What is Ingress Protection? | PEM
Understanding Ingress Protection: What It Is and Why It Matters
Have you ever dropped your phone in water and wondered how it survived? Or noticed how outdoor security cameras keep working despite rain and dust? The secret behind their durability is Ingress Protection (IP)—a crucial factor in product design that prevents dust, water, and other elements from damaging internal components.
Ingress protection is essential across industries. Consumer electronics, automotive systems, industrial machines, and even aerospace equipment all require protective enclosures to function reliably in harsh environments. Without proper protection, devices can fail due to water damage, corrosion, or dust buildup, leading to costly repairs or replacements.
What is Ingress Protection?
Ingress protection refers to an enclosure’s ability to block solid particles and liquids from entering and interfering with internal mechanisms. This protection is achieved through careful engineering, including sealed casings, specialized gaskets, and durable materials. The effectiveness of this protection is measured using IP ratings, which provide a standardized way to classify a product’s resistance to dust and water.
For example, a smartphone with an IP68 rating is both dustproof and capable of withstanding immersion in water, while an industrial control box rated IP65 can resist dust and low-pressure water jets. Different applications require different levels of protection, ensuring that devices continue to function as expected in their intended environments.
Why is Ingress Protection Important?
Ingress protection plays a vital role in product longevity, reliability, and safety. In consumer electronics, it keeps smartphones, wearables, and wireless earbuds safe from rain, sweat, and accidental spills. In the automotive sector, sensors, cameras, and electrical components need to withstand road dust, pressure washing, and heavy rain. Industrial equipment often operates in environments filled with dust or exposed to water spray, making IP-rated enclosures essential for avoiding malfunctions.
Even aerospace and military applications rely on ingress protection. Devices used in extreme environments, such as desert conditions or high-altitude flights, must endure dust storms, moisture, and fluctuating pressures without failing. The right IP rating ensures that these products perform consistently, regardless of external conditions.
To overcome these challenges, we developed the ECCB™ PEM eConnect® Contact Bushing. This innovative product ensures reliable electrical connections between aluminium busbars, as well as copper, PCBs, and cable terminals. Its high surface area knurl design pierces the oxide layer on busbars, creating consistent electrical connections without needing to plate the busbar itself.
How IP Ratings Work
The IP rating system, standardized by ISO 20653-2014, uses two digits to classify protection levels. The first digit (ranging from 0 to 6) represents protection against solid objects, including dust and debris. The second digit (ranging from 0 to 9K) indicates resistance to liquids, from dripping water to high-pressure jets and full submersion.
For example, a device rated IP67 is completely dust-tight and can survive immersion in water up to one meter deep for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, a machine with an IPX5 rating lacks dust protection but can withstand water jets from any direction. Understanding these ratings helps engineers design durable products and allows consumers to choose devices suited for their needs.
Conclusion
Ingress protection is a fundamental consideration in product design, ensuring that devices and machinery operate reliably despite exposure to dust, water, and environmental hazards. From everyday gadgets to high-tech industrial equipment, IP ratings provide a clear way to assess durability.
In the next post, we’ll break down the IP rating system in detail, explaining what each number means and how to choose the right level of protection for different applications.
View our full series of Ingress Protection posts:
How Ingress Protection is Tested
Failing Ingress Protection Tests