IEC60884 Figure 9 & Figure 10 Steel Rigid Probe For Socket With 1N & 20N thrust

Product Overview

Shuttered socket-outlets exist to keep fingers, pins and tools away from live contacts, and IEC 60884 defines how hard that mechanism has to resist before it can be accepted. The check is made with two defined probes at two defined forces, rather than with whatever object happens to be on the bench.

This IEC 60884 socket steel rigid probe carries both of them in one item. The first section is a steel blade pressed against the shutters at 20 N, the probe described in Figure 9. The second is a steel pin applied at 1 N, the probe described in Figure 10. Both sections are rigid and worked by hand, so the force goes into the shutter rather than into a joint or a wrist.

The two forces ask different questions of the same socket. The 20 N blade is the harder push: it tests whether the shutters stay closed when a slim, tool-like object is pressed firmly against them. The 1 N pin is a lighter touch on a much thinner section: it tests whether a narrow object can get past shutters that have already taken a load. Both stages belong to the standard's protection-against-electric-shock check for household and similar electrical appliances, and a laboratory normally reports them together from the same sample.

Socket-outlet and wiring-accessory manufacturers run the probe for their own type tests before a sample goes to an external test house. Third-party laboratories use it to reproduce the clause for a report, importers use it to check the samples they plan to bring to market, and appliance makers use it in incoming inspection. Because the section sizes and the forces are fixed by the figures, the same tool gives the same answer whoever holds it.

The probe is supplied by HERONTEST, a lab test equipment manufacturer working with testing laboratories, socket-outlet manufacturers and equipment importers across Europe, North America and Asia.

Specifications

Shutter Test Procedure

1. Seat the socket sample so the shutters are reachable, then bring the 20 N section to the most unfavourable position of the shutters.
2. Apply 20 N at that position and hold the force for about 5 seconds.
3. Repeat the 20 N application in the second and in the third direction, holding about 5 seconds in each.
4. Read the result after the 20 N sequence. The metal part of the probe must not have touched a live part of the socket.
5. Change to the 1 N section and apply 1 N in three directions, about 5 seconds in each direction.
6. Read the result again after every 1 N touch, against the same condition as the 20 N stage.
7. Record both stages on one sheet: sample identification, the two forces and the three directions covered, so the electrical plug and socket enclosure safety test on that socket is documented in one place.
8. Keep the sample with the record until the report is signed off, since a shutter that has taken 20 N and 1 N cannot be re-tested as a fresh specimen.

Probe Handling Rules

• No rotation during the 20 N application. The blade stays in the orientation it was inserted with; turning it shifts the load onto the shutter edge and the reading no longer belongs to the Figure 9 application.
• Reposition with no force applied. Between directions the probe is simply moved into place, and the 20 N is counted only while the section sits in the direction being tested.
• Do not withdraw during the 20 N sequence. All three directions are completed before the probe leaves the socket, because pulling it out mid-sequence restarts the check.
• Withdraw fully after every 1 N touch. On this IEC 60884 socket steel rigid probe the 1 N stage is three separate touches, each one starting from a fully removed pin.
• Push along the axis of the section. The load is applied straight down the rigid section through the body of the probe; an angled push puts the force into the faceplate instead of the shutter.
• Note the direction and the force stage if contact occurs. Recording which orientation failed, and whether it failed at 20 N or at 1 N, is what lets a shutter change be aimed at the specific case.
• Keep the steel sections clean between samples. Wipe the blade and the pin after a session so nothing is carried from one faceplate to the next.

Testing Scope

Within the electrical plug and socket enclosure safety test, the two applications are aimed at the shutter mechanism of socket-outlets for household and similar purposes — the sprung shutters fitted to keep pins, keys and fingers away from the contacts. They are made at the socket face, with the probe seated against the shutter opening, and the result describes the shutter and the faceplate that carries it.

This is not an enclosure-accessibility check. Work on enclosure openings, whether it is about a finger reaching an opening or a rod or wire passing through it, is done inside the opening with other probes. The shutter tool is applied to a mechanism that is designed to move, which is why the two applications are specified as they are.

A probe is a measuring tool rather than an approval. It gives the shutter test its defined section and its defined force so the result is repeatable and can be reported, and the certification decision stays with the body assessing the product. A shutter that passes the two applications has cleared this check; other clauses in the same assessment are tested with their own tools.

Related Probes & Range

• Articulated test finger B — the jointed 12 mm finger used for finger-access checks at enclosure openings, and the tool for clauses about a person's finger rather than a socket shutter.
• Rigid test rod C, 2.5 mm — used for IP3X protection checks, where a rod is pushed through an enclosure opening.
• Rigid test wire D, 1.0 mm — the thin wire used for IP4X checks on the same kind of opening.
• Short and long pin probes — pointed-tool probes that check whether a screwdriver or a similar object can reach live or hazardous parts in Class 0, Class I and Class II equipment.
• Standards covered across the range — the probe range runs to the figures used with IEC 61032, IEC 60529, IEC 60335-1, IEC 60065, IEC 60950 and IEC 69745-1, which is what most laboratories need when they equip an accessibility bench.
• Consistent dimensions — as a lab test equipment manufacturer we finish and check every probe against the section sizes and the length quoted for its own figure before it is packed, so a set ordered together behaves predictably.

Ordering & Delivery

1. Send the standard and the figure you are working to, Figure 9, Figure 10 or both, together with the model number HNT-1200 if it is already on your list. As a lab test equipment manufacturer we supply this probe as a catalogue item, so the figure reference is what confirms the match.
2. Tell us the quantity and what the probes are for: a single sample check, a type-test programme, or routine incoming inspection.
3. Give the delivery country and city so packing and the shipping route can be quoted for that destination.
4. Ask your sales contact to confirm the current lead time, payment terms and shipping method for your order; these are settled per order and per destination.
5. Say whether a third-party certificate has to travel with the probe, since that is arranged separately and can affect the schedule.
6. Mention any onward transport. If the probe is going on to another site or into a larger equipment shipment, ask how it will be packed for that leg.
7. Include your own reference or purchase-order number so the quotation comes back in the form your finance team needs.
8. Send the request through and we will come back with the quotation for the item and quantity you have specified.

Material & Build

Both working ends of this probe are solid steel: the blade used for the 20 N stage and the pin used for the 1 N stage. The sections are rigid — no joint, no hinge, no spring and no adjuster between the handle and the part that enters the socket — so the result comes from the section size the figure fixes and the force you apply, rather than from a mechanism that can wear, slip or need re-setting.

Nothing has to be assembled, tensioned, adjusted or calibrated before a test. A probe that arrives in its case goes straight to the socket face: check that the blade and the pin are clean and undamaged, then apply the force by hand along the axis of the section as the test procedure sets out. There is no scale to set, no spring pressure to trim, no battery and no display to zero, and nothing to re-check between the 20 N stage and the 1 N stage. A rigid steel gauge needs no start-up routine.

What does need looking after is the working profile. Keep the blade edge and the pin tip true, keep the probe dry, and keep it out of the shared tool box: a section that has been dropped or bent is replaced rather than straightened, because a straightened blade no longer carries the cross-section Figure 9 asks for. Wipe both ends after a session so nothing is carried onto the next faceplate, and store the item where the thin pin cannot be leaned on.

Technical Support & Model Matching

Choosing the right item starts with your requirement, not the catalogue. Our technical team works with buyers in Europe, North America and Asia to match a model to the clause or test condition you have to satisfy, and stays with you afterwards for commissioning, setup and troubleshooting. If an instrument already in service needs attention, we can supply replacement parts and advise on returning it to work. OEM and ODM requests go to the same team.

FAQ