Standard_Drives_Guide

116 / 126

Standard Drives Buyers Guide 115
Prices and data subject
to change without notice
Q: What is the CE marking?
A: The CE marking is the European Union’s (EU) mark of compli-
ance to one or more directives which have been enacted by the
Council of the European Communities and should be affixed to
products, packages, and/or instructions according to the terms of
the applicable directives for products placed on the market within
the member countries of the EU.
Q: What countries are members of the EU?
A: There are presently 15 member countries in the EU (formerly
called the European Community, or EC). They are, (in alphabetical
order): Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Four other countries, Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, comprise the European
Free Trade Association (EFTA) whose members retain national
laws with mandatory marks. Some of these countries have
applied for membership in the EU.
Q: What does a country have to do to become
a member of the EU?
A: The European Union is much more than a trade agreement
such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The EU countries
actually forfeit a portion of their sovereignty to join the union. EU
members are bound by common laws, promoting harmonization,
and legally must accept products which conform to these laws,
regardless of whether they bear certain national marks which
many of the countries have historically required. Some marks
may still be required to meet market demands, but the CE mark-
ing is the only mark legally required to enter a member country.
Q: How are the member countries’ national laws and standards
harmonized?
A: Europe created two standards development groups for the
purpose of generating product standards which blend and mini-
mize deviations in European member countries’ national stan-
dards. They are:
European Committee for Standardization (CEN) -
for non-electrical standards
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
(CENELEC) - for electrical standards
The member countries are required to adopt the harmonized
standards (called “ENs” or “European norms”) created by CEN and
CENELEC into their national laws when directed to do so by the
Council of the European Communities. These standards are then
used to confer a presumption of compliance with essential
requirements as laid out by the applicable directives.
Q: How does a directive get issued and where is it published?
A: Directives are issued by the European Council and are pub-
lished in the “Official Journal of the European Communities” (the
“OJ”). Directives are generally relatively short and legalistic in
nature as opposed to being lengthy technical documents. The OJ
is somewhat similar in nature to the U.S. Government’s “Federal
Register” in that volumes of rules and regulations often having lit-
tle to do with one another are listed in chronological order.
Q: What are the applicable directives for adjustable
speed drives?
A: Currently there are three (3) directives which are commonly
known to be applicable to industrial control equipment in general
and to adjustable speed drives in particular. They are:
Machinery Directive: 89/392/EEC
as amended by: 91/368/EEC
93/44/EEC
93/68/EE
Low Voltage Directive: 73/23/EEC
as amended by: 93/68/EEC
EMC Directive: 89/336/EEC
The directives do not contain detailed technical requirements,
but rather state the basic essential requirements that the equip-
ment must be safe (in the case of the machinery and low voltage
directives) or that it must neither interfere with nor be disrupted
by surrounding equipment (EMC directive). Detailed technical
requirements are left to the referenced ENs (European norms)
which confer a “presumption of compliance” with the directives.
Unfortunately, when an EN is published, it does not automatically
offer this “presumption of compliance” for a particular product
until the European Council issues a ruling in the OJ stating that
“EN __ _ can be used to presume compliance with all or part of
the _____ Directive.” Since these rulings are scattered throughout
the numerous volumes of the OJ (recall it is organized in chrono-
logical order), it can be very difficult to ascertain which ENs are
pertinent and necessary to adhere to for a particular product.
Usually an individual or organization which closely follows EU
developments should be consulted.
Q: How does the machinery directive apply to
adjustable speed drives?
A: In most cases, the machinery directive will not apply to drives,
at least on an individual component basis. This directive is intend-
ed to apply to assemblies of linked parts or components, at least
one of which moves. The directive further clarifies what equip-
ment falls within its scope in Article 1, Part 5, which declares that
for machinery where the risks are mainly of electrical nature,
such machinery shall be covered exclusively under the low volt-
age directive. Therefore, although a stand-alone drive would not
be subject to the machinery directive, any machine which uses
a drive with a motor most likely will be, and thus drives used as
components in such machines should be evaluated for possible
features or shortcomings which would make it impossible for the
machine as a whole to comply with the directive.
Q: How does the low voltage directive apply to adjustable
speed drives?
A: The low voltage directive applies to electrical equipment
designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000
Vac or between 75 and 1500 Vdc. The directive stipulates that
such equipment may be placed on the market only if it has been
constructed in accordance with good engineering practice in
safety matters in force in the EU, and that it does not endanger
the safety of persons, domestic animals, or property when prop-
erly installed and maintained and used in applications for which
it was made. (continued next page)
Industry White Papers
Europe and the CE Marking: Questions and Answers