An electronic product's protection against solid-state objects refers to access of hazardous parts inside the product. The ranking goes from 0 to 6, where 0 means no protection at all. If the product has a solid object protection of 1 to 4, it is protected against elements that are over 1mm, from hands and fingers to small tools or wires. The minimum protection recommended is an IP3X standard. For protection against dust particles, the product has to feature at least an IP5X standard. Ingress of dust is a major cause of damage in terms of electronics, so if the product is meant to be used in dusty locations, an IP6X, the maximum protection assured, should be a plus.
This is also called intrusion protection. It is paramount to choose the most appropriate IP Rating for an electronic product, as this influences the product's resistance to charged electricity contact, which may lead to product damage in time. The electronic components which are covered in thin polymeric films resist to dusty environmental conditions much longer.
The same goes for liquids. Liquids Ingress Protection is also known as moisture protection and the values can be found between 0 and 8. An additional 9K has been added recently to the Ingress Protection code. As in the case mentioned above, 0 means that the product is not protected in any way from the intrusion of liquid particles inside the case. Waterproof products won't necessarily resist when placed underwater for a long period of time. Exposure to small amounts of water is enough for damaging a product with a low IP Rating.
You might have come across products that have ratings like IPX4, IPX5 or even IPX7. As mentioned earlier, the first digit represents solid object protection but very often manufacturers don't test their products for dust ingression. That is why the first digit is simply replaced by an X. But that does not mean that the product is not protected against dust. If it has a fairly good protection against water then it's likely to be protected against dust as well.
Finally, the 9K value refers to products that can be cleaned using steam and support the effects of high-pressure water jets, regardless of the direction they come from. As mentioned before, for a product that is listed as an IPXX, no tests were run in order to find out whether the products are water and dust resistant or not. It is important to understand that an XX rating doesn't mean that the product is not protected at all. Contacting the manufacturer and always reading the user's guide is mandatory before putting the electronic device in special conditions.
Contact: Eason Wang
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E-mail: info@iec-equipment.com
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Eason Wang