Considering that many manufacturing processes involve high heat, powerful washes, dust, oil, and other potentially harmful conditions, it is essential to have a means of indicating the Degree to which individual components can withstand their respective operating environments. In fact, the standardization of these qualities has become an issue of international importance.

The acronym IP stands for Protection index, and identifies the degree of protection that an object has against the impact of solid objects, and also against accidental contact with liquids. This index is defined by an international standard that is in the IEC 60529: International Protection Rating (also known as Ingress Protection).

The standard classifies the IP protection degree of electronic equipment, such as Industrial Computers. It defines much more than whether the object is waterproof or not: information such as resistance of the object to body parts, dust, accidental contact and also how much water ingress is defined by the tests.

The acronym IP is always followed by two digits. Each digit that follows the acronym means one thing, the first digit means the degree of protection against solid objects, and the second digit the degree of protection against accidental contact with liquids.
The higher the number, the greater its resistance to the entry of foreign bodies that could damage its operation.

The table below helps to better explain how the degree of protection works.

Paying attention to this detail is important when buying industrial computers for harsh environments, and places where they will suffer from the weather. Checking if the IPC has a high IP can save you a lot of headaches. Check out on our website all our certified industrial computers.