WHAT IS AN IP RATING?
An IP (International Protection Marking) rating or also known as Ingress Protection is a rating given to a piece of equipment to protect its electrical or mechanical components inside an enclosure to certain elements. Using this standard provides a user more detailed information on a product other than just marking it as waterproof.
WHAT DOES THE FIRST DIGIT IN AN IP RATING MEAN?
The first digit in an IP Rating is the protection rating against solid particles, examples include moving parts, dust ect.
Example: IP 68
The chart below shows the first digit rating for solid protection.
| Rating | Effective Against | Description |
| 0 | Nothing | No protection against contact or objects |
| 1 | >50mm | Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part |
| 2 | >12.5mm | Fingers or similar objects |
| 3 | >2.5 mm | Tools, thick wires, etc. |
| 4 | >1 mm | Most wires, slender screws, large ants etc. |
| 5 | Dust protected | Dust entering is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment. |
| 6 | Dust tight | No entering of dust; complete protection against contact (dust tight). A vacuum must be applied. Test duration of up to 8 hours based on air flow. |
WHAT DOES THE SECOND DIGIT IN AN IP RATING MEAN?
The Second Digit in an IP Rating is the protection rating against Liquids, examples include steam, water jets ect.
Example: IP 68
The chart below shows the first digit rating for solid protection.
| Rating | Protection Against | Description |
| 0 | Nothing | None |
| 1 | Dripping water | Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful effect on the specimen when mounted in an upright position onto a turntable and rotated at 1 RPM. |
| 2 | Dripping water when tilted at 15° | Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle of 15° from its normal position. A total of four positions are tested within two axes. |
| 3 | Spraying water | Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect, utilizing either: a) an oscillating fixture, or b) A spray nozzle with a counterbalanced shield.Test a) is conducted for 5 minutes, then repeated with the specimen rotated horizontally by 90° for the second 5-minute test. Test b) is conducted (with shield in place) for 5 minutes minimum. |
| 4 | Splashing of water | Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect, utilizing either: a) an oscillating fixture, or b) A spray nozzle with no shield.Test a) is conducted for 10 minutes. Test b) is conducted (without shield) for 5 minutes minimum. |
| 5 | Water jets | Water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
| 6 | Powerful water jets | Water projected in powerful jets (12.5 mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
| 6K | Powerful water jets with increased pressure | Water projected in powerful jets (6.3 mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction, under elevated pressure, shall have no harmful effects |
| 7 | Immersion, up to 1 m depth | Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion). |
| 8 | Immersion, 1 m or more depth | The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects. The test depth and duration is expected to be greater than the requirements for IPx7, and other environmental effects may be added, such as temperature cycling before immersion. |
| 9K | Powerful high temperature water jets | Protected against close-range high pressure, high temperature spray downs.Smaller specimens rotate slowly on a turntable, from 4 specific angles. Larger specimens are mounted upright, no turntable required, and are tested freehand for at least 3 minutes at distance of 0.15–0.2 m. There are specific requirements for the nozzle used for the testing. This test is identified as IPx9 in IEC 60529. |
Industrial Scale Inc. offers a wide variety of weighing equipment that can handle some of the most hostile environments, click here to view our products and catalogs.
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