CE Marking - has anyone gone through this process?
Discussion
I could do with some guidance with this please.
I have designed and built a small/simple electronic monitoring and control system for safety critical hydraulic systems, it can be applied various types of farm and plant machinery.
Simply put it's really only 'battery and bulb' stuff with a proximity sensor, admin override key switch, some status indicator LEDs, a warning buzzer and a relay.
It's all 12 or 24 Volt DC, there's no AC involved.
I've got one potentially big customer (could be 1000s of units) who requires that I have this system CE certified.
As this is just starting up for me and I'm a one man band building these in a shed I've got a feeling it's going to have to go to a testing house and I'm worrying that doing this might be cost prohibitive to the entire project.
I'm previously from a software development background, so I can write all the technical documents and test procedures, and I have what I consider to be adequate test procedures in place before releasing these thing into the wild.
I'm starting to get twitchy now as I think I have a novel design (i.e. my device does a bit more than similar devices on the market at the same price point), and I'm already looking at giving up the day job to pursue this full time. (Version 2 with a touch screen and micro-controller is already in development.)
Any ideas from you people on the cost involved with getting the CE approval?
What's going to catch me out achieving this?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I have designed and built a small/simple electronic monitoring and control system for safety critical hydraulic systems, it can be applied various types of farm and plant machinery.
Simply put it's really only 'battery and bulb' stuff with a proximity sensor, admin override key switch, some status indicator LEDs, a warning buzzer and a relay.
It's all 12 or 24 Volt DC, there's no AC involved.
I've got one potentially big customer (could be 1000s of units) who requires that I have this system CE certified.
As this is just starting up for me and I'm a one man band building these in a shed I've got a feeling it's going to have to go to a testing house and I'm worrying that doing this might be cost prohibitive to the entire project.
I'm previously from a software development background, so I can write all the technical documents and test procedures, and I have what I consider to be adequate test procedures in place before releasing these thing into the wild.
I'm starting to get twitchy now as I think I have a novel design (i.e. my device does a bit more than similar devices on the market at the same price point), and I'm already looking at giving up the day job to pursue this full time. (Version 2 with a touch screen and micro-controller is already in development.)
Any ideas from you people on the cost involved with getting the CE approval?
What's going to catch me out achieving this?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Hmmm. CE declarations are a self certification, but you need to maintain a technical file that details how to t meets the requirements of relevant directives.
Electronics so perhaps the low voltage directive... but as it is a safety system there may be some specific legislation.
You can pay for a 3rd party lab to validate for you I am sure.
Do you know what regulations it needs to conform to?
You could start by reading this...
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking
Electronics so perhaps the low voltage directive... but as it is a safety system there may be some specific legislation.
You can pay for a 3rd party lab to validate for you I am sure.
Do you know what regulations it needs to conform to?
You could start by reading this...
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking
Glade said:
Do you know what regulations it needs to conform to?
No I don't, and that is only half of my problem. Knowing who to talk to is the other part. 
I know (pretty sure) I'm going to have to talk to 'someone' to figure out "what regulations it needs to conform to".
At the same time I know what arena it is marketed to, I know how and why it is required, and it's a HSE safety market that is just evolving and is likely going to be adopted by major manufacturers.
I have a hunch that there is a lot of machinery on the planet that will require these safety systems to be installed in order for them to get insurance.
I have to get it CE certified.
Have you seen the difference between the 'China Export' logo and the 'CE' logo?
Can anyone point me towards who I need to talk to?
Edited by JustALooseScrew on Thursday 16th May 18:03
I'm going to keep my secret key up my arm, and I've divulged far more on this thread than I really wanted to in explaining my issue.
But I know (despite Brexit and the potential lack of EU ruling) there is a whole world of change coming to the regulation of safety in the agriculture industry.
Now, all of the above (upper posts - not this one) might read/sound like I'm trying to make a quick buck, and you'd be daft not realise that is exactly I want to do.
Help me get a CE marking
But I know (despite Brexit and the potential lack of EU ruling) there is a whole world of change coming to the regulation of safety in the agriculture industry.
Now, all of the above (upper posts - not this one) might read/sound like I'm trying to make a quick buck, and you'd be daft not realise that is exactly I want to do.
Help me get a CE marking
If wired and using an off the shelf PSU, you inherent most the expensive stuff, the rating in the PSU carries over, so you only have to approve your 'bit'
Sounds like low voltage directive, or depending what it is maybe Machinery directive so that's
EMC - £2-3k in a UK chamber
You'll also apply a safety standard, but it really depends what your thing is. I do a Lot of 61010 which is lab devices, there will be a relevant one for monitoring device or something that you'd start from. Can DIY, but may need specialist kit, given your 24V may easily be able to do this yourself, budget 2k outsource.
Rohs, WEE, Packaging directive, maintain your own evidence.
Declaration of conformity
Manual
Then maintain tech file and you can self-cert..... Assuming this isn't safety critical, in which case there may be another level of risk analysis and boredom to justify it, I'd keep the intended use away from safety critical, it's just a monitoring device then it should be easy.
I've probably missesd stuff, but you should be able to get done for 5k and a bunch of work to be kosher, or argue why you can not do some tests or do them yourself if you need to save cash, EMC hardest to do on the cheap!
Sounds like low voltage directive, or depending what it is maybe Machinery directive so that's
EMC - £2-3k in a UK chamber
You'll also apply a safety standard, but it really depends what your thing is. I do a Lot of 61010 which is lab devices, there will be a relevant one for monitoring device or something that you'd start from. Can DIY, but may need specialist kit, given your 24V may easily be able to do this yourself, budget 2k outsource.
Rohs, WEE, Packaging directive, maintain your own evidence.
Declaration of conformity
Manual
Then maintain tech file and you can self-cert..... Assuming this isn't safety critical, in which case there may be another level of risk analysis and boredom to justify it, I'd keep the intended use away from safety critical, it's just a monitoring device then it should be easy.
I've probably missesd stuff, but you should be able to get done for 5k and a bunch of work to be kosher, or argue why you can not do some tests or do them yourself if you need to save cash, EMC hardest to do on the cheap!
said:JustALooseScrew said:
If all the components that go into my box are CE certified, can I just self certify based upon providing a user manual and a parts list etc?
I don't think so at least for the EMC bits, parts can comply individually but stick them together and they fail. I used to do the CE testing for a computer manufacturer back in the day, stuck in the basement with the Prodigy banging away, I could do a new PC model with maybe a day's testing and a day to do the report but we had everything set up, report templates, test equipent, EMC chamber with a motorised table in it, a copper covered table to zap it, PAT tester, a 'test finger' lol... You had to hope you'd strapped some big old CRT down well enough in the chamber when the table rotated cause you bloody found out about it if you hadn't.. I don't think you're going to be able to do it yourself you're just going to need to figure out who can do it for you.JustALooseScrew said:
I've got one potentially big customer (could be 1000s of units) who requires that I have this system CE certified.
The customer asking for CE certification must surely know what spec the CE mark is supposed to be certifying, so just ask them.I presume it is just some part of the machinery directive, that generally govern the whole machine rather than the component parts.
However if as you say regulations are coming in governing your system directly then those are probably the ones you need to test against. If they don't actually exist yet then you can't get it tested anyway and the CE mark is not possible or necessary.
As per previous poster, ROHS, EMC, LVD, shouldnt necessarily need WEEE as importer/purchaser handles that. Also not sure if you will need REACH dependent on what goes into it. Biggest test houses are TUV, BV, SGS. Not sure how you go about self declaring but think you need to be test house certified.
You don’t have to use an accredited test house, self cert is generally fine for EU and USA, but it does depend on the intended use / what your widget does. You’ll need to use a UCAS calibrated EMC test house, but these needent be expensive.
If you’re taking in 24v DC you’ll need to specify what the PSU is and test against that, e.g if intended use is connected to a battery, you’d test with a repressntative one.
Finally, if this is a new area, doesn’t really matter, I’d choose a relevant safety standard and apply that, you just have to justify why you chose it and most standards require risk assessment for anything they don’t cover anyway, so touve latitude to make many standards apply !
E.g machinery directive will no doubt ref light/sound requirements for hazard warning indications, spl, colour, intensity etc... apply those and you’ll be in solid stead.
It seems impenetrable, but it is posssible to do on the cheap - give yourself a month and 4K costs and you should be able to do it
If you’re taking in 24v DC you’ll need to specify what the PSU is and test against that, e.g if intended use is connected to a battery, you’d test with a repressntative one.
Finally, if this is a new area, doesn’t really matter, I’d choose a relevant safety standard and apply that, you just have to justify why you chose it and most standards require risk assessment for anything they don’t cover anyway, so touve latitude to make many standards apply !
E.g machinery directive will no doubt ref light/sound requirements for hazard warning indications, spl, colour, intensity etc... apply those and you’ll be in solid stead.
It seems impenetrable, but it is posssible to do on the cheap - give yourself a month and 4K costs and you should be able to do it
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