What Is an IK10 Touch Screen? 20 J Rating, Testing and Selection Guide

An IK10 touch screen is designed for equipment whose front surface may face serious accidental impact, rough public use or deliberate damage. IK10 corresponds to 20 joules of external mechanical impact under IEC 62262—commonly illustrated as a 5 kg mass falling from 400 mm.

That number is useful, but it is not the whole specification.

For a touchscreen, IK10 should be treated as a result achieved by a tested assembly in a defined mounting condition. It is not a label created by choosing a particular cover-glass thickness. The glass, touch sensor, bonding, gasket, supporting frame and final enclosure all influence what happens when the surface is struck.

The practical question is therefore not only whether the glass survives. It is whether the tested structure remains safe and whether the display and touch functions meet the agreed post-test requirements.

What Does IK10 Mean?

IEC 62262 classifies the protection provided by an enclosure against external mechanical impacts. Each IK code corresponds to a defined impact energy.

IK10 represents 20 J. The familiar “5 kg from 400 mm” description is an energy reference that makes 20 J easier to understand. Formal testing does not consist of dropping any convenient 5 kg object onto a screen. It uses prescribed impact equipment, directions, locations and mounting conditions under the applicable test plan. The hammer methods are defined in IEC 60068-2-75.

The 2021 amendment to IEC 62262 added IK11 at 50 J. In industrial touchscreen projects, however, IK10 remains the high-impact level most commonly requested for vandal-resistant public equipment.

IK08 vs IK09 vs IK10

IK Rating	Impact Energy	Common Energy Reference	Practical Risk Level
IK08	5 J	Approximately 1.7 kg from 300 mm	Occasional impact in protected or partly controlled equipment
IK09	10 J	Approximately 5 kg from 200 mm	Stronger accidental impact or moderate misuse risk
IK10	20 J	Approximately 5 kg from 400 mm	Heavy impact, deliberate damage or costly field failure

A higher number is not automatically the better specification. It adds weight, cost and design constraints. The correct level should follow a credible impact risk or a stated customer, tender or regulatory requirement.

An outdoor location alone does not make IK10 necessary. A locked outdoor control cabinet with restricted access may face less impact risk than an indoor ticketing terminal used by the public all day.

How Is an IK10 Touchscreen Tested?

The IK code defines an impact severity, while IEC 60068-2-75 provides standardized hammer-test methods. For a meaningful touchscreen test, the test plan must identify the specimen, its support and what counts as an acceptable result.

At minimum, the project should make the following points clear:

• Test specimen: cover glass only, PCAP touch panel, LCD touch module or complete monitor
• Mounting condition: how the specimen is fixed and supported during the test
• Impact surface and locations: which exposed areas are struck
• Impact method: the specified striking element and energy
• Acceptance criteria: permitted cosmetic damage, enclosure integrity and safety requirements
• Post-test function: whether LCD image quality and touch operation must remain within specification

This distinction matters. A supplier may show that a sheet of glass resisted a 20 J impact, while the customer actually needs an assembled monitor to pass after it has been installed in a cabinet. Those are not equivalent claims.

The report should match the product being purchased. If the glass outline, openings, frame, bonding stack or mounting method changes, the earlier result may no longer represent the new assembly.

Does 6 mm Tempered Glass Automatically Mean IK10?

No.

Six-millimetre strengthened cover glass is a common starting point for many IK10-target touchscreen projects, including projects developed by Eagle Touch. But thickness alone does not guarantee an IK10 result, and thinner or differently constructed glass systems cannot be judged by thickness alone either.

Impact performance also depends on:

• Glass type and strengthening process
• Overall glass dimensions
• Holes, slots and internal corners
• Edge grinding and edge damage
• Distance between the active area and glass edge
• Printed border and processing history
• Adhesive area and bonding method
• Gasket material and compression
• Front-frame rigidity and support width
• Final mounting orientation and enclosure structure

Glass is particularly vulnerable at damaged or poorly supported edges. A strong central area cannot compensate for a chipped edge, a sharp internal corner or uneven clamping pressure.

This is why a statement such as “6 mm glass, therefore IK10” is incomplete. A responsible specification should identify what was tested and in which assembled condition.

Why the Final Assembly Determines the Result

During an impact, energy travels beyond the point where the striking element contacts the glass. The cover glass bends, the supporting structure reacts, the gasket compresses and force may reach the touch sensor, bonding layer, LCD and enclosure.

Design Variable	Why It Matters
Edge support	Insufficient or uneven support increases bending and edge stress
Gasket compression	Excessive compression may preload the glass or create LCD pressure marks
Adhesive area	A narrow or interrupted adhesive path can concentrate stress or separate after impact
Frame rigidity	A flexible frame may deform even when the cover glass remains intact
Glass openings	Cut-outs and sharp internal corners can become stress concentrators
Bonding stack	Air bonding and optical bonding transfer impact differently and must be evaluated in the final structure
Mounting method	A test fixture that does not represent the actual enclosure can produce a result that does not transfer to the installed product

Optical bonding should not be presented as an automatic route to IK10. It may be selected for sunlight readability, condensation control or mechanical integration, but it also changes how force is transmitted to the LCD. Its effect on impact performance must be validated with the actual assembly.

What Can Fail Even If the Glass Does Not Shatter?

An impact test is not only about dramatic glass breakage. In practice, a structure may show other failures:

• Edge chipping or a crack starting outside the visible area
• Separation of the adhesive or touch stack
• Deformation of the front frame
• LCD pressure marks, light leakage or local image damage
• Touch drift, lost sensitivity or false touches after impact
• Damage to mounting points or the customer’s enclosure

These are the failures that make a thick-glass claim look good on paper but unreliable in the field.

How Thick Cover Glass Affects PCAP Touch Performance

Projected-capacitive touch works by detecting a small change in an electric field. Increasing the distance between the user’s finger and the sensor weakens that signal. A PCAP design that works behind 2 or 3 mm glass may not remain stable when the cover glass becomes 6 mm thick.

The final design may require a suitable industrial touch controller, sensor pattern and firmware tuning. It must then be checked with the actual LCD, power supply, grounding and cable routing—not only on a workbench with the touch panel separated from the display.

The required operating modes also matter. Stable finger touch through thick glass does not automatically prove reliable glove operation or water rejection. Greater glove sensitivity can increase the risk of false activation from water or electrical noise. These functions should be tuned and validated against the project’s real priorities.

For a broader explanation of these variables, see our industrial PCAP touch screen guide.

IK10 vs IP65 and 7H Surface Hardness

These specifications describe different forms of protection and should not be used interchangeably.

Specification	What It Evaluates	What It Does Not Prove
IK10	Resistance to 20 J external mechanical impact	Waterproofing or surface scratch resistance
IP65	Protection against dust ingress and water jets	Resistance to a 20 J impact
7H surface hardness	Resistance to surface scratching under the stated hardness test	Resistance to heavy mechanical impact

When a supplier specifies 7H, the test method should also be stated. “H” commonly refers to pencil hardness, while the Mohs mineral-hardness scale uses numbers without the H suffix. The two systems should not be mixed.

A touchscreen can have 7H surface hardness and still fail an IK10 impact test. It can also achieve the required impact performance without having an IP65-sealed front. For outdoor equipment, impact, water, dust, sunlight, UV exposure and temperature must be specified separately.

Do You Really Need IK10?

IK10 is worth considering when the risk and cost of impact justify the stronger construction.

Project Condition	Is IK10 Worth Checking?
Unattended equipment accessible to the public	Usually yes
Credible vandalism or heavy-impact risk	Yes
Tools or hard objects may strike the screen	Yes
IK10 is required by the customer or tender	Yes, with an agreed test plan
Indoor equipment in a controlled operator area	Not automatically
The only concern is rain or dust	No; start with the required IP protection
Low-impact project with strict cost and weight limits	Often no

Typical IK10 applications include payment terminals, ticketing machines, parking systems, EV chargers and other public equipment. But the application name is not the requirement. The real deciding factors are access, likely impact, consequences of failure and the specification the finished equipment must meet.

What Buyers Should Verify Before Accepting an IK10 Claim

Before approving a supplier or sample, ask for precise answers to these questions:

1. What exactly was tested? A glass sample, touch panel, LCD module or complete monitor?
2. Does the tested structure match the quotation? Check size, glass thickness, openings, frame, bonding and mounting.
3. Was the specimen mounted as it will be used? A loose sample and an installed assembly do not behave in the same way.
4. Which standard and test method were used? The report should identify the applicable IEC/EN references and impact level.
5. What were the acceptance criteria? “No broken glass” may not include display quality, touch operation or enclosure damage.
6. Were touch and LCD functions checked after impact? If continued operation matters, write it into the project requirements.
7. Does the report identify the actual model? A report for a similar product is supporting information, not proof for every configuration.
8. Will enclosure changes require new validation? Changes to support, gasket compression, frame or installation can change the result.

This review protects both buyer and supplier. It turns “IK10” from a marketing phrase into a testable project requirement.

The Practical Conclusion

An IK10 touch screen is not simply a standard PCAP panel covered by thicker glass. It is an impact-resistant assembly designed around a 20 J requirement and verified in a defined test condition.

Six-millimetre strengthened glass is common in this type of project, but it is not a certificate. The final result depends on the glass, edges, touch stack, adhesive, gasket, frame and enclosure working together. Touch and display performance after impact should also be included when the application requires continued operation.

Eagle Touch develops custom IK10 touchscreen solutions for OEM equipment, including PCAP touch panels, LCD touch modules and complete touch monitors. To review a project properly, send us the screen size, enclosure drawing, mounting method, required test standard, operating environment and estimated quantity. We can then confirm what should be sampled and tested before production.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is IK10 the same as waterproof?

No. IK10 concerns external mechanical impact. Waterproof and dust protection are described by IP ratings such as IP65 or IP66. A product can have one rating without the other.

Is an IK10 touchscreen unbreakable?

No. IK10 means the tested structure met a defined 20 J impact requirement under stated conditions. It does not guarantee survival under every object, angle, mounting condition or repeated act of vandalism.

Can 6 mm glass pass IK10?

It is commonly used in IK10-target touchscreen structures, but thickness alone is not proof. The glass treatment, dimensions, edges, openings, support and final assembly must be considered and tested.

Can PCAP touch work through 6 mm cover glass?

Yes, with a suitable sensor, controller, firmware and electrical design. The final assembly should be tested for the required finger, glove and water conditions because these modes do not tune themselves automatically.

Should the cover glass or the complete monitor be tested?

Test the level that corresponds to the claim and the real requirement. If the finished equipment must resist impact and remain operational, testing only a loose cover-glass sample is not enough.

Does every outdoor touchscreen need IK10?

No. Outdoor equipment may need high brightness, UV resistance, wide-temperature components and IP sealing without facing a serious impact risk. IK10 should be selected because of a credible mechanical-impact requirement, not simply because the product is outdoors.

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Reference Standards

• IEC 62262:2002+AMD1:2021 — IK code
• IEC 60068-2-75:2014+AMD1:2025 — Hammer tests