The various protection ratings for electric motors

As previously seen in our article: Information on an electric motor nameplate, the IP rating is one of the important pieces of data not to overlook. It is important that your electric motor is suitable for your application, but it is also important that it meets safety standards and protects people. Whether you are a coil winder, maintenance manager, or farmer, your safety conditions are not the same. You will therefore need to ensure that your electric motors are adapted to these requirements to prevent the ingress of solid bodies (dust) or liquids (water). First, we will look at the types of IP ratings and their effectiveness. Second, we will focus on the types of environments for each IP class.

Ingress Protection (IP) ratings.

Several levels of protection are possible for your electric motors. These levels are recognized by a code and named "IP class", which stands for "International Protection". The IP class is generally simplified and displayed as such: IPXX (The two Xs correspond to 2 digits). The first digit corresponds to the level of protection against solids and the second corresponds to the level of protection against liquids.

Ingress protection against solids:

IP0X = No protection against solid objects or dust

IP1X = Protection against solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter (hands and fingers)

IP2X = Protection against solid objects greater than 12.5mm in diameter (fingers and similar objects)

IP3X = Protection against solid objects greater than 2.5mm in diameter (wires, tools...)

IP4X = Protection against solid objects greater than 1mm (small solid objects)

IP5X = Dust protection (limited ingress)

IP6X = Total dust protection (no ingress possible)

IP5X and IP6X protection ratings are tested in laboratories.

Ingress protection against liquids:

IPX0 = No protection against liquids

IPX1 = Protection against vertically falling water drops

IPX2 = Protection against water drops inclined up to 15°

IPX3 = Protection against water splashes inclined up to 60°

IPX4 = Protection against water splashes

IPX5 = Protection against low-pressure water jets

IPX6 = Protection against powerful water jets

IPX7 = Protection against the effects of temporary immersion in water at a specified depth

IPX8 = Protection against the effects of prolonged immersion in water at a specified depth

IPX9 = Protection against powerful, high-temperature water jets

Types of environments.

The choice of your IP class will depend on the environment in which your electric motor will be installed.

- Dry indoor environment, with no water exposure: IP20 to IP44

- Indoor environment but with a risk of occasional water splashes: IP44

- Outdoor environment, risk of exposure to bad weather: IPP55 to IP65

- Environment exposed to powerful water jets: IP65 to IP66

- Environment with risk of temporary immersion in water: IP67

- Environment requiring continuous immersion in water: IP68

These recommendations are general, as each need may vary depending on the requirements of each application.

At Dymatec Industries, all our standard electric motors have an IP55 rating to ensure protection against dust and water jets. Our Atex motors, on the other hand, have an IP65 rating for complete resistance to dust and water splashes.

For any further requests, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are available and will be happy to answer you.