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FEATURE
STANDARDS & DIRECTIVES
BS EN 61439 OR BS EN 60 USE FOR MACHINE
When designing, building and installing machine control panels,
should you use BS EN 61439 or BS EN 60204? Derek Coulson and Paul Skyrme from Safe Machine guide us through the standards
61439-0 that provides guidance to specifying assemblies. For machine control panels, compliance
is common with Parts 1 and 2. However, this is discussed later in this article. BS EN 60204 is also a multi-part
standard. Part 1 presents general requirements. The other parts are: • Part 11 covers equipment for voltages above 1000 V AC or 1500 V DC and not exceeding 36 kV.
• Part 31 is for safety and EMC requirements for sewing machines, units and systems.
• Part 32 is the requirements for hoisting machines.
• Part 33 is for semiconductor fabrication equipment.
In addition, there is a Technical Specification, IEC TS 60204-34:2016, covering requirements for machine tools (there is no separate British Standard equivalent for this). This may be upgraded from a Technical Specification to a full Part of the standard in the future.
GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS The standards – or parts thereof – with which a machine control panel should comply depends on the machine and its application. If the machine is destined for the GB market, it should be UKCA marked according to the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations. If, however, it is heading for the
European Union or other states where the European Machinery Directive has been implemented (including Northern Ireland, under the Northern Ireland Protocol), it needs to be CE marked. To confuse
T
here are two series of British standards that might appear relevant when designing, building and installing machine
control panels. The first is BS EN 61439, relating to low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies. The second is BS EN 60204, a multi-part machinery safety standard relating to the electrical equipment of machines. Both are the British Standard equivalents of IEC international standards. BS EN 61439 is a seven-part standard.
Part 1 provides general rules and is used in conjunction with one of the other six parts, each of which covers a different field of application. As an aside, compliance with
48 DESIGN SOLUTIONS MAY 2024
Part 1 alone cannot be claimed; compliance must be with Part 1 and one of the other Parts. Part 2 applies to power switchgear and
controlgear assemblies. Part 3 is for distribution boards intended to be operated by ordinary persons (DBO). Assemblies for Construction Sites (ACS) is Part 4. Part 5 is for assemblies for power distribution in public electricity networks. Busbar trunking systems (busways) are covered by Part 6. Part 7 covers assemblies in specific applications such as marinas, camping sites, market squares and electric vehicle charging stations. In addition to this, Part 0 is a Published Document (Technical Report) PD IEC/TR
matters further, the UK Government has decided to accept CE Marking for the foreseeable future. For the USA and other markets, compliance
is necessary with yet more standards, but that is beyond the scope of this present article. In most cases, in the UK, a machine needs
need to comply with the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations or the Machinery Directive – which are, for the time being, all but identical. Specific components within the machine or its control panel may need to comply with other regulations and directives, such as those for low voltage or electromagnetic compatibility. Furthermore, if a panel builder is undertaking the design and the manufacture, it is probable
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