We have already published two head-to-head comparisons: IP66 vs IP54 and IP66 vs IP69K for cleaning robots. This article does something different and, for a warehouse buyer, more useful: it works from your environment to the rating, zone by zone.

Because the mistake in intralogistics is rarely picking the wrong side of a two-way comparison. It is assuming one rating covers an entire building — when the loading dock, the ambient racking aisle and the chilled room are three genuinely different environments.

Quick answer Dry ambient lines → IP65. Dusty bulk handling or dock-adjacent → IP66. Cold storage or wash-down → IP67. All three exist in our industrial range.

What the Two Digits Actually Mean

IEC 60529 defines the IP code. The IEC describes it as grading "the resistance of an enclosure against the intrusion of dust or liquids" and rating "how easy it is for individuals to access the potentially hazardous parts", with the first digit covering solids on a 0–6 scale and the second covering liquids on a 0–9 scale (IEC).

For actuator selection, the practical reading is:

Two things worth internalising before choosing:

1. The second digit is not strictly cumulative in the way people assume. Protection against immersion and protection against high-pressure jets are tested differently and represent different exposures, which is why some products are marked with more than one liquid rating.
2. The test is a laboratory condition, not your warehouse. A rating is evidence of a design's capability under a defined test, not a warranty against a specific site.

Which IP Rating Does Each Warehouse Zone Need?

Zone 1 — Dry ambient storage and conveyor lines

Conditions: climate-controlled or at least roofed and dry; airborne dust from cardboard and pallet traffic; no water beyond occasional floor cleaning.

Recommended: IP65. Dust-tight matters here — corrugated fibre dust is pervasive and finds its way onto every exposed rod. The water requirement is modest.

In our range: IP65 is published on the FY028 (16,000 N), FY015 (10,000 N) and FY015D (7,000 N).

Typical equipment: sortation diverters, pick-station lift tables, palletising columns, conveyor gates.

Zone 2 — Dusty and bulk-handling areas

Conditions: grain, powder, cement, recycling, timber or agricultural product handling. Fine particulate in suspension, settling on every surface, sometimes abrasive.

Recommended: IP66. The higher water digit helps here not because of rain but because dust removal is often done with water or compressed air, and the enclosure must tolerate it.

In our range: IP66 is published on the FY020 (12,000 N), FY021D and FY021C.

Additional measure worth taking: a protective bellows or boot over the extended rod. IP protects the enclosure; it does nothing about abrasive dust being dragged back past the rod seal on every retraction. In genuinely abrasive environments, rod protection extends service life more than an extra IP digit does.

Zone 3 — Loading docks and semi-outdoor areas

Conditions: open dock doors, driven rain, wind-blown debris, wide temperature swings, occasional direct sun.

Recommended: IP66, plus attention to the temperature range.

Temperature is the underrated variable here. Our FY028, FY020 and FY015 spec tables publish an operating range of −20°C to 65°C; several models whose specifications are given in page text — the FY021D, FY021C, FY015D, FY015C and FY011E — state −15°C to 45°C. For a dock in a hot or cold climate, that difference matters more than the IP digit, and it is exactly the kind of detail that gets overlooked when buyers filter only on IP.

Zone 4 — Cold storage and chilled distribution

Conditions: sustained low temperature, high relative humidity, and — the real problem — thermal cycling as equipment moves between the cold room and the ambient dock.

Recommended: IP67, and an explicit conversation about temperature and condensation (see the next section).

In our range: IP67 is published on the FY015C (8,000 N) and FY011E (8,000 N).

⚠️ Check the published operating temperature against your cold room. The FY015C and FY011E pages state −15°C to 45°C; a freezer operating below that range needs a specific conversation with us before selection, not an assumption.

Zone 5 — Food, pharma and wash-down lines

Conditions: scheduled cleaning with water, detergents and sometimes elevated temperature or pressure; hygiene requirements on surfaces and crevices.

Recommended: IP67 as a minimum, plus a discussion about cleaning method and chemicals. If the line is cleaned with high-pressure hot water, the relevant comparison is the one covered in our IP66 vs IP69K article — that is a different test regime from IP67 immersion.

Note honestly: our published product pages do not state IP69K on any industrial model. If your process requires high-pressure high-temperature wash-down, tell us and we will confirm what is achievable rather than let you infer it.

The Condensation Problem Nobody Specs For

This is the failure mode that surprises cold-chain engineers, and it deserves its own section because no IP digit describes it.

The mechanism:

1. Equipment sits in a −5°C chilled room. The air inside the actuator enclosure is cold and contracted.
2. The equipment moves to a 20°C dock. The internal air warms and expands, then cools again on return.
3. Each thermal cycle causes slight breathing through seals and cable entries. The air drawn in carries moisture.
4. That moisture condenses on the coldest internal surface and stays there — it did not enter as liquid water, so no ingress test would have caught it.
5. Over months, condensate accumulates: corrosion on contacts, degraded lubricant, eventually electrical faults.

An IP67 rating is tested against water entering from outside. It says nothing about water forming inside. Mitigations to discuss at design stage:

If your equipment crosses a temperature boundary several times an hour, say so in your enquiry. It changes the recommendation.

Why Over-Specifying IP Is Not a Free Choice

"Just buy IP67 everywhere" sounds like cheap insurance. It is not free:

• Cost. Higher sealing means more material and more assembly steps.
• Seal friction. Tighter sealing adds drag, which consumes force and generates heat — and heat interacts directly with the duty cycle you are already managing at 10% (2 min on / 18 min off). See duty cycle for 24/7 warehouse actuators.
• Availability and lead time. Not every force and speed configuration exists at every rating. In our own range, the highest published force — 16,000 N on the FY028 — is published at IP65, while the IP67 models publish 8,000 N. If you insist on IP67 and 16,000 N together, that is a custom conversation, not a catalogue selection.

That last point is the practical one: force and IP are not independent choices. Decide your true environment first, then see what force is available at that rating.

What an IP Rating Does Not Cover

Buyers over-trust the IP code. It says nothing about:

Environment Specification Checklist

Zone type:              ambient / dusty / dock / cold storage / wash-down
Temperature range:      ____ °C to ____ °C
Crosses thermal zones?  yes / no — if yes, how many times per hour: ____
Airborne particulate:   none / fibre dust / abrasive powder / grain
Water exposure:         none / occasional splash / driven rain / hose-down / high-pressure hot
Cleaning chemicals:     ____
Required force:         ____ N   ← check this is available at your chosen IP rating

Frequently Asked Questions

What IP rating do warehouse actuators need? 

By zone: IP65 for dry ambient lines, IP66 for dusty or dock-adjacent areas, IP67 for cold storage and wash-down.

What do the two digits mean? 

Under IEC 60529 the first grades solids (0–6) and the second liquids (0–9). IP65 means dust-tight with protection against water jets.

Is higher always better? 

No. Higher sealing costs more, can add friction and heat, and restricts which force ratings are available.

Why do actuators fail in cold storage despite a good rating? 

Internal condensation from thermal cycling — moisture forms inside rather than entering as liquid. No IP digit describes it.

Does IP cover cleaning chemicals? 

No. IP tests use water. Detergents and sanitisers affect seal materials differently — raise them separately.

Which of your models are IP67? 

The FY015C and FY011E, both published at 8,000 N. IP66 is published on the FY020, FY021D and FY021C; IP65 on the FY028, FY015 and FY015D.

Confirm the Right Rating for Your Facility

Tell us your zone type, temperature range, whether equipment crosses thermal boundaries, and the required force, and we will confirm which rating and model combination is actually available — including whether your force and IP requirement can be met together.

Check your environment with our engineers → · Industrial actuator series → · Back to the material handling guide →