Brooks Instrument Blog

In my last post I talked about UL Listed versus Recognized.  This time we are going to take a look at the IP and NEMA ratings and what they mean.  With this information you should be able to decide what minimum level of protection you need for your application.

Let’s start with the basics.  What does IP and NEMA stand for?  IP stands for ingress protection and NEMA stands for National Electrical Manufacturers Association.  Both IP and NEMA are rating systems for equipment that might be exposed to liquids, rain, ice, corrosion and contaminates such as dust.

An IP number contains two numbers (i.e. IP65) in most instances which relate to the level of protection provided by an enclosure or housing.  The first number relates to protection from solids as follows: Read more…

I am proud to be leading the Brooks team at the upcoming Intersolar North America in sunny, beautiful San Francisco.  I recently attended Intersolar in Munich and was impressed with how that show has grown to almost fill the huge new Messe in Munich.  The halls were crammed with people even on a hot day for Germany, the Thursday session.  Intersolar North America appears to be on the same growth trajectory.

Our decision at Brooks to participate in Intersolar NA is a reflection on how great the show was last year and the maturation of the photovoltaic industry.  For many of the photovoltaic suppliers, their business models have gone from product development, market acceptance to that of an on-going business that needs to increase productivity using existing capital and continually reduce costs.  This is the perfect environment for Brooks material handling products which have been proven in industrial and process industries for decades. Brooks prides itself on developing products that are designed for long term, stable operation which is what is required now for low cost photovoltaic production.

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