IEC61032 Figure 2 Test Probe B, IP2X Jointed Finger with 50N Thrust

Product Overview

The articulated test finger defined in IEC 61032 Figure 2 answers one question about an enclosure: can a finger reach a live part? This is that finger in its thrust version, the IEC 61032 50N Test Probe B, supplied as model HNT-PBT for the clauses that ask for the probe to be pressed home rather than merely offered to the opening.

The jointed sections are what make it a finger rather than a rod. Offered to a grille, a louvre or a recessed aperture, the three sections bend at their joints and follow the path a real finger would take, so the probe reaches behind the outer face instead of stopping at it. Behind the finger sit the baffle and the handle, which together keep the hand that is applying the force outside the boundary the test defines.

Labs keep it for the finger-touch and electric-shock checks that run through the appliance and electronic-equipment standards: household appliances, audio/video and IT equipment, socket accessories and fans. It is a bench instrument rather than a consumable, and one unit usually serves a whole product family.

Specifications

Construction & Jointed Sections

The finger body and the handle are a matte white plastic, with the tip left in polished metal and rounded off. Three sections make up the finger itself, joined with screws so a section can be re-angled by hand during insertion and will hold that angle until you change it again. A flanged collar separates the finger body from the handle, and the baffle disc forms the flat face that meets the enclosure.

Every part has a job. The metal tip is the working surface — it decides whether contact has been made, which is why it is left smooth and uncoated and why a burr or a flat spot is a real problem rather than a cosmetic one. The plastic body and handle keep the operator's hand outside the boundary the test defines and keep the probe light enough to hold steady while a force is being applied. The screw joints also let a laboratory strip, clean and reassemble the finger instead of retiring it the first time it picks up workshop grit.

The shaft carries a graduated scale for reading how far the finger has travelled into the opening, and the baffle edge is machined square so an applied force goes into the opening rather than being lost in the operator's grip. The result is a tool built so that two units of the same figure behave the same way on the bench.

50 N Thrust Application

1. Read the clause before the probe comes out of its case, and confirm that it names a thrust rather than only a figure — the distinction that defines the 50N force accessibility test for home appliances. The requirement is judged on the applied force, not on the geometry alone.
2. Check the finger before you start: joints moving freely, metal tip round and clean, baffle face flat and square.
3. Offer the finger to the opening and let the jointed sections follow it. Re-angle a section by hand where the aperture demands it — a grille with an internal lip usually needs the finger re-set after it passes the outer face.
4. Push along the axis of the finger, not from the side. A force delivered at an angle tests your grip as much as it tests the enclosure.
5. Bring the baffle up against the outer face and keep it there while the force is applied, so the whole push goes into the opening.
6. Hold the force for the time your clause specifies, then judge by contact: the question is whether the finger reaches a hazardous live part or a hazardous moving part.
7. Repeat for every opening the clause covers and record the orientation. Openings that look identical from the outside do not always behave identically from the inside.

Standards & Applications

• Household and similar appliances to IEC 60335-1: grilles, vents, case joints and control apertures, including the 50N force accessibility test for home appliances where the clause names a force.
• Audio/video equipment to IEC 60065 and IT equipment to IEC 60950: enclosure openings on equipment with internal power supplies and accessible connectors.
• Ingress protection to IEC 60529 and EN 60529 Figure 1: the 2X stage of an IP programme, where the question is finger access rather than dust or water.
• Plugs and socket-outlets to IEC 60884-1: aperture geometry around shutters and contact openings on socket accessories.
• Fans and similar equipment to UL 507, and equipment covered by UL 1278 Figure 8.4: articulated-probe checks on mechanical enclosures where moving parts sit behind the openings.

Finger B Version Differences

Same body, different requirement. The finger you receive is the standard Figure 2 body — the same curved finger, the same bending length across three sections, the same baffle as the plain jointed finger B. What separates the IEC 61032 50N Test Probe B from that plain version is the force the test asks for, so the first thing to settle is whether your clause names one. If it does, order the thrust version and write it on the purchase order. If it does not, the plain finger covers the check.

Under a 50 N push an enclosure behaves differently. Flexible covers, soft gaskets, spring-loaded shutters and internal parts that sit a little proud can all give way under the applied force, and a probe that found nothing when it was lightly offered may reach a live part once it is pushed home. That is what the 50N force accessibility test for home appliances is checking: the enclosure under load as well as its geometry, and the test record should say which force was used so the number is not lost between reports.

Two practical notes. Because both versions share the same figure and the same dimensions, the force is the only thing that tells them apart on paper, which is why a jointed test finger manufacturer asks for your clause reference rather than a part description before quoting. And when a test is repeated after a design change, keep the same force and the same orientation as the original run, or the two results are not comparable.

Handling & Repeatability

1. Give the probe a look before every test session: tip round and undamaged, joints free, baffle face flat. A dented tip changes what counts as contact.
2. Wipe the metal tip and the jointed sections with a dry or lightly damp cloth after use, and keep solvents and abrasives away from the plastic body and the scale.
3. Leave the joint screws at their working setting. If a section starts to swing loose, or the finger no longer holds the angle you set, have it checked before the next run rather than tightening it by feel.
4. Store the probe so the tip cannot take a knock. Boxed, with the working end protected, is how this class of instrument normally travels and sits between jobs.
5. After a drop, or after a test where the finger met a hard edge, re-check it against the stated dimensions before it goes back into service.
6. Treat it as a gauge, not a lever. The joints are made to articulate; prying at a cover or a shutter with the finger is the quickest way to put it out of shape.

Ordering & Delivery

• Send the standard and clause, the figure reference, the thrust version, the quantity and the delivery address with your quote request. That is everything a jointed test finger manufacturer needs to price a probe accurately.
• Say 'with 50 N thrust' on the order. The plain finger B and this version are described under the same figure, and the applied force is the only thing that separates them on paper.
• Covering more than one numeral? Ask for the rigid rod C and the rigid wire D on the same quotation so that a full IP2X to IP4X sequence arrives matched.
• Replacing an existing finger? Order by the figure and the thrust version rather than by an old order number — the geometry is stable, but the requirement behind it may have moved.
• Lead time, shipping method, payment terms and any warranty cover are confirmed on the quotation. Ask your sales contact to state them in writing before you commit, especially when a test deadline is already fixed.
• Probes of this class normally travel boxed with the working end protected. If your goods-in process needs particular labelling or paperwork, mention it when you order.

Incoming Checks & Design-Stage Use

On arrival. A probe is a measuring instrument, so the receiving check is a comparison with IEC 61032 Figure 2 rather than a glance at the finish. Straighten the three sections and check the bending length, tip diameter and baffle dimensions against the dimensional specification. Work every joint through its full arc by hand — a section should move when you ask it to and hold the angle you leave it in, because a joint that swings loose on its own will not carry the applied force. Inspect the metal tip under good light: round and smooth, with no flats, burrs or rolled edge, since that surface is what decides contact. Write the result on the receiving record and raise any mismatch with your supplier before the probe is used; a tool that has already appeared in a report is much harder to argue about than one still in its box.

Before type testing. Design and safety engineers can put this finger to work long before a certification project starts, and the thrust version is the one worth having on the bench at that stage. Offer it to a first-off moulding, a printed sample or a hand-built enclosure and the jointed sections show which louvres, recesses and apertures admit a finger at all; press it home at the applied force and the same openings are judged the way the type test will judge them, rather than the way a photograph suggests. A revision to a drawing at that point costs an afternoon; the same change once the tooling is cut costs a mould modification and a repeat run.

Keep the finger with the design team while the enclosure is still moving, and record what each run showed — which opening failed, from which direction, and under which force. Pass that to whoever is drawing the grille or the shutter, because aperture size is rarely the only variable: rib position, wall thickness and the space behind the face all change what the finger reaches. When the design does go forward to the type test, use the same probe, the same joint settings and the same orientations, so the design-stage sheet and the test report describe one set-up rather than two similar ones.

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