CE mark... compulsory?
CE mark... compulsory?
Author
Discussion

LDN

Original Poster:

9,314 posts

233 months

Thursday 17th November 2016
quotequote all
I have a selection of audio bits / small speakers for a specific application that I want to bring over from China. Do such products require the CE mark to be sold in the UK / Europe?

I've been on the official website but, as usual, I find its not entirely clear. Some products do / some don't.

If a product does; how easy a process is it / expensive?


mickytruelove

426 posts

141 months

Thursday 17th November 2016
quotequote all
Im sure the chinese will happily print CE on anything you want biggrin


hab1966

1,126 posts

242 months

Friday 18th November 2016
quotequote all
mickytruelove said:
Im sure the chinese will happily print CE on anything you want biggrin
Yes, it stands for Chinese Export!

C0ffin D0dger

3,440 posts

175 months

Friday 18th November 2016
quotequote all
As a minimum anything powered off the mains needs to be certified.

LDN

Original Poster:

9,314 posts

233 months

Friday 18th November 2016
quotequote all
Is it a difficult and expensive process to obtain the CE stamp?

As for faking it; I'd rather not!

anonymous-user

84 months

Friday 18th November 2016
quotequote all
I understand that it can be self certified, if the specifications for the product on which you are going to declare "CE", meet the criteria of the CE certification for that product genre.

It is however mandatory, and you open yourself up to a whirlpool of st if you do it incorrectly, or someone gets hurt and it turns out not to meet the standards.

jet_noise

6,103 posts

212 months

Friday 18th November 2016
quotequote all
Is it for sale to Joe Public or part of a commercial supply?
If the latter than maybe not? I don't know where I've got that idea from. Doesn't mean you'd better be very sure it complies with all the rest of electrical equipment stuff - LVD & EMC etc!

AB

20,592 posts

225 months

Saturday 19th November 2016
quotequote all
We had a supplier who insisted something was CE marked.

When further questioned they admitted it stood for 'Chinese Export'.

You need to be a bit careful.

LDN

Original Poster:

9,314 posts

233 months

Saturday 19th November 2016
quotequote all
Wow; murky waters. Thank you all; all noted.

hab1966

1,126 posts

242 months

Monday 21st November 2016
quotequote all
Whilst my first response was flippant, i have an involvement in the CE certification cycle. Currently for lighting products, but in the past for bespoke designed electronic products.

I would advise you to speak to a test house who should be able to tell you what standards you need to achieve for your product(s) and how much it will cost to achieve this. One such test house i would recommend is http://www.tracglobal.com/ Dont be put off by thier ability they will work with the smaller guys and if they cant, should advise you were to next. Another - http://www.cranage.co.uk/home.html

It is always beneficial to be able to produce the certification documents to prospective clients (if requested) and not just the Declaration of Conformity. You can also use it to your advatage, should you suspect a product being matched against yours as not having the certification.

The standards arent cheap to buy either!

DSLiverpool

16,532 posts

232 months

Monday 21st November 2016
quotequote all
Murky yes - what's crystal clear is if you import and sell to a distributor (s) they get in the st as well and you won't be popular.
Don't risk it at all and ask for proof!

ReaderScars

6,087 posts

206 months

Monday 21st November 2016
quotequote all
hab1966 said:
The standards arent cheap to buy either!
hab, when you say this, are you referring to the costs a testing facility incurs or is it expensive to have the parts tested and certificated?

hab1966

1,126 posts

242 months

Monday 21st November 2016
quotequote all
ReaderScars said:
hab1966 said:
The standards arent cheap to buy either!
hab, when you say this, are you referring to the costs a testing facility incurs or is it expensive to have the parts tested and certificated?
Neither I'm afraid. What i was trying to say, is that if you need copies of the relevant standards you need to achieve, then these aren't cheap to purchase. Some of the ones ive had to buy are listed at circa £300, though if you are a BSI member you get them at half price! As a designer i needed copies, so i knew what i was working to. The OP probably won't need copies.

I think from memory that some of the bespoke products that i had tested the costs were circa £4k for BASIC CE testing (EMC & LVD). Other tests ie IP, RoHS etc are additional costs. Also factor in the build costs of the equipment you send for testing (usually more than 1 piece). It all begins to mount up so you can see why some peope dont bother and undertake 'self assessment'.

I would always recommend a meeting with a test house to ascertain what standards are required and their costs to undertake the testing and provide ALL documentation required - its sometimes an extra cost to have paper copies as opposed to protected PDF's.

ReaderScars

6,087 posts

206 months

Monday 21st November 2016
quotequote all
Thanks for the clarification, hab. You mentioned you're involved with lighting at the moment - if you don't mind me asking, in what sort of manner?