IP65 Rating - Why it Matters to Manufacturing Floor Computer Integration

If you're considering enclosures to protect your manufacturing floor computers, you will come across IP ratings. The IP standard is a European classification system set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The IP65 rating is one of many, but what is it and why is it important to manufacturing floor computer integration?

An IP rating, often referred to as the Ingress Protection Rating or International Protection Rating, features the letters IP accompanied by two numbers. As defined by international standard IEC 60529, an IP rating establishes the level of protection that an industrial computer enclosure provides against the penetration of solids and liquids.

Solids (first digit) are defined as body parts, such as hands and fingers, dust and other airborne particles, while liquids (second digit) tends to refer to water as industrial computer enclosures are equipped with a number of electrical components.

In terms of an industrial computer enclosure with an IP65 rating, it provides level six protection against solids and grade five protection against liquids. The level six rating means that the unit is dust tight, while the level five grade against liquids means that no water projected in jets, from any direction, will have any harmful effects on internal hardware.

Why is this Important for Manufacturing Floor Computer Integration?

Every manufacturing facility is different and protecting computers that are at the core of your operational processes relies on you selecting the correct level of protection against potential damage threats.

Download The Do's And Don'ts Guide Of Manufacturing Floor Computer Integration

Unfortunately, most marketing material issued concerning enclosures tends to define products as waterproof or dustproof, both of which are open to interpretation. For example, an enclosure rated IP51 could be classed as 'waterproof' because it protects against dripping water (vertically falling drops).

However, without knowing about the IP rating chart, you would likely buy an IP51 rated unit based on the fact that it's marketed as waterproof...

...Bearing this in mind, whether your facility has high-levels of dust, is considerably humid or a combination of both, understanding IP ratings will help you to choose the appropriate level of computer protection needed for your industrial environment.

When integrating a computer network on the manufacturing floor, doing so with the right industrial computer enclosures will not only save you time, but considerable amounts of money on computer repairs.

With that in mind, a computer enclosure with an IP65 rating is ideal if your facility needs dust tight computer protection, but will also prevent water intrusion if your manufacturing plant undergoes a washdown process at the end of the day.

If you require a higher level of protection for your manufacturing floor computers, here's a specification of the degrees of protection commonly provided by computer enclosures:

First Digit: Solids

Second Digit: Liquids

The complete IP spectrum for protection against solids and liquids is as follows: (click on image to view large scale version).

To learn more about manufacturing floor computer integration and the role of industrial PC enclosures, get the guide below…