CE standard questions

Hello

I have machine builder that needs a drive system that is going to Europe 3 phase 380 volt 50 hz. Says that we must follow CE standards. Can you guys help me with following points.

I was told that the panel back plate must be not painted and galvanized steel. Have any one heard of this? I was thinking of using a stainless back plate.

I am using AC Vector drive and was that I need a “ filter “ for the AC supply to the drive. This is all I could get out of my customer. He did not know if it meant a line reactor or some thing else. Is there a CE standard for this?

Could some one point me to site or list the CE wiring standards, mainly wire colors and info along those lines.

Jim

GO JETS

We have only done one machine that required CE certification here so I am by no means an expert. This forum has a good international presence so you should be able to get some help.
I would start with a copy of EN60204. This is the machinery safety standard SOMEWHAT similar in intent to NFPA79 in the US. The other thing that may help is a Fundamental Assessment of Stadards (FAST) document, which leads you through an assessment of your equipment to make sure you don't miss anything.
If someone else is incorporating your stuff into their equipment, you will either need to have a CE mark on your stuff or send a Declaration of Non-conformity stating why it is not marked. In your case you might be able to shunt the marking requirement to your customer and they can mark it as part of the total package. That can be a tough sell, though.
When we did our machine we started out by making sure we used all CE marked components. As a base do this if at all possible. Also, get a Decrlaration of Conformity for each CE-marked part. In our case the one drive we used needed an input filter to meet the CE spec for conducted emmisions. The filter was built into the drive, which made it easy. Your drive supplier can tell you what you need to do to meet CE requirements. And this will most likely need to be a real-life filter as opposed to a simple line reactor.
We also kept a Technical Construction File, since we self-certified. This is just a big compilation of paperwork showing what we did to meet the standards we deemed relevent and how we decided which standards were relevent.

Good Luck,
Keith

PS: Have fun riding Vinnie to he play-offs (he-he-he).

Jimtech67

CE markings and standards are the brainchild of the Good ol' European Union.

I can't give you the ins and outs of what is required and why but the British Standards Institute page might have the information that you are looking for.

Paul

You may want to look over this article, it might be overkill as it covers the entire Electromagnetic Compatibility part for CE marking but at least the author might be of assistance.

"EMC Testing of Large Industrial Systems" at http://www.conformity.com/

The "filter" request is proabably to cover the conducted emissions from the drive back onto the AC Mains to meet EN 50081-2 Generic Emission Standard for Industrial Environments. This document cross references other standards so you could get tagged with buying a few of them to find out all of the details needed. It might be best to hold off and poke around the internet for info before buying several of these. This specification usually requires testing to verify that the emissions are below listed limits.

These standards are usually available at Global Engineering Documents
http://www.global.ihs.com/

You usually pay out the nose for the standards from these guys. If you have a good library in your area that has a Science and Technical department they might have them available at a much better price.

Bob

I'll post any additional info I find

Good lord, you do NOT want a stainless steel panel. ouch.

Rittal, Schroff, and the like, make many enclosures with galvanized steel panels, that are fine for CE, and don't destroy all of your tooling.

When in Rome...
...use Rittal

1. When you say "panel back plate" do you mean the plate where the components are installed, or some part of the panel enclosure itself ?

I have seen some panels with galvanized steel mounting plates. I dont know why this would be an advantage, maybe it could be something with the earth connection when the components are screwed onto the plate.
The galvanized layer is not so thick as on something that would have to stand outside in the rain. So it is not that hard to drill thru.

2. It is not a CE requirement that there HAS to be a line-side filter. But it IS a requirement that the equipment doesn't violate EMC restrictions. This could indirectly lead to the requirement for a line-side filter. Maybe it is a requirement of the customer.
Simply specify a VFD with a line-side filter when you make your panel, so everybody gets happy.
(Generally, if a customer says he want something - give it to him - dont discuss the matter. You should be happy that he doesn't give you a 500-page specification book, saying "by the way, you should follow all the requirements in this book - all of our suppliers do").

JesperMP said:

[BYou should be happy that he doesn't give you a 500-page specification book, saying "by the way, you should follow all the requirements in this book - all of our suppliers do"). [/B]

Click to expand...

Jesper, here is company who have 500-page book for el-position only. We call it Finnish-'Company'-Finnish dictionary.

Ps. normally el-position is longer (18-marks), than el-equipment clear name and its use.

This had moved off the first page and onto the second but I was looking through some of AutomationDirect's available documentation and there seems to be a pretty good explanation of the associated concerns regarding CE located as a PDF at this page. So I thought I would include it here.

-AJ-