Test and Certification Blogs
TRaC experts host a dedicated Certification and Test blog on the Electronics Weekly website.
28-07-2010
Withdrawing presumption of compliance
For all those using EN 60950-1 as a means for demonstrating compliance with either the R&TTE or LVD, now might be a good time to check you are up to date! In December this year, EN 60950-1:2001/A11:2004 will be withdrawn, and EN 60950-1:2006 has also been updated to A1:2010. Although this change may seem technical, it can have a real impact on products tested to the old standard.
21-07-2010
Getting safety people to write EMC tests - surely that's not safe?
Over recent years there have been a number of instances where the safety of electrical products has been comprised by EMC phenomena. Toasters are often used as an example: in the past when a toaster was "off", it really was off, but nowadays toasters are microprocessor-based, creating the possibility of a transient on the mains power supply initiating a toasting cycle which could present a serious fire risk. There a two thought processes of how to integrate EMC testing into a safety assessment.
14-07-2010
Four Things You Need to Know About Seismic Testing
The number of companies contacting me to enquire about Earthquake Testing has increased this year. Although most of the work is related to increased activity at the Nuclear Power Generating sites - such as the developments at Sellafield - I've also seen an increase in the number of enquiries from UK companies supplying overseas. Earthquake Qualification Testing often causes consternation for the equipment suppliers who may be familiar with Vibration Testing, but often have little or no experience of the Earthquake Testing.
07-07-2010
Is UK really sharpening its teeth for CE Marking Enforcement?
The UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has recently started a consultation on how it will implement the New Legislative Framework into UK law. One of the aims of this directive is to change the law such that enforcement action can be taken against those who do not comply with the rules. In principle, this is a great step forward, however, it will be completely wasted if no additional resource is put into enforcing the regulations.
30-07-2010
What's the difference between the UL and MET Listed Marks?
The UL and MET marks both indicate that the product has met the minimum requirements of the applicable [USA] safety standards. Additionally, both marks validate the product's continued compliance to these standards as evidenced by periodic factory follow-up inspections.
25-06-2010
Military environments warrant separate standards?
Keeping up to date with standards and regulations is a challenge for a test lab, yet it must be a complete nightmare for a manufacturer who dips in and out of this world when the need arises. It's made even more complicated in the defence world since products have to comply with defence standards to meet contractual obligations and CE marking for legislative purposes, which adds to the distraction from the real work. In the case of EMC, there are so many standards it begs the question, are they all necessary?
16-06-2010
Military CE Marking - Let's Work Together
It's over 40 years since Canned Heat sang "Let's Work Together", but this simple idea still proves difficult in practice. Even the application of CE marking can be inconsistent when you apply it to challenging applications such as military equipment. Although military applications have their own standards, commercial standards are often applied when compliance to CE marking directives needs to be demonstrated.
09-06-2010
Why are there so many emissions standards?
Keeping up to date with standards in any industry is a challenge but the EMC industry doesn't help itself with so many standards all covering essentially the same thing. There are at least six common emissions standards based on international CISPR standards covering household, industrial, information technology, lighting and broadcast receiver products. In addition to these basic standards there are industry specific standards which make reference to the basic ones, resulting in 30-40 possible standards that a manufacturer can choose from.
02-06-2010
What's the point in CE Marking military equipment?
There has been a flurry of activity from lawyers in recent months understanding the rules of CE Marking, as defence manufacturers get to grips with having to comply with CE Marking legislation.
26-05-2010
Navigating the approvals process for RF enabled medical devices
RF technology is now being found in all manner of devices. One of the industries that's seeing an increased interest is the medical industry with radio devices being incorporated into a wide spectrum of devices from heart rate monitors and blood pressure meters to weighing scales. There is even a bed occupancy monitor!
19-05-2010
Who needs earthquake testing?
Recently I wrote a couple of posts about earthquake testing, which generated some interesting correspondence. Many people wanted to know a little more about the kinds of products that I've tested and their application.
12-05-2010
Seven Reasons to Conduct Pre-Compliance EMC Testing
Many of our customers are choosing to conduct pre-compliance EMC testing throughout the design stage.
10-05-2010
And you thought your EMC tests were difficult!
All electronics engineers are familiar with EMC testing, generally viewing it as yet another challenge to be overcome by good design.
28-04-2010
Regulation of energy efficiency presents new certification challenges
There is a huge drive to improve energy efficiency from customers wishing to save on running costs, manufacturers trying to gain competitive advantage and also from governments.
16-04-2010
Why does volcanic ash cause aircraft flights to be cancelled?
The news is full of stories about the significant disruption to air traffic in Northern Europe due to the volcanic eruption in the south west part of Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull glacier.
14-04-2010
Achieving certification for countries that don't have a strong test infrastructure
Many countries have their own specific requirements for certification of products, but don't always have the infrastructure to test to these standards. This presents a problem - how can you get certified if no one in the country can test your product?
08-04-2010
Is the generic industrial emissions standard dead?
CISPR 11, the product specific emission standard for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) equipment has recently been revised and reissued as Edition 5.0. In this process clarification has been provided regarding the scope of the standard.
01-04-2010
14 environments with explosive atmospheres
It's surprising how many products need Ex certification because they operate in hazardous or potentially explosive atmospheres. Thanks to the IECEx website for this list of 14 environments where Ex certification may be needed:
24-03-2010
Electronics in explosive atmospheres - standards stop things going bang!
Many companies develop products that need to operate in explosive atmospheres - areas where flammable liquids, vapors, gases or combustible dusts are likely to occur in quantities sufficient to cause a fire or explosion.
17-03-2010
A guide to reliability testing, part 3 - Environmental Stress Screening
ESS (Environmental Stress Screening). ESS is a generic term for a production screening process using one or more environmental stresses in order to precipitate latent, manufacturing-induced defects.
10-03-2010
A guide to reliability testing, part 2 - HASS
HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening). Like HALT, HASS is most commonly applied to electrical and electronic assemblies. Assuming a robust design, i.e. one that has been enhanced and validated through the use of HALT, then only component variability or manufacturing process variations will introduce latent defects.
03-03-2010
A guide to reliability testing, part 1 - HALT
Many people see reliability testing as a black art. Engineers create a test setup that replicates the stresses of years of normal use in a matter of hours - how can they know their testing correlates with use in the real world?
24-02-2010
Flammable atmospheres - A change to the ATEX Standards for zone 2 equipment
Many different electronic systems need to operate in potentially explosive atmospheres. It's not just designers of specialist equipment: chemical plant control systems; equipment for petrol station forecourts and even products that operate where dust could cause an explosion all need to meet the EU ATEX Directive or international IECEx requirements.
17-02-2010
How to make sure products comply with Noise at Work regulations
How do I make sure my products work within the limits set by the Noise at Work regulations? I blogged recently about the trend of companies that manufacture IT and communications equipment testing their equipment to the Noise at Work Directive sound level limits, and have been asked how is the testing actually performed?
10-02-2010
The impact of the Noise at Work Directive on your designs
Do you design equipment for an office environment or call centre? If you do, have you ever considered the impact of the Noise at Work Directive on your designs?
03-02-2010
How am I going to test that?
I've heard engineers say that the test and certification industry is dull, simply requiring the latest consumer item to be plugged into a standard test rig, but although there can be some repetition in the job, much of what we do is new, interesting and challenging.
27-01-2010
Electrical safety is still important!
We all use a large number of electrical items that work reliably and safely every day. As problems are so rare many people get blasé about the need for electrical safety regulations, but recently I saw some sobering statistics.
20-01-2010
Why bother with vibration testing?
When engineers ask me why companies bother with shock and vibration testing, there are three main reasons that I always cite: reliability; functionality and structural integrity.
14-01-2010
Do I really need earthquake testing?
I'm meeting more and more engineers whose equipment is being subjected to earthquake testing. Even in the UK there is a risk of earthquakes; there is even a page tracking recent seismic activity on the British Geological Survey's website.
12-01-2010
Differences between earthquake and vibration testing
What's the difference between earthquake and vibration testing?
16-12-2009
Safety - it's a complex business!
In September of this year, the ZigBee Alliance announced the successful certification of the first two ZigBee RF4CE platforms and the release of the ZigBee RF4CE specification.
09-12-2009
What's the point of a Notified Body?
We often get asked what the purpose of a Notified Body is within Europe for R&TTE (Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment), EMC Directive and Low Voltage Directive (LVD), given that legal compliance for a product is done by self-declaration. Hopefully the following will provide an insight...
02-12-2009
The difference between Bluetooth and ZigBee testing?
Although most engineers working with short range wireless understand the difference between the ZigBee (ZB) and Bluetooth (BT) standards, many still ask about the difference in the testing and approval process. There are several differences, starting with the terminology - ZB products must be "certified", whereas BT products are "qualified".
25-11-2009
Is above 1GHz the new Wild West?
Is the spectrum above 1GHz open for anyone, just like the old Wild West?
18-11-2009
