CE compliance

Tracy Allen

This is a question for my EU friends, or for anyone who has met with the issue of CE compliance.

A European distributer has asked about the CE status of one of my light level amplifiers. It is not a process I have been through, and I am not sure where the path begins, and how it twists, and how much money I need to have in my pocket to get to the end of it. I have been viewing faqs from sites like <http://www.ce-marking.nl/helpdesk/faqmain.html&gt; in the Netherlands, but I am left with more questions than answers. Most of the directives seem to have little or nothing to do with the product in question. The first thing is a precision DC amplifier for light sensors, and it operates on DC power of 5 to 28 volts provided from the equipment to which it feeds its signal. It is RoHS compliant, based on due diligence with my suppliers, but it is not clear to me if the RoHS directive is part of CE approval. The only other directive that seems at all relevant is electromagnetic compatibility.

Anyway, many of the requirements have to do with testing and documentation, having to do with consumer and industrial health and safety, and I am just not sure where to begin. Does anyone have any advice or informative links?

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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com

RDL2004

You might try here:

http://www.ce-marking.org/

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- Rick

Tracy Allen

Thanks for the link, Rick. I'll still learning. The main thing for electronics is the electromagnetic compatibilty directive, 2004/108/EC. It has to do with any electronic device that can be installed or incorporated by an "end user". I have heard from others who have faced this that there have recently been rulings that broaden the scope of the "component/sub-assemblies" exemption. (appended). The watchwords are the definitions of "end-user" and "apparatus". However, it is clear from the definitions that the things I want to sell need to be certified. Then comes the process. Like RoHS, it is a due-diligence self-certification. Due diligence can mean a trip to a testing lab ($2000 and up) which will provide an array of reports that document the performance, and the reports need to be filed as evidence of due diligence. It is possible to self-certify without testing, perhaps (still looking into that), if there is solid engineering grounds for doing so. As for example, that might be the case for the DC amplifier, which my distributer now demands with CE marking. It would be a more difficult situation for a product that does in fact have high frequency oscillators inside (i.e., microprocessor-based product for the "end-user"). The consequences of not having the marking are unclear and would come down to problems with customs or regulatory officials if a problem were to arise or in a crackdown, perhaps an import ban, or refusal of a distributer to carry it.

1.2.3.2 Excluded components/sub-assemblies

Components and sub-assemblies intended for incorporation by persons
other than the end user into apparatus and/or a subsequent sub-assembly
are not considered to be "apparatus" and are therefore not covered by the
EMC Directive32. This may also be applied to the examples in 1.2.3.1.
Illustrative examples:
-Electrical or electronic components forming part of electrical or electronic
circuit:
-Resistors, capacitors, inductors, filters,
-Diodes, transistors, thyristors, triacs, etc,
-Integrated circuits;
-Simple electromagnetic relays,
- LEDs,
-Simple thermostats,
-Cathode ray tubes.

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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com