection molding where, instead of injecting the plastic under high pressure, it is drawn onto the mold by a low-pressure void.

This is considerably easier to obtain in terms of machinery, and puts less strain on the molds, so they can be made from cheaper materials.

In many cases the molds are made of a soft silicone material, and the parts produced are made of polyurethane.

Applications

Vacuum molding can be seen as a middle ground between 3D printing and injection molding, for mid-volume production runs between one hundred and one thousand items.

Pros

Vacuum molding technology is more accessible than injection molding, and requires lighter equipment. This means that setup costs are lower, and suppliers are easier to find.

Since the molds are commonly made of softer materials like silicone the design requirements are less strict than for injection molding due to the easier removal of the part after molding is complete.

Cons

Per-part costs are higher than those for injection molding, and the number of units produced per mold is much lower.

Online Suppliers

Not as many as other technologies, check out Proto Labs and Universal Plastics.

High-Pressure Injection Molding

Injection molding is the most classical solution by far for mass production, and dominates the plastic fabrication industry. It consists of injecting molten plastic into a metal mold at high pressure.

It offers incomparable production speed with a variety of possible visual and mechanical qualities.

The vast majority of injection molding is done in Asia these days, mainly China, due to the availability of manpower.

As such, starting injection manufacturing is a more complex process than most others on this list, but is undeniably worth it financially. This is particularly true of Asia-based production, which is cheaper by a ratio of 1:5 to 1:10.

The most common injection molding materials are ABS and PC blends, but an infinite variety is available depending on the mechanical, visual, thermal and other properties that are required.

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Applications

Injection molding becomes financially advantageous for large run production, particularly above units.

Pros

The per-part price is very low, often a handful of cents. Properties are good and very adaptable.

Cons

The setup price starts high and can become considerable for more complex products ($1,000 to $10,000 in general). Design for injection molding is complicated, full of constraints and requires a skilled design engineer for good results.

Parts manufactured in Asia will have a month or more of lead time.

Online suppliers

ICOMold and Proto Labs offer good services online, but for an above-average cost. For mass production, it is more efficient to contact manufacturers in Asia directly.

Sheet Metal Forming

The world of enclosures is not limited to plastics, and sheet metal forming is the most common alternative solution. It consists of cutting a sheet of metal to precise dimensions, then folding it in order to obtain the final product.

It can be done with a variety of metals, most often aluminum or steel depending on the mechanical properties that are needed.

Applications

Sheet metal forming is most commonly used for two applications &#; large enclosures, particularly in a factory setting, and heat intensive electrical products, such as computers.

Pros

Excellent for heat intensive products, as the enclosure itself acts as a heat sink and radiator. Resistant to extreme temperatures and chemical exposure.

The price becomes competitive for large enclosures, above the cubic foot scale.

Cons

Both the setup and per-part costs are fairly high. Water-tightness is hard to obtain, and requires very precise design choices.

The variety of possible shapes is limited to, basically, boxes. Optimization requires a professional designer.

Online Suppliers

Protocase and Polycase are most applicable for small quantities. Be sure to check out their design guidelines before starting, they are quite strict!

CNC Machining

CNC machining starts with a forged or rolled metal mass, which is then cut down to proper shape. This is most often accomplished with aluminum, though almost any metal can be machined.

The cost of machining rises geometrically with the shear resistance of the material, however. The machines used for this are often extremely costly five axis mills, or sometimes cheaper lathes and three axis mills.

Though very widespread in the industry, it is not often used for products as simple as enclosures.

Plastic can also be machined, though there is little point in doing so apart from rigorous testing of a prototype before injection molding.

It is possible that CNC machining will eventually be phased out, partially or in full, by metal 3D printing. For now this printing technology remains limited in scope.

Applications

Machined enclosures are typically used in high stress situations, where failure is not an option. This can include aerospace, military and some medical applications. When price and weight are not issues and resistance must be absolute, think CNC.

Pros

machined enclosures, being made of metal, have the same advantages in terms of heat storage and dissipation as sheet metal ones while being more flexible in terms of design.

They are an order of magnitude more solid than any other technology, and essentially invulnerable to mechanical and chemical damage for all practical purposes.

Cons

Machined enclosures are generally heavy and always very costly, with a high setup and even higher per-part cost.

Online Suppliers

Proto Labs and Hubs dominate this market, other actors include Xometry and Rapiddirect.

Laser Cutting (Plastic or Wood)

It is possible to cut plastic or wood with a laser or other technologies, then assemble the resulting plates. This requires fairly little equipment and no specialized design work.

Applications

These designs can be aesthetically pleasing. It is also possible to pre-cut kits that can be assembled later, for instance for educational purposes.

Pros

Easy to make, can have visually pleasing results. Easy to mass produce with limited means.

Cons

limited applications, requires complex assembly. Poor mechanical properties.

Online Suppliers

Sculpteo offers these services, along with many other smaller companies.

Final Comparison

Below is an easy to reference table showing how the various technologies discussed in this article stack up.

Design Flexibility Design complexity Setup cost Per-part cost Resistances Lead time Appearance Off the shelf Poor Low Low Low-Medium Good Low Fair SLS/MJF printing Excellent Low Low High Fair Low Good Injection molding Good High High Low Good High Excellent Sheet metal Fair High Medium Medium Fair Medium-High Fair FDM printing Good Medium Low Medium Poor Low Poor SLA printing Good Medium Low Medium-High Poor Low Good Vacuum molding Fair Medium-High Low-Medium Low-Medium Good Medium Excellent CNC Machining Fair Medium-High Medium High Good Medium-High Fair Laser cutting Fair Medium Low-Medium High Fair Low Fair

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