Basics of vandalism protection
In all public areas, various external influences can cause extreme force to be exerted on a device installed there. But it also makes sense to use vandalism protection in industrial plants to avoid excessive wear under the often very harsh working conditions. Because vandalism security does not only mean protection against willful destruction, but offers many advantages in terms of durability and resilience.
Areas at risk of vandalism
In principle, using vandal-proof input devices makes sense in all areas where the control element is in a publicly accessible area, it is exposed to the weather or it is subjected to strong mechanical stress. Therefore, vandal-proof input systems can be found in the following applications, among others:
- ATM machines
- Elevators and escalators
- Payment terminals and ticket machines for car parks, train stations etc.
- Self-service petrol stations
- Access controls, intercoms and bells
- Information terminals in public areas or in museums
- Kiosk systems and many other public locations
- In the maritime sector due to the resistance to salt and fog
- Machine operation, e.g. in milling and machining centers
- Control rooms and many other industrial locations
These were just a few examples of possible use cases for vandal-proof keyboards and keypads. For us, vandalism protection means protection against moisture, ice and hail, heavy pollution, extremely high and low temperatures, oils, acids, strong mechanical loads and last but not least, of course, against the effects of violence in the form of beating, kicking, tearing and scratching.
IK shock resistance
The IK degree of protection is a measure of the resistance of housings of electrical devices to mechanical shock loads. The IK code is internationally standardized according to IEC 62262 (with reference to EN 50102) and is equivalent to the European standard EN 62262. The IK code is used, among other things, for switches, housings or keyboards. The IK degree of protection is tested with a pendulum hammer, alternatively up to IK07 with a spring hammer or from IK07 with a free-fall hammer. There are ten types of protection that indicate the impact energy the device can withstand from the outside:
- Degree of protection IK00 - no shock resistance
- Degree of protection IK01 to IK05 - between 0.15 and 0.7 joules maximum impact energy
- Degree of protection IK06 - 1 joule impact energy
- Degree of protection IK07 - 2 joules impact energy
- Degree of protection IK08 - 5 joules impact energy
- Degree of protection IK09 - 10 joules impact energy
- Degree of protection IK10 - 20 joules impact energy