MACHINE BUILDING
MACHINERY ELECTRICAL SAFETY
S 20
afety is one of the most significant issues facing machinery owners today, and the electrical element is an essential consideration for keeping machine operators and maintenance personnel safe. Electrical safety is a set of rules and precautions that protect against potential electrical hazards. The regulations are 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 and processing equipment must meet several legal safety criteria.
Following the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU), the actual process required for manufacturing compliant products has not changed from a legal perspective. As the EU Directives are transposed into National Law, the UK already has a legal system in place that applies. EU harmonised standards have therefore simply been carried across as UK designated
Stewart Robinson MIET MInstMC, advisory consultant and functional safety expert at TÜV SÜD
standards in order to maintain a single model. 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 is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and published in parallel, with some changes, by CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization).
The machinery industry has been using this standard for many years, however it is somewhat complex. I have highlighted a few key aspects below. 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. Any enclosures should only be able to be opened under one of three conditions:
1. A key or tool must be used to open it.
2. Before it can be opened, live parts must be automatically disconnected.
3. Opening without the use of a key or a tool and without disconnection of live parts shall only be possible when all live parts are protected against direct contact to at least IP2X or IPXXB (see standard IEC 60529).
It is recommended that enclosure doors are no wider than 0.9 m and have vertical hinges that have an opening angle of at least 95 degrees.
Summer 2025 UKManufacturing
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