Enclosure Mechanical impact resistance

Mechanical impact resistance

An additional number has sometimes been used to specify the resistance of equipment to mechanical impact. This mechanical impact is identified by the energy needed to qualify a specified resistance level, which is measured in joules (J). This has now been superseded by the separate IK number specified in EN 50102.

Although dropped from the 3rd edition of IEC 60529 onwards, and not present in the EN version, older enclosure specifications will sometimes be seen with an optional third IP digit denoting impact resistance. Newer products are likely to be given an IK rating instead. However there is not an exact correspondence of values between the old and new standards.

 

OLD IP Level        Impact energy   Equivalent drop mass and height

0              —           —

1              0.225 J   150 g dropped from 15 cm

2              0.375 J   250 g dropped from 15 cm

3              0.5 J       250 g dropped from 20 cm

5              2 J           500 g dropped from 40 cm

7              6 J           1.5 kg dropped from 40 cm

9              20.0 J     5.0 kg dropped from 40 cm

 

IK

number                Impact energy(joules) Equivalent impact

00           unprotected       no test

01           0.150     drop of 200 gram object from 7.5 cm height

02           0.200     drop of 200 gram object from 10 cm height

03           0.350     drop of 200 gram object from 17.5 cm height

04           0.500     drop of 200 gram object from 25 cm height

05           0.700     drop of 200 gram object from 35 cm height

06           1.00        drop of 500 gram object from 20 cm height

07           2.00        drop of 500 gram object from 40 cm height

08           5.00        drop of 1.7 kg object from 29.5 cm height

09           10.0        drop of 5 kg object from 20 cm height

10           20.0        drop of 5 kg object from 40 cm height

 

IP69K

 

German standard DIN 40050-9 extends the IEC 60529 rating system described above with an IP69K rating for high-pressure, high-temperature wash-down applications.[3] Such enclosures must not only be dust tight (IP6X), but also able to withstand high-pressure and steam cleaning. The test specifies a spray nozzle that is fed with 80°C water at 8–10 MPa (80–100 bar) and a flow rate of 14–16 L/min. The nozzle is held 10–15 cm from the tested device at angles of 0°, 30°, 60° and 90° for 30 s each. The test device sits on a turntable that rotates once every 12 s (5 rpm).

 

The IP69K test specification was initially developed for road vehicles, especially those that need regular intensive cleaning (dump trucks, cement mixers, etc.), but also finds use in other areas (e.g., food industry).

 

NEMA Rating

NEMA enclosure ratings have equivalent IP ingress protection ratings as follows. NEMA enclosure standards also dictate other product features not addressed by IP codes (such as submergibility, operation under icing conditions, and others).

 

NEMA Enclosure               IP Code

4, 4X      IP66

12           IP52

13           IP54

North American enclosure rating systems are defined in NEMA 250, UL 50, UL 508, and CSA C22.2 No. 94.