Standard_Drives_Guide

Industry White Papers Europe and the CE Marking: Questions and Answers

Q: What are the applicable directives for adjustable speed drives?

Q: What is the CE marking? A: The CE marking is the European Union’s (EU) mark of compli- ance to one or more directives which have been enacted by the Council of the European Communities and should be affixed to products, packages, and/or instructions according to the terms of the applicable directives for products placed on the market within the member countries of the EU. Q: What countries are members of the EU? A: There are presently 15 member countries in the EU (formerly called the European Community, or EC). They are, (in alphabetical order): Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Four other countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, comprise the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) whose members retain national laws with mandatory marks. Some of these countries have applied for membership in the EU. Q: What does a country have to do to become a member of the EU? A: The European Union is much more than a trade agreement such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The EU countries actually forfeit a portion of their sovereignty to join the union. EU members are bound by common laws, promoting harmonization, and legally must accept products which conform to these laws, regardless of whether they bear certain national marks which many of the countries have historically required. Some marks may still be required to meet market demands, but the CE mark- ing is the only mark legally required to enter a member country. Q: How are the member countries’ national laws and standards harmonized? A: Europe created two standards development groups for the purpose of generating product standards which blend and mini- mize deviations in European member countries’ national stan- dards. They are: European Committee for Standardization (CEN) - for non-electrical standards European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) - for electrical standards The member countries are required to adopt the harmonized standards (called “ENs” or “European norms”) created by CEN and CENELEC into their national laws when directed to do so by the Council of the European Communities. These standards are then used to confer a presumption of compliance with essential requirements as laid out by the applicable directives. Q: How does a directive get issued and where is it published? A: Directives are issued by the European Council and are pub- lished in the “Official Journal of the European Communities” (the “OJ”). Directives are generally relatively short and legalistic in nature as opposed to being lengthy technical documents. The OJ is somewhat similar in nature to the U.S. Government’s “Federal Register” in that volumes of rules and regulations often having lit- tle to do with one another are listed in chronological order.

A: Currently there are three (3) directives which are commonly known to be applicable to industrial control equipment in general and to adjustable speed drives in particular. They are: Machinery Directive: 89/392/EEC as amended by: 91/368/EEC 93/44/EEC 93/68/EE Low Voltage Directive: 73/23/EEC as amended by: 93/68/EEC EMC Directive: 89/336/EEC The directives do not contain detailed technical requirements, but rather state the basic essential requirements that the equip- ment must be safe (in the case of the machinery and low voltage directives) or that it must neither interfere with nor be disrupted by surrounding equipment (EMC directive). Detailed technical requirements are left to the referenced ENs (European norms) which confer a “presumption of compliance” with the directives. Unfortunately, when an EN is published, it does not automatically offer this “presumption of compliance” for a particular product until the European Council issues a ruling in the OJ stating that “EN __ _ can be used to presume compliance with all or part of the _____ Directive.” Since these rulings are scattered throughout the numerous volumes of the OJ (recall it is organized in chrono- logical order), it can be very difficult to ascertain which ENs are pertinent and necessary to adhere to for a particular product. Usually an individual or organization which closely follows EU developments should be consulted. Q: How does the machinery directive apply to adjustable speed drives? A: In most cases, the machinery directive will not apply to drives, at least on an individual component basis. This directive is intend- ed to apply to assemblies of linked parts or components, at least one of which moves. The directive further clarifies what equip- ment falls within its scope in Article 1, Part 5, which declares that for machinery where the risks are mainly of electrical nature, such machinery shall be covered exclusively under the low volt- age directive. Therefore, although a stand-alone drive would not be subject to the machinery directive, any machine which uses a drive with a motor most likely will be, and thus drives used as components in such machines should be evaluated for possible features or shortcomings which would make it impossible for the machine as a whole to comply with the directive. Q: How does the low voltage directive apply to adjustable speed drives? A: The low voltage directive applies to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 Vac or between 75 and 1500 Vdc. The directive stipulates that such equipment may be placed on the market only if it has been constructed in accordance with good engineering practice in safety matters in force in the EU, and that it does not endanger the safety of persons, domestic animals, or property when prop- erly installed and maintained and used in applications for which it was made. (continued next page)

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