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Approval required? — Parallax Forums

Approval required?

aabaab Posts: 8
edited 2004-12-05 14:47 in General Discussion
If I build a machine that runs on 120 volts, do I need to get anything like an approval to be allowed to sell it? What if it uses a power supply (which is approved such as a computer power supply)·and only uses 5 and 12 volts inside? If so does it have to be an external power supply or can it be inside the machine?

Thanks
·

Comments

  • StarManStarMan Posts: 306
    edited 2004-11-26 20:05
    aab,

    By "approval" I'm assuming you mean UL (or ETL which is more expensive) approval.· From my experience, you do not need UL approval to sell anything.· However, many buyers (especially commercial customers) will not buy without approval.· It gives people a warm fuzzy.· Also, exporting to other countries almost always requires some sort of "approval" (such as CSA or a CE Mark).

    That's not to say that UL is not a good thing.· It is.· My company (www.stardomes.com) went for two years selling architectural lighting fixtures before going for UL approval.· UL came in and assessed our product(s), put them in a classification and performed all the required inspection and testing.· They also required a few minor changes to our product and installation instructions.· Proper labeling is also required. Due to the size and cost of our product, we made arrangements for all the testing to be performed at our facility.· The whole process took about three months and cost about $4000.· Every quarter they perform an unannounced inspection at our site to assure compliance.· We are billed for that as well.

    Whether you go for approval or not, you need to use safe design practices·and provide appropriate warnings in·your instructions.

    Oh yeah, carry good liability insurance.

    Good Luck!
    Chris Isaacson
  • aabaab Posts: 8
    edited 2004-11-26 20:32
    I want to build myself an automated CD duplicator (I can make one for 1/3rd the cost of a pre-made one) to automate the creation my software I sell on CD and I was thinking of trying to sell some.

    Does this mean I could only ship it to Canada (I'm in Canada)? Could I ship some to the USA? What if they ran entirely on 12 volts (I think my battery charger was designed to run only on 12 volts because they didnt need approval/scertification for 12v, is that right) with an external approved power supply?

    Thanks
  • aabaab Posts: 8
    edited 2004-11-26 20:35
    And by "approval", I mean anything required to make it legal for me to sell it, if I can legally sell it without approval/certification/whatever that would be fine and would be clearly mentioned to buyers.
  • StarManStarMan Posts: 306
    edited 2004-11-27 06:39
    Hi aab,

    What I said before only pertains to the US.· If you were here, and you had a safe design verified by rigorous testing, I would go ahead with it.· I can't speak for Canada.· I know getting a CSA approval is slightly more difficult than UL but I don't know if it's required.

    As for exporting to the States, talk to an import/export broker.· They shouldn't charge you anything just to ask a few questions.

    ·
  • OrionOrion Posts: 236
    edited 2004-12-02 22:27
    StarMan, do you know anything about FCC approval, and when it is required?
  • StarManStarMan Posts: 306
    edited 2004-12-03 03:42
    Sorry, my current realm is indoor architectural lighting.

    Chris Isaacson
  • Dave PatonDave Paton Posts: 285
    edited 2004-12-05 14:47
    Orion-

    Chek out the FCC thread over in the Stamp forum:

    link to thread

    -dave

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