INDUSTRY NEWS
what is IP ratings?
If you are familiar with scales or balances, you might have encountered ingress protection (IP) ratings at some point. This short guide hopes to clarify what we mean by IP ratings when looking at weighing instruments.
What do IP ratings on scales mean?
IP ratings refer to standards set by the IEC to indicate the level of dust and water protection a device has.
Standards for defining these types of protection are set and regulated by the International Electrotechnical Commission. The IEC is the world's leading organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
When the internal mechanisms of these devices are protected against dust and water, they get an IP rating. The IP rating is a number that corresponds with a specific level of protection.
The degrees of protection are expressed as "IP" followed by a two-digit number. The numbers can vary depending on the amount of protection provided, but INTEL WEIGHING's scales that feature IP ratings are manufactured specifically to meet the IP66 standard.
The rating's first digit (in INTEL WEIGHING's case, it's a "6") provides a designation as to how well the product is protected against particulate matter, such as dust. A lower number signifies a lesser amount of protection. The chart below specifies the object size against which the device is protected.
Protection Against Solids
| Index | Dust/Particle Protection |
| 0 | Not protected |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects greater than 50mm |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects greater than 12mm |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects greater than 2.5mm |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects greater than 1.0mm |
| 5 | Dust protected (small quantities OK) |
| 6 | Dust-tight |
The second digit (another "6" for INTEL WEIGHING) shows the extent to which the equipment is protected against water. Again, a lower number means less protection. The chart below specifies the amount of liquid against which the device is protected. When a product gets an IP66 rating, the device is not only dustproof, it is also waterproof to a certain extent.
Protection Against Liquids
| Index | Water Protection |
| 0 | No special protection |
| 1 | Water dripping/falling vertically |
| 2 | Water sprayed at an angle (up to 15 degrees from the vertical) |
| 3 | Spray water (any direction up to 60 degrees from the vertical) |
| 4 | Spray water from all directions (limited ingress OK) |
| 5 | Low-pressure water jets from all directions (limited ingress OK) |
| 6 | High-pressure jets from all directions (limited ingress OK) |
If you are interested in IP65 or higher scale parts or scale, please contact us sales@intelweighing.com.