FEATURE MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY


sponsored by UNDERSTANDING THE MACHINE


Unsafe products lead to unsafe machinery entering the market, so machine builders therefore need to thoroughly understand the


requirements of regulations and directives. Ian Wright, chief engineer at TÜV SÜD, comments


S


afety is one of the most significant issues facing machinery builders and purchasers in Europe today, and the


electrical element is of course an essential consideration for keeping machine operators and maintenance personnel safe. However, there is a lack of knowledge in the


marketplace with regard to which standard should be applied when considering the electrical safety of machinery components. Electrical safety is a set of rules and


precautions that protect against potential electrical hazards, with the regulations designed to guard against electrical risks such as arcing and electric shocks. Due to the enormous influence that electrical components have on the reliability and quality of a product, machinery must meet several legal safety criteria. In principle, this means that all electrical equipment and machinery must be explicitly tested, certified or marked. Electrical components that have undergone testing and certification can be accepted for integration into higher level systems, allowing for universal use of the certified component. The wiring, motors, switches, circuit breakers, power supplies and transformers that make up the functional heart of today’s machines, are themselves complex multi-layered systems. With so many electrical components, it is vital that electrical safety is tested. Machinery builders must therefore understand


how the requirements of the various regulations and directives interlink because compliance with legislation is not isolated as different pieces of law often overlap and interact.


There are several global directives for electrical equipment and components with which suppliers must comply. As the number of regulations and directives increases, it is vital that machines have the correct set of comprehensive certifications and tests.


COMPLETED MACHINERY The key standard for safety of electrical equipment of machines in Europe and the UK is EN 60204-1:2018 - ‘Safety of machinery. Electrical equipment of machines - General requirements’. This covers the electrical equipment of finished machinery, not individual components. It is an application- specific standard intended for machine builders and integrators to ensure the safe design, installation and maintenance of the complete electrical system of a machine. The standard applies to electrical, electronic


and programmable electronic equipment and systems to machines not portable by hand while working, including a group of machines working together in a co-ordinated manner. It therefore provides requirements and recommendations relating to the electrical equipment of machines which includes, but is not limited to, enclosures, isolators, colour coding of actuators and documentation. The standard requires that electrical live parts are located inside enclosures or suitably insulated to provide protection against persons or livestock having direct contact with them. Alongside the specifics of EN 60204-1,


there are several global directives for electrical equipment and components with


“There are several global directives for electrical equipment and components with which suppliers must comply. As the number of regulations and directives increases, it is vital that


Ian Wright 18


machines have the correct set of comprehensive certifications and tests”


Feature


which machinery must comply. The EU’s Machinery Directive and Machinery Regulation, and the UK’s Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, are closely linked and require compliance with the EU’s Low Voltage Directive (LVD) (2014/35/EU) and the UK’s Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, the EU’s Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive and UK’s EMC Regulations 2016, the EU’s ATEX Directive and UK’s UKEX, and the EU’s Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and UK Radio Equipment Regulations 2017.


MACHINERY REGULATION The new EU Machinery Regulation replaces the Machinery Directive on 20 January 2027. It introduces more concrete machinery safety provisions that are a legal requirement for machinery manufacturers and other economic operators. This gives machinery end-users more legal certainty by defining binding requirements imposed on the design, construction and placing into operation of machinery and related products. The UK government has announced that CE marking for machinery will be extended indefinitely beyond 2024. This means that from 20 January 2027 CE marked products in the


DESIGN SOLUTIONS NOVEMBER 2025


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52