FIRGELLI® has launched a new Article on our main website to educate people about IP ratings. These rating are particularly important when it comes to buying and using the right Linear Actuator for each application. Understanding how IP ratings work is very important and can save a lot of time and money in the long run.
- How to Understand IP Ratings?
- What is actually an IP rating?
- How to Understand IP Ratings?
- How to Determine IP Ratings?
- What's the difference between an ingress protection rating and waterproof?
- What about IPX Ratings Refers?
- So, What Rating Should Be Used?
- Are IP-Rated Appliances Effective?
- Conclusion:
How to Understand IP Ratings?
You may have heard the term IP rating around the water-resistant watches and cameras, do you know what they mean? An IP Ratings protected device simply refers to the term "Ingress Protection" protection. Which indicates how sturdy the device is against dust and water.
IP stands for "ingress protection" while the number behind it tells you what level of dust or liquid resistance a product has. There are two standard organizations that determine these levels, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM). And there are no less than ten different recognized IP ratings.
What is actually an IP rating?
An IP rating is an indication of the degree to which a product's enclosure resists intrusion by foreign objects such as dirt, dust, and solid particles. It can also be used to characterize the degree of protection against water flow in an open container. This rating system is "International" since it has been adopted by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
How to Understand IP Ratings?
The current IP rating system has been in effect since 1987. The first digit of an IP code indicates how resistant the device is against intrusion while the second describes its ability to protect itself from water. Each increase in number means that less dust or water can affect your equipment that much more. For example, a "6" would be higher than a "7."
After the name IP, the First Digits can be described as like (Protection From Foreign Substances):
0 - As Not Rated for protection against ingress
1 - Resistant to Solids Greater than 50mm, Such as Wires or Tools
2 - Resistant to Solids greater than 12.5mm, Such as Small Wires or Screws
3 - Resistant to Solids greater than 2.5mm, Tools, Small Wires or Screws
4 - Resistant to Solids greater than 1mm, Tools, Screw, Nails, Small insects.
5 - Protection against contact with dust and debris.
6 - Full Protection against contact of dust and large particles, but NOT immersion.
After the name IP the Second Digits can be described as like ( Moist Ingress):
0 - Non rated for moist conditions
1 - Protect the device from the vertical fallen droplets.
2 - Dripping Water when the enclosure is tilted at 15 degrees from its normal position (raindrops).
3 - Spraying water when the enclosure is tilted at 60 degrees from its normal position (no rain).
4 - Splashing water from any direction, but not water jets.
5 - Splashing of water from any direction without a harmful effect.
6 - Complete protection against water immersion up to 12.5 mm nozzle.
7 - Waterproofing can provide protection from complete immersion for up to 30 minutes at depths of 15 cm and 1 meter (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
8 - The casing is thick in order to prevent moisture penetration and corrosion, but it can't withstand extended immersion at higher pressure (i.e., deeper levels). Depending on the type of equipment, the manufacturer may specify additional criteria such as temperature changes and flow rates, in addition to precise parameters.
9K - This is a scale that measures the suitability of the paint protection system for high-pressure, high-temperature jet sprays, wash-downs, or steam cleanings. - This rating is most often seen in specific road vehicle applications.
How to Determine IP Ratings?
As Like IP67, Here The term IP means Ingress Protection. And the number behind it, such as 67, tells you what standard of protection it meets.
The first two digits denote the level of dust protection and the last digit denotes the level of water resistance. A first "6" digit means there's no dust penetration and a second "7" means the product is waterproof and can withstand immersion between 15 cm and 1 meter.
What's the difference between an ingress protection rating and waterproof?
An ingress protection rating is basically whether it protects against foreign objects such as dust or sand while waterproof usually refers to complete submersion. However, if you see an item with both words on it, this doesn't mean it'll handle full submersion like many think. It typically means that it offers protection from both foreign objects and water.
The British Standard BS EN 60529 has been a very popular standard in specifying a product's degree of waterproofing and dust resistance. These details will usually be stated somewhere in the published documents.
What about IPX Ratings Refers?
IPX ratings are calculated by an international standard. So it's not specific to any one country. The IPX rating is determined in a laboratory and then assigned based on testing and calculation of certain environmental, or situational factors.
IPX Ratings are described as the same as IP Ratings that may be assigned to other equipment.
So, What Rating Should Be Used?
The IP rating is the most popular method used to rate protection against solid foreign objects and water. The IPX rating may be used for other situations not covered by the IP standard, like electronic devices that are safe against dust or spraying water but aren't designed to be submersible (IPX4), or products with moving mechanical parts (IPX7).
Both of these tests basically refer to ingress protection from foreign elements only, so if you see one of them it doesn't automatically mean your product can also hold up against complete submersion. It's important to check both ratings before making a decision because even though they're both referred to as "protection" ratings, they do not necessarily denote the same degree of protection.
Are IP-Rated Appliances Effective?
Yes, IP-rated products will offer you a certain degree of protection from the elements. As both tests are measured on different scales, it's hard to give an exact numerical value for how much each rating will protect against, but just remember that the higher the number, the better it'll be able to protect your product from water and foreign objects.
To ensure your appliance or electronic equipment is completely protected against water damage, look for options that are both IP (Ingress Protection) and IPX (Ingress Protection extended) rated.
Conclusion:
Now you understand what IP Rating mean, let's look at how it can be used when describing products with ratings on manufacturers' websites, user manuals, promotional material, marketing literature, etc. Knowing this will help you determine if they can be used in the areas you need to use them. So these are the different aspects where you can see the IP code being used.
Meta Description: Learn about the different levels of dust and water resistance and what they mean when it comes to your product’s protection.
