Idex Home Page

Design/Application Request | Distributors | Web Store | Contact Us

Advanced Search | Product Locator

Ismatec: IP (Ingress Protection) Rating for Equipment and Enclosures

A two-digit number (as specified in EN 60529) is used to provide an IP rating to a piece of electronic equipment or to an enclosure for electronic equipment.

The two digits represent two different forms of environmental influence:

  • The first digit represents protection against ingress of solid objects
  • The second digit represents protection against ingress of liquids

The larger the value of each digit, the greater the protection from that influence. As an example, a product rated as IP57 would be better protected against environmental factors than another similar product that was only rated as IP43.

IP First Digit: Protection Against Ingress of Solid Objects Second Digit: Protection Against Ingress of Liquids
0 No protection No protection
1 Protected against solid objects over 50 mm, e.g. hands, large tools. Protected against vertically falling drops of water.
2 Protected against solid objects over 12 mm, e.g. hands, large tools. Protected against direct sprays of water up to 15 ° from vertical.
3 Protected against solid objects over 2.5 mm, e.g. wire, small tools. Protected against direct sprays of water up to 60 ° from vertical.
4 Protected against solid objects over 1.0 mm, e.g. wires. Protected against water sprayed from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.
5 Limited protection against dust ingress (no harmful deposit) Protected against low-pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.
6 Totally protected against dust ingress. Protected against high-pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.
7   Protected against immersion between 15 cm and 1 m.
8   Protected against long periods of immersion under pressure.