IP 69K, IP 67 etc.

- an introduction

Product specifications with details such direction. This degree

as IP 54, IP 67, etc. have become widely of protection primarily Picture 1

established. For the most part, there is concerns the resistance

a mention that the latter is a degree of of electrical production
protection. Even amongst specialists, equipment to clean-
however, many are unable to interpret the ing using high-pres-
abbreviation correctly. sure jets, where there
Whilst the letter pair “IP” stands for are requirements with
“ingress protection”, the meaning of the respect to pressure,
numbers is considerably more complicated. increased temperature
Most users do not even know where the (hot water) and highly
definitions of these specifications could active chemical clean-
be looked up - a problem that frequently ing and disinfecting
causes application failures. The following agents (in particular,
explanations should contribute to a better hydrogen peroxide,
understanding of this important specifica- but also other alkali
IP 68 & IP 69K
tion. and chlorine-containing
products). Cleaning in
IEC 60529 the food sector is, as a
The relevant standard is IEC publication rule, coupled with disinfection, which requires the use of further, generally aggressive
IEC 60529, formerly IEC 529 (IEC stands additives. Although cleaning with high-pressure jets is highly effective, this method
for International Electrotechnical Commis-
sion), first published in 1989. It can be ob- First digit: Meaning with regard to Second digit: Meaning with regard to
tained directly from the IEC (address at the the protection of electrical equipment the protection of electrical equipment
end of this article). Originally intended for against the penetration of solid foreign against ingress of water
housings, its scope has been extended dur- objects (including dust) 0 not protected
ing the course of time, and today includes a
multitude of devices, including sensors and
0 not protected 1 vertically falling drops
connecting cables. The standard has been 1 with diameter ≥ 50 mm 2 vertically falling drops (15o incli-
extended, translated and modified several 2 with diameter ≥ 12.5 mm nation of the test piece)
times. Of particular interest is the European, 3 spraying water
3 with diameter ≥ 2.5 mm
i.e. German equivalent DIN 40050.
4 with diameter ≥ 1 mm 4 splashing water
As a general rule, IEC standards are
4K splashing water with increased
created by teams of IEC specialists (techni- 5 dust protected
pressure
cal committees), consisting of representa- 6 dust-tight
tives of manufacturers and end-users from 5 water jets
member states. IEC 60529 is the work of 6 powerful water jets
Technical Committee 70. However, national 6K powerful water jets with increased
standards are not infrequently used as the pressure
basis for international standards and their 7 temporary immersion
further evolution.
8 continuous immersion
IP 69K 9 not defined
Here, DIN (Deutsches Institut für 9K high-pressure / steam-jet cleaning
Normung / German Institute for Stand-
ardization), whose standards frequently first An overview of IP degrees of protection according to IEC 60529 / DIN 40050. The
become EN standards (with validity in the table is divided into a number of criteria for the penetration of solid and liquid ob-
EU) before then becoming IEC standards, jects, as well as dust. The abbreviation of an IP degree of protection consists of
is particularly active. Standardization of the the recurrent letters “IP”, followed by the first and second digits according to the
IP degrees of protection followed exactly above table. As a general rule, the higher the digit, the better the protection. The
this path. Encountering great interest, the commonly used degree of protection IP 54, for instance, stands for dust protection,
relatively new degree of protection IP 69K which includes protection against the penetration of large and small solid foreign
resulted from the demands of the Euro- objects, as well as protection against splashing water, but not immersion in water.
pean food industry. Requests from utility
vehicle manufacturers tended in the same Inset 1


also aggressively attacks metals and plastics of all kinds. Particularly concerned is the It only remains to be said that the really
electrical equipment of food-processing installations, worst of all the sensors, which tricky part is actually satisfying all three
are already particularly exposed. As a result of this situation an appendix (DIN 40050 requirements simultaneously.
part 9) was added to DIN 40050, which includes a definition of IP 69K (amongst others),
describing an elaborate, standardized test procedure for production equipment. Seals
Elastic materials are generally chosen
Testing for the sealing, as well as for eventual con-
In the IP 69K test, the device to be tested is mounted on a rotating table turning at necting cables. However, elastic materials
5 revolutions per minute. During the course of the test, the test piece is splashed for are rather unsatisfactory when exposed
30 seconds from each of the angles of 0, 30, 60 and 90o. The jet comes from a flat to mechanical forces, which is precisely
nozzle at a distance of 100 to 150 mm and has a temperature of 80 ± 5 oC, a delivery the case with high-pressure jets. The
rate of 14 to 16 l/min and a pressure of 8,000 to 10,000 kPa (80 - 100 bar) (fig. 1). standard solution consists of mechanically
These conditions may seem extreme, but are, however, typical for applications in the pretensioning the sealing materials to such
food-processing industry. an extent that the forces created by the
jet are guaranteed to be inferior, even at
increased temperatures and over a long
period of time.

Water jet from a distance
of 100 to 150 mm
Jet for 30 seconds from
every angle
Delivery rate: 14 – 16 l/min
Water pressure: 80 - 100
bar (8,000 – 10,000 kPa)
Rotation at 5 rpm
Fig. 1
Product development for IP 69K applications
To pass this test, what do products have to be like? First and foremost, the following
3 problem areas must be tackled:
- The seals must prevent the damaging penetration of liquids, even under pressure
- The materials must be able to resist the chemicals and the temperature.
- The electronics must be able to withstand the temperature changes.
Choice of material
The ultimate material for metal parts
is stainless steel. From the wide range of
available types on the market, there are
some that have the necessary chemical
resistance (V4A, i.e. AISI 316L). With regard
to plastics, although Teflon could fulfil all the
requirements without problem, its price and
complicated processing requirements are
an obstacle. As an alternative, the ubiqui-
tous PVC can do the job, since its chemical
resistance is perfectly sufficient. However,
not all countries permit the use of PVC in
the food industry, since its raw materials
are strongly carcinogenic. However, in the
wide range of plastics available, there are
sufficient alternatives.
Resistance to temperature change
Temperature-change resistance is a
complex matter. Since it is not specified
in IP 69K, its great importance for the
long-term reliability of sensors is merely
pointed out here.
The real objective of IP standardization
should not be lost from sight. Operators of
manufacturing facilities want their instal-
lations to be in use as much as possible,
which requires as low a rate of component
failures as possible. Failures during opera-
tion, with the corresponding downtimes,
are extremely costly, and thus totally un-
acceptable. But even “plannable” failures,
such as the preventive replacement of
components, are problematic. The costs
of such preventive maintenance, after a
few cycles already, nearly always bear no


relation to the actual component prices.
The only valid alternative is obvious: The
components of an installation must outlive
the latter’s planned operating life, with no
ifs or buts.
Other IP degrees of protection
Although other more commonly en-
countered degrees of protection, such
as IP 67 and IP 68 are, at first sight, less
problematic, quite the opposite is, in
fact, found in practice. With IP 67, users
often mistakenly assume that devices so
specified can be operated in any liquid for
any length of time. Both assumptions are
false, since the standard is unambiguous
in this respect. The liquid must be water,
and the test piece immersed to a depth of
1 meter for 30 minutes. In the case of IP
68, on the other hand, the standard itself
is ambiguous. Although operation under
water for an unlimited time is required (or
rather suggested), the small print is, how-
ever, exceedingly non-committal. As for IP
67, the liquid is water, but the immersion
depth and the guaranteed immersion du-
ration, however, have to be negotiated on
a case-by-case basis by the “users of the
standard”, i.e. in practice the manufacturers
and end-users.
In addition, it has to be pointed out that
the higher degree of protection IP 69K in
no way also implies IP 67 or IP 68. Quite
the opposite is true, so that these must be
stated additionally and independently, i.e.
“IP 68 & IP 69K”, for instance.
Products
There is a huge demand for products,
particularly sensors, that conform to IP
69K. The corresponding offer is, at present
however, still limited. The new Contrinex
series 700L inductive proximity switches
can be regarded as a particularly success-
ful realization of the requirement profile. Of
particular interest is that, at the all-important
place, i.e. the sensing face, a radical solu-
tion has been implemented. The device
housings are turned from solid metal, with
no plastic joints, which means that the
most important weak point of conventional
devices is eliminated (picture 2).
In all other aspects too, this product range is
completely optimized for the intended application
location. With special stainless steel (V4A / AISI 316L),
special cable (TPE-S), special plastics, a particularly
resistant cable entrance
point, increased operat-
ing temperature range
and, last but not least,
laser engraving instead
of labels or printing, the
product leaves virtually
nothing to be desired (pic-
ture 3). The well-known
advantages of the stand-
ard series 700 range are
retained, in particular
Picture 2 the long operating dis-
tance, achieved also on
non-ferrous metals. The
switches are thus ideal for use in the food and pharmaceutical
industries, where IP 69K is frequently a prerequisite.
Picture 3
Historical facts
DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (German Institute for
Standardization)
No industrial society without standards. Alongside patents and licenses, they
provide a reliable system for the organization of innovations, new products and even
services. The main activity of DIN is the writing of technical rules. The objective
of DIN is to create standards for the benefit of the economy and of society as a
whole. DIN offers a forum where representatives of the manufacturing industries,
commerce, trade and science, service industries and end-users meet, where anyone
with an interest in standardization may discuss the latest state-of-the art technology
and record the results in German Standards.
DIN was established on 22 December 1917 as the “Normenausschuss der
deutschen Industrie (NADI)”, the Standards Association of German Industry. In
March 1918, the first German Standard was published (DIN 1 Surfacing pins). In
1920, the DIN mark was registered as a trademark with the patent office. In 1922,
DIN 476 Paper sizes (DIN A 4 etc.) was published.
Today, DIN, Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (company trademark DIN), with
its headquarters in Berlin, is Germany’s national standardization organization. In
collaboration with commerce, industry, science, end-users and government offices,
the association promotes technical standards for rationalization and quality assur-
ance. DIN also represents German interests in international standard committees,
such as, for instance, ISO, IEC and CEN.

 Already in 1904, the farsighted International Electrical Congress, which at the
time hosted a large number of delegates in St. Louis, drafted a report that said “…
steps should be taken to secure the co-operation of the technical societies of the
world, by the appointment of a representative commission to consider the question
of the standardization of the nomenclature and ratings of electrical apparatus and
machinery”. In less than two years, in June 1906, the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC), with headquarters in London, was officially founded. In 1948,
the IEC moved its permanent headquarters from England to Switzerland, where it
remains to this day.
In 1914, the IEC could already boast the foundation of four technical commit-
tees that developed standards, nomenclatures, definitions and ratings. By 1980,
this number had climbed to 80. In 2005, the Commission published the most recent
edition of its IEC Multilingual Dictionary, which contains 19,400 electrotechnical defi-
nitions in French and English and equivalent terms in 13 languages. Consolidated
indexes are available in English and French, as well as in German and Spanish.
Today, the IEC considers itself the leading global organization for the preparation
and publication of international standards for all electrical, electronic and related
technologies.

Contact for IEC standards: Contact for DIN standards:

International Electrotechnical Commission Beuth Verlag GmbH
3, rue de Varembé D-10772 Berlin
CH-1211 Geneva 20 Tel.: +49 30 2601-0
Tel.: +41 22 919 02 11 Fax: +49 30 2601-1260
Fax: +41 22 919 03 00 E-mail: postmaster@beuth.de
E-mail: info@iec.ch Internet: www.beuth.de
Internet: www.iec.ch

Contrinex AG Industrial Electronics

route André Piller 50 - CH-1762 Givisiez - Switzerland
Tel: +41 26 460 46 46 - Fax: +41 26 460 46 40
Internet: www.contrinex.com - E-mail: info@contrinex.com

 Contrinex AG 2009

Dipl.-Ing. Peter Heimlicher studied electronics at the ETH in Zurich. In 1972, im-
mediately after his studies, he founded Contrinex AG, of which he has been CEO
ever since. His company has specialized in the manufacture of high-performance
sensing devices for industrial applications.