Picture this: You’ve just installed a touchscreen display for your customers to use in your outside shopping area. Everything seemed to be going well… until the storm hit and damaged the monitor screen. Unfortunately, water and dust can affect the functionality of the touchscreen. If you’ve ever dropped your smartphone in water and noticed that the colors were a little off or were slow to respond to touch, you know what we’re talking about.
There are many environments and applications where you need IP65 touchscreen monitors that are water and dust resistant. These include touchscreens used in industrial and commercial environments. In these commercial environments, customers may see touchscreen displays at points of sale, kiosks in entertainment venues, restaurants, and more.
What is the IP rating?
IP Rating, short for Ingress Protection Rating, evaluates the effectiveness of the sealing performance of electrical enclosures against the ingress of foreign objects (dirt, tools, etc.) and the ingress of moisture. IP ratings have two different numbers. Each means something different.
The first number, which ranges from 0 to 6, represents athe level of protection against solid objects. This is according to the size of each object. The higher the number, the better the item is better protected against these objects.
The second number, ranging from 0 to 9, relates to the level of resistance to liquid entry. This type of intrusion includes dripping, spraying, and immersion. The amount of liquid and its direction towards the enclosed item determines the level of protection against liquids. The test also specifies the delivery pressure, the distance between the housing and the nozzle, the size of the nozzle used to define the water spray or spray, and the test time.
What IP rating is required for an industrial touchscreen display?
Depending on your space, you will need a low or high IP rating. The low IP rating is mainly used in indoor environments where water jets are never a problem. Temperature-controlled areas such as office buildings do not require high IP ratings.
The low IP rating is also suitable for protected use in aluminum extrusions, in sealed signage, and in sealed products.
On the other hand, touchscreen monitors with high IP ratings are used in outdoor locations exposed to large amounts of liquids and dust. These are typically high-traffic, wet, and high-touch areas. High-touch areas are areas where many people touch touchscreen displays. These include areas such as transportation facilities and dirty warehouses.
The most common IP ratings are IP65, IP66 and IP67. When you have an IP65 touch monitor, it’s waterproof. While it has an IP66 rating, it has water resistance specifically for powerful jetting. When the degree of protection is IP67, the touch screen can resist complete immersion for a certain period of time. An IP68 rating is also sometimes used, which means the touchscreen can resist full immersion for longer, even down to 3 meters.