Re: European Power Cords
Mark, With regard to your No.1, 2, and 3: Check Annex ZB and ZC of your EN60950:1993. I am sure it is not ILLEGAL to ship a different power cord to another country. I have not checked all power cords, but most plugs will not fit another country's socket. Note that Europe has separate standards for the cord and the plug. Thus, you could ship just the appropriate attached cord with leads unterminated. However, several country deviations would require you to provide instructions in their language on how to attach the proper plug. It's easier to provide the appropriate cordset to start with. We have no problem with your No.4 since we provide the appropriate cordsets. However, if your U.S. manufacturer cannot or does not want to stock them in the U.S., then your European entity who "places the equipment in the marketplace" (agent, distributor, etc.) is responsible for providing the proper cordset or the proper instructions on how to connect this equipment in the particular country. Hope this helps. Tania Grant, Octel Communications Corporation __ Reply Separator _ Subject: European Power Cords Author: "Montrose; Mark" at P_Internet_mail List-Post: emc-pstc@listserv.ieee.org Date:5/20/96 10:17 AM This question relates to the use and application of power cords provided into the EU when shipped from the USA. A company builds one version of a highly configurable product. The user chooses any combination of optional pwbs (over 20 different options) plugged anywhere into a large backplane along with a choice of several different power supply assemblies (universal auto-voltage detect, redundant, non-redundant, etc.). The product is handled by European distributors who order a large number of units for their warehouses for reshipment to any country within Europe, including non-European countries. The manufacturer, located in the USA, has no idea what country the unit will be sold to or how it is finally configured since this is up to the European distributor to configure and sell the unit. The USA manufacturer provides a North American power cord set as a default item to all shipping assemblies, since most units sold are to North America. The company, at no charge, will provide to the distributor a power cord appropriate to the end country's application. This power cord is purchased from a European power cord manufacturer, located in the UK, and dropped shipped to the distributor, also located in the UK (one of several European distributors throughout the continent). The following issues have now been raised by a sales manager in the UK which we are unable to answer. 1. Is it legal to ship North American, 120VAC power cords into the UK, knowing that these cords will be thrown away upon receipt? Please provide the statutory Instrument in UK law that says 120 VAC rated cords are illegal for importation, even if they will never be used. 2. Please provide the UK statutory Instrument (and any other European Country National Law) that mandates products received from North America must contain a power cord appropriate to their national electric requirements, plug specific. 3. In examining the LVD and EN 60950, no mention is made regarding the legal requirement to ship a particular power cord into Europe. The LVD para 3.2.4 mandates electrical requirements and type of cordage required. 4. If the USA manufacturer cannot stock variations of European power cords, then how does your company handle this issue of multiple power cordsets for use worldwide. 5. Are their any other statutory Instruments or requirements related to power cord usage within the EU not addressed above. Thank you. Mark Montrose ma...@hls.com
Conformity Assessment of Integrated Products
There has been a spate of comments on this channel lately about the problems encountered when a product is an integration of several other products. Doug Probstfeld of INTEL in Hillsboro, OR, has produced a white paper on the topic and makes some recommendations on how to deal with it. Not everybody may agree with Doug's approach, but I think it is a good start. (I don't like the use of the word RCIC Guest rgu...@anonymous.com Courtesy of RCIC http://uc.com/compliance_engineering/
re: Fire at Dusseldorf airport in Germany
Hello, There was apparently a fire at the Dusseldorf airport in Germany a few weeks back. What I understand is that some welding going on outside the terminal ignited cables in an air duct. Allegedly 40 people were overcome by fumes/ smoke and the information I have indicates a couple deaths occurred. Officials(not sure which ones) are now seeking information as to PVC, cadmium, and asbestos content of equipment. Interesting list of materials. I have no idea how many manufacturers have been asked to provide this information. Anyway, the purpose for this note is to ask if anyone has heard of this incident and if someone might have some details about the incident. What little information I have has raised questions in my mind as to what really occurred and why. Are computer and electronics manufacturers the only ones being picked on or are manufacturers of other items one would find in an airport terminal also being asked to provide this type of information. This is just my curiosity at work. Regards, Bob Brister Digital
Conformity Assessment of Integrated products
There has been a spate of comments on this channel lately about the problems encountered when a product is an integration of several other products. Doug Probstfeld of INTEL in Hillsboro, OR, has produced a white paper on the topic and makes some recommendations on how to deal with it. Not everybody may agree with Doug's approach, but I think it is a good start. (I don't like the use of the word "modules" in Doug's paper, as it confuses the EU Conformity Assessment modules, with components used in an integrated product, in the reader's minds.) In the paper he goes into each of the problem areas in great detail and attaches a copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the FCC to deal with the EMC aspects in the USA, under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regs. The FCC also has put in place a mechanism to deal with the telecom aspects of integrated packages, under Part 68 of the FCC Rules and Regs. Greg Slingerland of MITEL was instrumental in getting that one off the ground. UL has a special Task Force looking at the Electrical Safety aspects of the "plug and play" scenario. (Believe that INTEL and MITEL are on that Task Force). The telecom industry has always lived with this problem, as it always was composed of bits and pieces from different manufacturers, assembled in the field. There never was a complete PBX in one place, to be certified. We're now doing that with computer systems with servers from one manufacturer and controllers from another manufacturer to printers and terminals of yet other manufacturers, on a large scale. On the small scale, we're buying keyboards, mouses, monitors, motherboards, printers, power supplies and all manner of cards to go into the tower of our choice, to make our PC system. When we upgrade to a faster modem, a larger monitor screen a more powerful this and a faster that, we don't bring this thing back to the manufacturer. The smart ones will take it to a reputable integrator, the poor ones will take screwdriver in hand and do it themselves. That is the reality we live in. We should try and avoid different solutions to this challenge and opportunity, in every principality on mother Earth, and work on some global solutions. Regards, Vic Doug Probsfeld and Greg Slingerland can be reached at the eMail addresses above.
High Voltage Connectors.
Good folk of the PSTC. Some LVD stuff.. I have recently been looking at High Voltage connectors, round the 15-20kV operating mark, for use on laboratory equipment, e.g. electron microscopes etc. I've been offered a 15kV connector that has a 30mm distance from the contact to the nearest point at which a test finger can get, (PTFE Tube). This seems to meet with the requirements of IEC1010-1 Figure D.2. clearance distance, but not with the requirements of table D.18, Creepage distance. (15kV= approx 60mm). The implication of this is that just about all the HV connectors on the market are only good for 10kV or so, even the ones quoting 30kV! Questions are: 1. Am I right in expecting HV connectors to meet IEC1010-1? Particularly the clearance and creepage tables D.18 and Fig D.2. 2. Do 25kV connectors really have to have 100mm surface distance to ensure safe use? (table D.18) This would make a 25kV connector 8" long! 3. Are there any more appropriate standards to use in this respect? TIA... Chris Dupres EMC Specialist. VG Microtech. cdup...@vacgen.fisons.co.uk tel +44 (0) 1825 761077 fax +44 (0) 1825 768343 'Opinions expressed are personal, not necessarily Corporate'
European Power Cords
Mark Montrose wrote: "RE:European Power Cords This question relates to the use and application of power cords provided into the EU when shipped from the USA. A company builds one version of a highly configurable product. The user chooses any combination of optional pwbs (over 20 different options) plugged anywhere into a large backplane along with a choice of several different power supply assemblies (universal auto-voltage detect, redundant, non-redundant, etc.). The product is handled by European distributors who order a large number of units for their warehouses for reshipment to any country within Europe, including non-European countries. The manufacturer, located in the USA, has no idea what country the unit will be sold to or how it is finally configured since this is up to the European distributor to configure and sell the unit. I don't think the authorities having jurisdiction give a damn about all this. WHO makes the Declaration of Conformity and WHO holds the technical file, the manufacturer or the distributor ??? The USA manufacturer provides a North American power cord set as a default item to all shipping assemblies, since most units sold are to North America. The company, at no charge, will provide to the distributor a power cord appropriate to the end country's application This power cord is purchased from a European power cord manufacturer, located in the UK, and dropped shipped to the distributor, also located in the UK (one of several European distributors throughout the continent). Once again, all this is irrelevant, WHO is the responsible party ? Do you farm that responsibility out to your distributors, or are you responsible The following issues have now been raised by a sales manager in the UK which we are unable to answer. 1. Is it legal to ship North American, 120VAC power cords into the UK, knowing that these cords will be thrown away upon receipt? Please provide the statutory Instrument in UK law that says 120 VAC rated cords are illegal for importation, even if they will never be used. Wrong question. You can ship whatever you want into the UK. The issue is whether you can put it on the market in the UK, or anywhere IThe only questions that you need to answer are in else. Putting on the market is making it available to a third party, for the purpose of distribution and/or use. By the way, storage is not considered placing on the market. Selling to distributors is. It is a bit US ethnocentric to expect UK law or EU law to say something about US, 120VAC, 60 Hz powercords. In any event, the issue here is not UK Statutes, but EU Directives, which are legally binding laws of the European Union that become mandatory by their transposition into national laws of the Members States. The UK has transposed the Low Voltage Directive but that is not relevant either, because you are distributing all over the map out of the UK. Boxes that go to Upper Slobovia, do not have to meet EU and EEA requirements. They probably will have to meet Upper Slobovian requirements, once they get there. 2. Please provide the UK statutory Instrument (and any other European Country National Law) that mandates products received from North America must contain a power cord appropriate to their national electric requirements, plug specific. The UK statute is not relevant. EU Directives are. The EU Member States must allow free movement of goods that meet the essential requirements of all relevant Directives. Since the plugs are different in every EU Member State, making having a specific plug an essential requirement would immediately stop all trade in electrical equipment. 3. In examining the LVD and EN 60950, no mention is made regarding the legal requirement to ship a particular power cord into Europe. The LVD para 3.2.4 mandates electrical requirements and type of cordage required. The LVD does not have a para 3.2.4, IEC-950 derivatives do, but will not specify the plug. Reason is that IEC-950 is not a catalogue of possible plugs but a safety standard. In addition, good business acumen dictates providing the equipment with a usable plug in the country where you sell (and instructions in a language the local populace can understand). 4. If the USA manufacturer cannot stock variations of European power cords, then how does your company handle this issue of multiple power cordsets for use worldwide. Any USA manufacturer who wants to, can stock any number of European power cords he wants to. However, he may find it to his advantage to let that be handled by his distributors. That has nothing to do with technical requirements, it has something to do with the economics of any given operation. 5. Are their any other statutory Instruments or requirements related to power cord usage within the EU not addressed above." YES, ANNEX I of the LVD, in particular the
Re: Low Voltage Directive
Council Directive 72/23/EEC applies to any equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 VAC (or between 75 and 1500 VDC). Rated voltage is defined in IEC-950 as the primary power voltage, as declared by the manufacturer. So what did you put on the box as the "rated voltage" W.r.t. the WAN radio module. Be careful now because the CE marking means you comply with ALL applicable Directives. To the best of my knowledge that means that you need to be in compliance with the essential requirements of the LVD, the EMCD and the TTED as well as having subjected the equipment to the Conformity Assessment procedures prescribed in those three. The TTED conformity assessment procedures prescribe 3rd party testing and the marking will require not only the CE mark with the number of the Notified Body, but probably also the crossed hockey sticks to indicate that the product is intended and suitable to be connected to the public telecommunications network. If you are the integrator of the equipments, you are responsible for assuring that the combination is still safe, probably not a major problem, and that the EMC Directive requirements are still met. That may be a bit more of a problem as mucking around with the equipment usually does not lead to improved EMC performance. Awell zunne, da's 't leven Vic Boersma
