Choosing the right IK rating for your display

Assured System’s sell a wide range of hardened displays with high IK ratings to safeguard your investment from accidental damage or vandalism.

Discuss your project requirements

If you’re considering implementing industrial displays or digital signage you may be concerned about your assets being accidentally damaged or vandalised. Here is a quick guide about IK impact protection ratings to understand the durability of the displays you’re considering to purchase in order to safeguard your investment.

Understanding the IK Impact Protection Rating

If you refer to the displays datasheets you will notice an impact protection rating, abbreviated with an IK Code. The IK Code consists of the letters IK, followed by two digits. The two digits following the letters IK define the level of protection the display has to offer. Two international standards, IEC 62262 and IEC 60068-2-75, classify the level of protection provided by enclosures for electrical equipment against external mechanical impacts, measured in joules.

According to the international standard IEC 62262, the table below defines the IK codes and the impact protection tests that they withstand, based on the tests carried out. This defines the level of protection against external mechanical impact. The impact energy is specified by the values 0 to 10 and the higher the value, the higher the impact strength the display provides.

IK Code Ratings

In order to test with a consistent manner, these international standards specify in which the way enclosures should be mounted when impact tests are carried out. The impact test reports the number of impacts and the distribution of these impacts, including the size, style, material, and dimensions of the various types of hammer providing the impact with the designated energy levels required. Industrial displays and digital signage displays will also be tested under various atmospheric conditions to test the stresses from various environmental factors.

Toughened Glass For Industrial Displays

Industrial displays in open-frame, panel-mount and chassis-mount format can be configured with toughened glass to improve the level of IK protection and protect the asset from damage. This damage isn’t necessarily from vandalism but the harsh environments they’re deployed in. These displays aren’t limited to installation in factories but carry through to installations in public areas, for example any ATM or vending machine will typically have a toughened open-frame display mounted behind a custom chassis. Typically a 6mm or 8mm layer of toughened glass is applied to the display to increase scratch resistance and impact rating. Another option to increase a displays protection is to optically bond the screen. Optical bonding is a process where a layer of resin is applied between the glass or touchscreen and LCD display, bonding them to make a solid laminate with no gaps or pockets of air. More can be read about optical bonding here.