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Ingress Protection (IP) Ratings
Frequently asked questions about rugged engineering
Frequently asked questions on rugged product engineering
Acronyms
A handy list of industry acronyms for rugged product engineering.
Ingress Protection (IP)
IP is an acronym for Ingress Protection. The IP ratings are arrived at as a result of the ingress protection tests specified in IEC 529: 1989 which equates to European Standard EN 60529: 1992.
This standard describes a system for classifying the degrees of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment. The object of the standard is to give protection to persons against access to hazardous parts inside the enclosure; protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against ingress of solid foreign objects and protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful effects due to the ingress of water or other liquids. The letters IP are followed by two numerals. The coding system indicates.
| FIRST NUMERAL | SECOND NUMERAL | |
|---|---|---|
| PROTECTION AGAINST SOLID BODIES | PROTECTION OF PERSONS AGAINST ACCESS | PROTECTION AGAINST LIQUIDS |
| X Protection unspecified (untested) | X Protection unspecified (untested) | X Protection unspecified (untested) |
| 0 No protection | 0 No special protection provided | 0 No protection |
| 1 Objects > 50mm | 1 Protection of hand against access to dangerous parts | 1 Vertically dripping water |
| 2 Objects > 12mm | 2 Protection of fingers against access to dangerous parts | 2 75-90° angled dripping water |
| 3 Objects > 2.5mm | 3 Sprayed water | |
| 4 Objects > 1.0mm | 4 Splashed water | |
| 5 Dust protected* | 5 Water jets | |
| 6 Dust tight | 6 Powerful water jets | |
| 7 Temporary immersion | ||
| 8 Continuous immersion | ||
* Dust protected means protection against entry of dust in sufficient quantity to interfere with satisfactory operation of equipment.
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