IEC 60068 Testing Standard

Do you know the IEC 60068? Today’s guide will give you a brief introduction to the IEC 60068.

The Definition of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is an international organization for environmental testing standardizations. It is also the home to all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The tested products of IEC concentrate on the electrical and electronic fields. To promote international exchange and friendly cooperation, IEC releases ” IEC Publications”, which includes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS), and Guides.

What is IEC 60068?

As the natural weather is changeable and unpredictable, the electronic products are easily exposed to the implication of environmental conditions, such as extreme cold and dry heat.

Under such circumstances, IEC 60068 is a great aid.

IEC 60068 is a method of environmental testing, specific to the individual types of samples.

Specifically, IEC 60068 is an international standard to assess the ability of electrotechnical products and electronic equipment under such conditions for measurements and tests.

You can use this method to conduct a lot of regulatory and reproducible environmental, climatic, dynamic, and combined tests under standard atmospheric conditions.

Moreover, IEC 60068 is summarized on the basis of authoritative international engineering experience and judgment. It is available in English and French.

It is primarily formulated by the IEC Technical Committee 50 to test the two kinds of properties of samples:

a) the practical running performance in specified limits of temperature, humidity, other environmental conditions, and combinations of these conditions;

b) the ability to withstand rude handling during transportation, storage, and installation.

Three Parts of IEC 60068.

  • IEC 60068-1: General and guidance.
  • IEC 60068-2: Tests.
  • IEC 60068-3: Supporting documentation and guidance.

Now, I will introduce each of them in detail one by one.

Part 1: IEC 60068-1.

IEC 60068-1 was published in the year 2013. It experienced 12 revisions from the year 1960 to the year 1992. It is available in English and French.

IEC 60068-1 is a collection of methods for environmental testing and stipulates various atmospheric conditions for measurements and or other activities.

This standard finds usage in assessing the ability of specimens to perform under anticipated conditions during transportation, storage, and handling.

The tested samples of this standard are mainly electrotechnical products. But it is not confined to these products and may play a vital role in other fields.

The following chart is the 12 revisions of IEC 60068-1. This ninth edition is published in 1988, which cancels and replaces the eighth edition. The main changes with respect to the previous edition are listed below:
– the updated normative reference list.
– indication of normative and informative annexes.
– new informative Annex C, Environmental test tailoring.

This testing method is available in the form of pdf. But there is a charge for downloading. therefore please click the IEC official website to download.

1992-04-30IEC 60068-1:1988/AMD1:19926.0Revised
1988-10-01IEC 60068-1:1988/COR1:19886.0Revised
1988-06-30IEC 60068-1:19886.0Revised
1988-06-30IEC 60068-1:1988+AMD1:1992 CSV6.1Revised
1982-01-01IEC 60068-1:19825.0Revised
1978-01-01IEC 60068-1:19784.0Revised
1972-12-31IEC 60068-1:1968/AMD1:19723.0Revised
1968-01-01IEC 60068-1:19683.0Revised
1965-04-30IEC 60068-1:1960/AMD3:19652.0Revised
1964-04-30IEC 60068-1:1960/AMD2:19642.0Revised
1963-12-31IEC 60068-1:1960/AMD1:19632.0Revised
1960-01-01IEC 60068-1:19602.0Revised

Part 2: IEC 60068-2.

IEC 60068-2 is published in the year 2020. It is available in English and French.

The IEC 60068-2 is a collection of more than 60 standards. These standards are applicable to a climatic category, such as vibration, shock, change of temperature, dry heat, salt mist, dust and sand, mold, and the combination of them.

I will not introduce them one by one. And you can have a rough understanding of each standard from its name.

Let us take IEC 60068-2-5 Solar Radiation Testing as an example.

From its name, you can infer that this method evaluates the expected effects of solar radiation on products. It illustrates ways of testing equipment or components under simulated solar radiation and water spray environments.

This testing method is available in the form of pdf. But there is a charge for downloading. therefore please click the IEC official website to download.

Part 3: IEC 60068-3.

IEC 60068-3 is available for English and French. This testing method is available in the form of pdf. But there is a charge for downloading. therefore please click the IEC official website to download.

IEC 60068-3-1 Ed.2.0 b: 2011

Environmental Testing -Part-3-1: Supporting Documentation And Guidance -Cold And Dry Heat Tests.

IEC 60068-3-3 Ed. 2.0 b: 2019

Environmental Testing -Part-3-3: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Seismic Test Methods For Equipment.

IEC 60068-3-4 Ed. 1.0 b: 2001

Environmental Testing – Part 3-4: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Damp-Heat Tests.

IEC 60068-3-5 Ed. 2.0 b: 2018

Environmental Testing – Part 3-5: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Confirmation Of The Performance Of Temperature Chambers.

IEC 60068-3-6 Ed. 2.0 b: 2018

Environmental Testing – Part 3-6: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Confirmation Of The Performance Of Temperature Humidity Chambers.

IEC 60068-3-7 Ed. 1.0 b: 2001

Environmental Testing – Part 3-7: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Measurements In Temperature Chambers For Tests A And B ( With Load).

IEC 60068-3-8 Ed. 1.0 b: 2003

Environmental Testing – Part 3-7: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Selecting Amongst VibrationTests.

IEC 60068-3-11 Ed. 1.0 b: 2007

Environmental Testing – Part 3-11: Supporting Documentation And Guidance – Calculation of Uncertainty of Conditions In Climatic Test Chambers.

IEC 60068-3-13 Ed. 1.0 b: 2016

Environmental Testing – Part 3-11: Supporting Documentation And Guidance- On Test – T Soldering.

 

 

 

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