Industrial panel PC and its protection rating from IP54 to IP69K

There are various protection specifications for industrial devices to ensure safe and reliable operation. One of the most important specifications is the IP protection rating. This rating provides information about the suitability of a device for different environmental conditions. Devices often used in harsh and demanding conditions include industrial computers and panel PCs. It is important that panel PCs and industrial computers are protected against the ingress of dirt, dust, and water. With IP classes, these requirements can be clearly classified.

What exactly is IP enclosure protection and what does it provide?

The IP protection rating is ingress protection standardized for all countries by the International Electrotechnical Commission in IEC 60529. It indicates the scale of a device’s protection against external factors and against user access to its internal parts. This makes it easier to understand how much a device such as a panel PC with a given IP rating can withstand before there is a risk of water or dust entering.

The abbreviation IP is followed by two digits that specify the appropriate range of protection. The first digit indicates protection against the ingress of solid objects and physical contact. The second digit is based on 2 standards: ISO 20653 for water protection tests and DIN EN 60529 for dust protection tests.

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Differences between IP protection ratings in panel PCs

IP54 – this protection rating in panel PCs is quite limited. According to the official interpretation, digit 5 means protection against dust, but not complete protection, while digit 4 protects against a small amount of water. In practice, this means that the computer has slight protection against light splashing, but cannot be submerged in water. Such computers are used in light commercial projects.

Industrial panel PCs, in order to operate in very harsh conditions, must have the highest possible degree of protection. These include IP65, IP66, IP67, IP68, IP69, and IP69K. The first digit is the highest possible and the same in each case, namely digit 6, which means dust-tightness / full protection against contact. The difference in the second digit after IP concerns water, which is characterized as follows:


  • IP65 – provides protection against water jets (nozzle) from any angle + dust-tightness / full protection against contact
  • IP66 – protects against powerful water jets + dust-tightness / full protection against contact
  • IP67 – provides protection against temporary immersion + dust-tightness / full protection against contact
  • IP68 – protection against continuous immersion (unless otherwise specified, protection is provided to a depth of 1 meter) + dust-tightness / full protection against contact
  • IP69 – provides protection against water during steam/high-pressure jet cleaning, especially in agriculture + dust-tightness / full protection against contact

IP69K – this is the highest degree of protection! These panel PCs are usually used in the food or pharmaceutical industry. Hygiene plays a particularly important role here. For this reason, stainless steel touch panels are most commonly used. They are especially resistant to aggressive cleaning agents. They can even withstand high-pressure washers.

Panel PC TPC6000-A172 has an IP65 protection rating, which means full protection against contact with live or internal moving parts. It also protects the panel PC against total dust ingress and against water jets from a nozzle directed from any direction.

TPC6000-A172

Depending on how demanding the environmental conditions are in which panel PCs, touch monitors, or industrial computers operate, the higher the protection rating that should be selected.

Our offer includes, among others, industrial panel PCs:

  • For light-duty applications IP54
  • Stainless steel computers with enclosure protection from IP65 up to fully sealed IP69K
  • Panel PCs for military applications IP66, IP67
  • Sealed computers in IP69K class