What is an IP rating?
IP (Ingress Protection) ratings are standards for electrical enclosures as described in document 60529 issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The IEC is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees).
The objective of the standard is to classify degrees of protection of electrical equipment in terms of:
- protection of the user against access to potentially harmful parts inside the enclosure
- protection of the electronics inside against foreign objects
- protection of the electronics inside against water.
Rugged laptops, rugged tablets and rugged PDA’s rating refers to the equipment's ability to permit solids and liquids to penetrate the devices’ enclosure. IP Ratings are expressed as a two-digit number (Example: IP-65). The first number designates protection from solids, while the second number designates protection from liquids. Please refer to the information below for specific IP rating information.
If a device is truly ruggedized for use in harsh environments, then an IP rating will be specified. If a computer is being used in an environment where dust and moisture are common, then the IP rating must be a consideration. If the IP rating is not specified, then you can assume a computer will not be resistant to dust and moisture. Any rugged product being used in a harsh environment should have an IP rating of at least IP-65 in order to be fully protected from dust and liquids. Dust and moisture can cause major issues to internal computer components and affect your mobile deployment.
Tough Corp’s manufacturers have their equipment certified by independent laboratories to verify their product's IP rating.
What does it all mean?
The larger the value of each digit, the greater the protection from that influence. For example, a product rated as IP65 would be better protected against environmental factors than another similar product that was only rated as IP54.
Each digits level of protection of protection is explained in more detail below:
First number - Degree of ingress protection
The first number of the IP code indicates the degree of protection the rugged laptop has against contact with moving parts and the degree that the device is protected against solid foreign bodies intruding into an enclosure.
0. No special protection
1. Protection from a large part of the body such as hand or from solid objects greater than 50 mm in diameter
2. Protection against objects not greater than 80 mm in length and 12 mm in diameter
3. Protection from entry by tools, wires, etc., with a diameter or thickness greater than 2.5 mm
4. Protection from entry by solid objects with a diameter or thickness greater than 1.0 mm
5. Protection from an amount of dust that would interfere with the operation of the equipment
6. Dust-tight
Second number - Degree of moisture protection
The second number indicates the degree of protection for the rugged Laptop inside the enclosure against the harmful entry of various forms of moisture (e.g. dripping, spraying, submersion, etc.)
0. No special protection
1. Protection from vertically dripping water
2. Protection from dripping water when tilted up to 15°
3. Protection from sprayed water
4. Protection from splashed water
5. Protection from water projected from a nozzle
6. Protection against heavy seas, or powerful jets of water
7. Protection against temporary immersion
8. Protection against complete continuous submersion in water (up to 1 metre deep for 15 minutes)
