IP is the abbreviation of INGRESS PROTECTION. IP rating is the level of Protection against foreign matter intrusion of electrical equipment enclosures. It is derived from IEC 60529 standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission, which was also adopted as a national standard in the United States in 2004.

In this standard, for the protection of electrical equipment shell against foreign bodies, the format of IP grade is IPXX, where XX is two Arabic numbers. The first mark number represents the protection level of contact and foreign objects, and the second mark number represents the waterproof protection level. The specific protection level can be referred to the following table.

Here are the different levels of testing:

Dust level

IP1 x

Protect solid foreign body detectors with a diameter of 50mm and larger. Spheres with a diameter of 50mm should not be fully entered

IP2 x

Protective detectors of 12.5mm diameter and larger solid foreign bodies. The sphere diameter is 12.5mm and should not be fully entered

IP3 x

Protect solid foreign body detectors with diameter of 2.5mm and larger. Spheres with diameter of 2.5mm should not be fully entered

IP4 x

Protect solid foreign body detectors with a diameter of 1.0mm and larger. Spheres with a diameter of 1.0mm should not be fully entered

IP5 x

Protective dust may not completely prevent dust from entering, but the amount of dust entering will not cause damage to the equipment

IP6 x

Dust should not enter dust at low pressure of 20 mbar in closed cabinet

Waterproof rating (indicated by the second X)

(1) IPX 1

Method name: vertical drop test

Test equipment: water drop test device

Sample placement: according to the normal working position of the sample, the sample should be placed on the rotating sample table at a rate of 1r/min, and the distance from the top of the sample to the drip mouth should not be greater than 200mm

Test conditions: water drop was 10.5 mm/min

Duration: 10 min

(2) IPX 2

Method name: 15° dip drop test

Test equipment: water drop test device

Sample placement: make a surface of the sample at an Angle of 15° from the vertical line, and the distance from the top of the sample to the drip mouth is not more than 200mm. After each test, change another face, a total of four times.

Test conditions: water drop was 30.5mm /min

Duration: 4×2.5 min (total 10 min)

(3) IPX 3

Method name: water drenching test

Test method:

A. Swing tube drenching test

Test equipment: swing pipe type water splashing test device

Sample placement: select the pendulum tube with the appropriate radius, so that the height of the sample table is on the diameter of the pendulum tube, put the sample on the sample table, so that the distance from the top to the sample nozzle is not more than 200mm, and the sample table does not rotate.

Test conditions: the water flow is calculated according to the number of sprinkler holes in the pendulum pipe, and each hole is 0.07L /min. When pouring water, the water from the sprinkler holes in each 60° arc on both sides of the center point of the pendulum pipe is sprayed to the sample. The test sample is placed in the center of the semicircle of the pendulum tube. The pendulum tube swings 60° on both sides of the vertical line, a total of 120°. Each oscillation (2×120°) is about 4

Test time: continuous drenching for 10 min

B. Sprinkler type water drenching test

Test equipment: hand-held water splashing test device

Sample placement: make the parallel distance from the top of the test to the nozzle of the hand-held nozzle between 300mm and 500mm

Test conditions: a baffle with a balanced weight should be installed during the test, and the water flow rate should be 10 L/min

Test time: calculated according to the shell surface area of the sample to be tested, 1 min per square meter (not including installation area), minimum 5 min

(4) IPX 4

Method name: splashing test

Test method:

A. Swing pipe splashing test

Test equipment and sample placement: same as above IPX 3 Type A;

Test conditions: the same as the above IPX 3 A, except for the following conditions; The water spraying area is the water spraying to the sample from the water spraying holes in each 90° arc on both sides of the center point of the pendulum pipe. The test sample is placed in the center of the semicircle of the pendulum tube. The pendulum tube swings 180° on both sides of the vertical line, a total of about 360°. Each swing (2×360°) is about 12s

Test time: same as IPX 3 Type A above (i.e. 10 min).

B. Sprinkler type splashing test

Test equipment and sample placement: same as IPX 3 B above;

Test conditions: Remove the baffle mounted on the device with the balance weight, and the rest are the same as the above IPX 3 Type B;

Test time: same as the above IPX 3 Type B, i.e., 1 min per square meter (not including installation area) according to the surface area of the shell of the sample to be tested, at least 5min

(5) IPX 5

Method name: water spraying test

Test equipment: nozzle nozzle nozzle diameter is 6.3mm

Test conditions: the distance between the test sample and the spray nozzle is 2.5m ~ 3m, and the water flow is 12.5L /min (750 L/h).

Test time: 1 min per square meter (excluding installation area) according to the surface area of the shell of the sample to be tested, at least 3 min

(6) IPX 6

Method: Intense water spraying test;

Test equipment: the inner diameter of the nozzle is 12.5mm

Test conditions: the distance between the test sample and the spray nozzle is 2.5m ~ 3m, and the water flow is 100 L/min (6000 L/h).

Test time: 1 min per square meter (excluding installation area) according to the surface area of the shell of the sample to be tested, at least 3 min

(7) IPX 7

Method Name: Short-time immersion test

Test equipment and test conditions: immersion tank. Dimensions shall be such that the sample bottom is at least 1m away from the water surface after it is placed in the immersion tank. The distance from the top of the sample to the water surface should be at least 0.15m

Test time: 30 min

(8) IPX 8

Method name: continuous diving test;

Test equipment, test conditions and test time: to be agreed by the supplier (seller) and the severity of the test shall be higher than IPX 7.