About NEMA and IP Standards

There are two major electrical manufacturing organizations monitoring product enclosures and/or their degree of protection; each organization also publishes technical manufacturing standards. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Standard No. 250 – 2003 addresses non-hazardous locations, enclosure design and its environmental performance requirements. These are referred to as NEMA Types. (www.nema.org)

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60529 Standard addresses Ingress Protection (IP); this describes the degree of enclosure protection provided, not the enclosure itself. The first digit of the IP Code designation describes the degree of protection against the ingress of solids; the second digit designates the degree of protection against the ingress of liquids. IP Codes support NEMA Type designations. (www.iec.ch)

Digital Systems Engineering designs a mobile computers and sunlight readable sealed monitors to exceed Standard Sections NEMA 6P and IP68; these units incorporate a range of environmentally-sealed connectors and enclosures engineered to provide a safe and secure dust and waterproof environment in harsh rugged conditions, meeting NEMA 6P and IP68 summarized as: protection against objects (dust-tight) and ingress penetration against liquids at occasional submersion, at up to depths of 10 m (33 ft).

The following link provided to the left, is from both electrical industry Standards; it matches NEMA Ratings with its IP counterpart, with a brief description of each rating.