Rugged Tablet PC What are IP Ratings?
IP – what is it? In many discussions to do with IT it’s shorthand for either Intellectual Property or Internet Protocol but in this context it stands for Ingress Protection. These ratings were developed and are maintained by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and apply to the environmental protection of wide variety of electrical equipment machinery and enclosures. With so many users looking at a rugged tablet pc what are IP ratings?
Ratings usually have two numbers this chart describes both dimensions.
- Represents the amount of protection the device has from solid objects or materials.
- Indicates the amount of protection from liquids.
Since dust and moisture can wreak havoc with electronics the IP Rating is an important consideration when choosing units for your enterprise mobile project.
Devices designed for the consumer and enterprise markets will have different characteristics to each other as the construction of the case will be designed to a specification to enable a unit to pass at various IP ratings. It is also worth remembering that the IP rating itself is not an observation on the likely performance of a unit in a drop test.
Devices like the iPad and iPhone have ratings of around IP42, although Apple try and steer clear of them unlike rivals Samsung.
Rugged Tablet PC What are IP Ratings? Our popular T8540 with Windows 10 has an IP 67 rating. This means that the unit is completely sealed from solid objects such as dust and sand. It also indicates protection against low pressure jets of water sprayed from a hose nozzle from all directions with very limited ingress permitted. The unit was specifically designed like this with sealed casings and protective covers to stand up to even the harshest everyday conditions including dust, rain, spray and coffee spills ! Although even at MobileWorxs taking one through a car wash might not be something we end up doing every day.
Key point there is that if the device is going to be used in an industrial environment or outdoors where it will be exposed to the elements it is wise to pay particular attention to the IP Rating. Picking something suitable will have a practical bearing on your total cost of ownership TCO calculations. The unit and accessories should match the application and the environmental conditions of the user to ensure that it will stand up to real world use in the field.
