Standard_Drives_Guide

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

However, subsequent interpretations by EU officials have declared that components that can be sold directly to final users and are somewhat complex in nature (examples given are motors, electronic circuit cards, and thermostats so obviously drives would be included) are subject to the obligations laid down in the EMC directive. Simple components (integrated circuits, low voltage fuses, miniature resistors, etc.) and more complex compo- nents which are intended for use by professional assemblers are not subject to the provisions of the EMC directive. It is the respon- sibility of the assembler to ensure that the end product housing these components or subassemblies complies with the directive requirements. Therefore, even though the CE marking indicating compliance with the EMC directive is not legally required for drives sold as components, it may very well be a market require- ment for machinery OEMs who want to sell to the EU to avoid possible issues with replacement parts, as well as to ensure them the necessary documentation to help meet the EMC requirements for their machines. Keep in mind that starting in 1997, all low voltage equipment, whether component or complete apparatus, must comply with the low voltage directive and thus bear the CE marking. This is no different than the U.S. situation where most components bear the UL mark as well as the final product. There is no way to tell just from the marking on the product itself which directives the product meets (this is accomplished by the manufacturer’s declaration of conformity). Q: Is there anything positive for U.S. manufacturers in all of this? A: Looked at one way, the CE marking and all of the directives could be thought of as a major trade barrier which EU members have erected to make it difficult for those outside to get their products in. And although there are elements of some of the directives which appear that way, overall this is certainly not the case. In fact, the EU member nations have had to knock down a number of their own trade barriers to create this vast mega-mar- ket whose size exceeds that of the U.S. One example is the myri- ad of national marks that used to be legally required to enter some of the countries. In the game of international trade, the U.S. has suffered from the disadvantage that our foreign competitors could develop one product with one mark and sell it into the largest homogeneous market in the world. Now the rest of the world has the same advantage with the EU. There may still be market requirements in some countries for national marks such as VDE or BSI, but legally the product cannot be restricted. U.S. manufacturers should view the new system as a great opportunity for global growth.

Q: How are the EMC standards being created? A: The organization of EMC work within the IEC is presently organized as follows: Technical Committee No. 77 (TC77) is responsible for basic standards having general application and for generic standards CISPR (the International Special Committee on Radio Interference) is responsible for the protection of radio and television broadcasting, but has extended its field of activity to include information technology equipment (ITE) Numerous product committees have the task of developing standards specific to their products To ensure coordination between these special committees and the outside world, the Advisory Committee on Electromagnetic Compatibility (ACEC) was set up to coordinate the work and provide advice to the product committees The organization of EMC work within CENELEC is somewhat simpler than that of the IEC: Technical Committee 110 (TC110) is responsible for basic standards, generic standards, and a certain degree of supervision of the product standards Various product committees in parallel with some, but not all, IEC committees Q: What is the difference between basic standards, generic standards, and product specific standards for EMC? A: Basic EMC standards specify the general conditions or rules necessary for achieving electromagnetic compatibility applicable to all products and to which the product committees may refer. The IEC 1000 series of standards are basic EMC stan- dards. Generic EMC standards relate to a given environment and are applicable to all equipment installed in the environment where there is no product-specific EMC standard for that equip- ment. Product-specific EMC standards specify the requirements and tests specific to the products considered. Q: Is it absolutely essential that all core drives with a final des- tination in the EU comply with the EMC directive, even if they are only used as components on machines built in the U.S. and exported to Europe? A: Literally speaking, the EMC directive applies to “all electrical and electronic appliances together with equipment and installa- tions containing electrical and/or electronic components liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or the performance of which is liable to be affected by such disturbance.” For the purposes of the EMC directive, a “component” is defined as any item which is used in the composition of an apparatus and which is not itself an apparatus with an intrinsic function intended for the final con- sumer. Therefore, from a legal point of view, compliance with the EMC directive and affixation of the CE marking is only required on the complete apparatus as opposed to each individual component which make up the apparatus.

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