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CE Marking for Automated Material Handling Systems

Published in: CE Marking, Machinery

Published on: 27 October 2017

CE (Conformité Européene) marking is a legal compliance required for products sold within the European Union market. A CE marking indicates that the products being sold in the European Economic Area have been examined and then assessed to meet the stringent criteria for health, safety and protection of environment. ‘Conformité Européene’ is a French phrase which translates to ‘European Conformity’ in English.

For machines and in particular the automated material handling system , there are basically three CE Directives that need to be fulfilled to get the affixation of the CE marking.

Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC)

For automated material handling equipment, the Machinery Directive entails that all the machines or installations that are supplied to the market and are installed, used and maintained properly must have no adverse effects on the safety and health of the people using them.

The EMC Directive (2014/30/EU)

The Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Directive requires electrical and electronic equipment to conform to its conditions. The EMC Directive also stands for automated material handling machinery. Any machine that is using solenoids and motors etc. should comply with EMC Directive to get the CE marking. There are two major requirements for machines to comply the EMC Directive:

Equipment should not become a source of electromagnetic interference.
Equipment should not be vulnerable for malfunctioning from other external sources of electromagnetism.

This CE Directive ensures that the machine in question and other machines around it can work in the optimal and hazard-free electromagnetic conditions.

Low Voltage Directive (2014/35/EU)

With newer technologies making their way in the automated material handling industry, now certain models are required to fulfill the Low Voltage Directive with regard to the CE. All the machines that are operating in the voltage ratings of DC: 75V to 1500V and AC: 50 to 1000V must meet the specifications for any given country situated in the European Economic Area.

Steps to Get CE marking for Automated Material Handling Systems

There are few steps that you have to go through to get CE marking for your machines for automated material handling systems:

You must know which Directives are applicable to your product. As it has been mentioned, 3 basic Directives are applicable for machines for automated and material handling installations.

Essential requirements must be followed to comply to the requirements of the applicable Directives so the products can become CE-marked. Further, there are standards which can be used to comply to the details of essential requirements.

To check whether your product fulfils the conditions of essential requirements, you will need to carry out testing according to requirements in the Directives, Regulations and standards.

For every product, manufacturers are required to maintain all the necessary documentation that proves the conformity of the product under the instructions of Directives and/or Regulations.

This is the final step where the product will be certified with the CE marking. The EC Declaration of Conformity (CE Declaration of Conformity) is a legal document that will oblige manufacturers to be responsible for any malfunctions under CE Directives and/or Regulations. Getting CE marking for your automated material handling systems and machines will give you access to the European economy

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