When creating a decision what electrical box to choose and carefully evaluating each rating can be a very daunting task. The enclosure should protect the most sensitive electronics. It should be able to give protection for controls and security systems. With this in mind, how can you be sure you are choosing the right enclosure for your engineering application?
Lucky you, there’s one simple answer to that. You can choose a rating that will tell you right away what you really need to know and determine about a specific enclosures’ protective ratings. You can check an enclosure’s IP rating.
This is one of the two major rating systems that is being widely used. IP rating system is used around the world to determine the protective qualities of an electronics enclosure. It is also one of the most trustworthy tools in making sure that the electrical box selection will do what it is designed to do.
With this in mind, IP65 and IP67 are two of the most common enclosure ratings. Most often than not, you have probably seen them when you are looking at some different models of enclosures. You might also be wondering what their major differences would be and how each rating can fulfill up to its purpose. In addition to this, you need to brush up your knowledge about IP ratings.
Defining IP ratings
To get a general idea on how you can understand IP ratings and how it works within a system, let us take a look at the chart consisting of different IP ratings. Each of the IP rating consists of two-digit number that specify the type of protection an enclosure gives.
The first number tells you the level of protection each of the enclosure has against solid ingress. This includes airborne or floating dust, dirt, debris. It can also tell if the enclosure has protection from any accidental contact.
The second digit in the IP rating series now identifies the type of protection an electronic enclosure has when it comes to water ingress that can potentially come from chemicals and other type of liquids that can be present in the environment.
Take note that there are IP rating factors that are not included in this guided rating. For example, the ability to resist heavy impacts or corrosion resistance cannot be determined. If in case you need protection from said elements, you should look at NEMA ratings (for corrosion) or IK ratings (designed for impacts.)
Major Difference Between IP65 vs. IP67 Ratings
If you are trying to compare IP65 vs. IP67 you should have the understanding that both of these ratings are considered high-level. Both ratings can give you excellent protection and both are recommended for engineering applications that require outdoor use. In line with this, there are very few specific distinctions that can make a huge impact about a certain application.
To further understand both ratings, at the start of each of the rating, they both have “6.” This means that it gives complete protection form solid ingress. Another key thing to remember is that both of these electrical enclosures usually comes with gasket seals and they are most capable of blocking the ingress of ultra-fine particles that can be floating around the air. Therefore, both ratings are very suitable for any engineering applications that require dust protection.