Ingress Protection (IP) Testing In Ahmedabad

CIL provides 'Ingress Protection Testing' services in Ahmedabad. IP65 Testing, IP67 Testing, IP55 Testing, etc.

Ingress Protection Testing Many products undergo a variety of tests before they reach the market. These tests include product safety testing, electromagnetic compatibility, vibration testing and many others. What Is IP Testing? Ingress Protection testing, or IP testing, tests a product’s ability to protect against “ingress,” that is, the infiltration of water, dust and foreign objects. Some of the standards related to IP testing are MIL-STD-810 (Military), RTCA/DO-160 (Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics), and IEC 60529 (International Electrotechnical Commission).

Why Is Ingress Testing Used? There are several reasons for ingress testing, including safety, functionality and product marketing Many products require insulation from outside elements in order to function properly. Those outside elements include mist, steam, sprayed water, sand, oil and even fingers, just to name a few. Ingress protection testing helps determine whether a particular product is going to function appropriately when placed in the field. What Products Need to Be Protected Against Ingress? Different products require different levels of testing and different types of testing. Generally, ingress protection is divided into testing for ingress from foreign objects or liquids. With many products, the point where it would be most likely to fail comes at a seam between two parts.

Testing at the Seams Dust and water can find their way inside a product at a seam that joins two parts. Therefore, seams between components are often sealed by a gasket — either a rigid or a flexible gasket. Rigid gaskets provide structural stability and greater protection against ingress than flexible gaskets, and flexible gaskets may provide greater overall functionality for the product. However, flexible gaskets often present a challenge when trying to keep out the elements. Their flexibility can sometimes leave small gaps in a seal where the outside environment can find its way inside the product. In addition, gaskets are sometimes fitted improperly or are screwed or bolted with too little or too much pressure. Either way, a gap in the seam between two components can develop, and it can provide a source for outside elements to work their way into the product.

More Generalized Ingress Testing Some ingress testing is conducted under a variety of temperature and pressure settings. This is important because in certain cases, contact with water can change the internal pressure of a component. If that’s important, specific materials such as Gore-Tex can be used to vent pressure differentials. In other cases, a device might need to allow air to flow through it, but it still must block water. For example, consider a microphone that will record a singer singing a tune. It functions by operating on the pressure waves caused by the singer’s voice, but any water that might flow into the microphone could render it useless. Fortunately, water has surface tension, and it can be impeded by a mesh made of either plastic or wire. The mesh traps the water and mostly prevents it from entering the microphone, while the mesh still lets air flow freely.