As we saw in previous posts, IP ratings indicate the protection offered by enclosures that house electrical and electronic components from external agents such as dust and water. In this post, we will discuss another classification of protection: IK ratings.
The IK code is a coding system to indicate the degree of protection against mechanical impacts. To determine the IK rating of an enclosure, the impact energy must be checked. To do this, weight and height indicators of a striking piece that is dropped on the object or enclosure to be checked are taken. Table 1 shows an example of the piece with the weight, the height from which it is dropped, and the impact energy.
Table 1. Energy to determine IK rating
Thus, depending on the impact supported, the IK code is assigned, consisting of a two-digit number. Table 2 shows the codes, where we can see that if it resists greater impact energy, the IK protection rating will be higher.
IK ratings
