What is an IP test:

IP code is widely used to indicate the strength of waterproof and dustproof performance of electrical equipment. IP is the abbreviation of International Protection. The IP code defined in IEC 60529 will prevent foreign substances (including steel balls, copper wires, dust and water) from entering mechanical and electrical products. The degree of protection of the enclosure is classified.

Ratings are divided into two groups:

One set is for foreign bodies and dust (i.e. solids) and the other is for liquids (such as water), each rating starts with "IP", which stands for ingress protection, the first number after "IP" is associated with foreign body and dust ingress related to the rating.

The first number (0 to 6) shows the level of protection provided by the entry of the enclosure for solid objects (such as tools, wires, hands, fingers or dust)

The second number refers to preventing the ingress of liquids, and when either of these two contaminants is addressed, the remaining types are identified with an X. For example, IP1X belongs to class 1 against the ingress of foreign objects and dust, while X indicates that the class for ingress of liquids is not given, please note that X does not indicate zero protection.

The second digit (0 to 8) indicates the entry of the equipment in the protective enclosure to water, for example, IP54 means that the protection level is 5 against the entry of solid objects, and the level of protection against the entry of liquids is 4.

The first digit of the IP code The first digit indicates the level of protection against solid objects:

0. No special protection

1. Protection of solid objects of 50 mm or larger, for example, accidental contact with hands

2. Prevent solid objects of 12.5 mm or larger, such as fingers.

3. Prevent solid objects (tools and wires) of 2.5 mm or larger.

4. Protect against solid objects (tools, wires and small wires) of 1 mm or larger.

5. Prevent harmful dust from entering.

6. Completely dustproof.

Second digit of IP code:

0. No special protection.

1. Prevent water droplets falling vertically.

2. Make an angle of 15° with the vertical direction of the casing, and water droplets will have no effect on the casing.

3. Water or rain spray falls, and it has no effect at an angle of 60° to the vertical direction.

4. Avoid splashing water from all directions.

5. Protect against low pressure water jet (12.5L/min) from all directions.

6. Water (100L/min) temporarily immersed in water environment, such as dock deck.

7. The effect of being placed in 1m deep water for a short time.

8. Immerse in water for a long time under a certain pressure (for example, put it in a water depth of 1.5 meters for 1 hour) or spray hot water (80°C) for 30 seconds at a speed of 15 liters/min through a designated rotating nozzle from multiple directions.

The standards commonly used for IP protection detection are as follows:

1. IEC standard: IEC 60529:1989+AMD1:1999+AMD2:2013

2. EN standard: EN 60529:1991+A1:2000+A2:2013

3. GB standard: GB/T 4208-2017