Industrial Communication Guide

BASICS OF AUTOMATION

1.7. IP PROTECTION TYPES

The best protection class is 6: this even provides protection from the ingress of dust in casings and plugs, for example in grinding ma- chines used for production purposes.

For safety reasons, electrical components have to be protected from exterior factors such as dust, solid particles, dampness and water. IP protection classes are stipulated for the various environ- mental conditions in which electrical components are used. These are defined in DIN EN 60529 and generally specified in the format IP-XY. The prefix letters IP stand for Ingress Protection; while the first digit (X) indicates the degree of protection from contact and solid particles, the second digit (Y) indicates the degree of protec- tion from dampness and water.

If the simultaneous ingress of water is not relevant, the above exam- ples might be specified as IP 1Y and IP 6Y.

Description

1st digit

0

No protection

1

Protected from solid particles (diameter of 50 mm and over)

ø50 mm

IP + X + Y

2

Protected from solid particles (diameter of 12.5 mm and over)

ø12,5 mm

Protection from contact and solid particles (first digit)

Protection from dampness and water (second digit)

3

Protected from solid particles (diameter of 2.5 mm and over)

ø2,5 mm

4

Protected from solid particles (diameter of 1.0 mm and over)

ø1 mm

Protection from the ingress of solid particles (X) The protection classes for solid particle ingress is from 0 to 6. The lowest protection class 1 prevents ingress of solid particles larger than 50 mm, for example cogwheels falling in an automobile repair garage.

5

Dust ingress is possible but cannot influence operation

6

No ingress of dust

9