Evaluation Engineering - 17

* The bottom line is that if the manufacturer believes that the product
complies with the EMC regulations
(i.e. does not cause interference and
works as specified in its intended environment), then they can create the
EMC Certificate of Compliance, apply the CE mark, and sell the product
anywhere in the EU.
* Each EU member country has an
"office" responsible for maintaining
compliance. This service is generally
complaint-driven. In the event of a
complaint by an individual or corporate body, the office is mandated
to investigate, and if the complaint
is upheld, the product is typically
withdrawn from the market, and
financial penalties may be applied.

The manufacturer's must-do list
* Determine the compliance status of
the product using appropriate tests
and facilities. The manufacturer may
involve third-party test laboratories,
but self-testing is entirely acceptable.
* Create the Supplier Declaration of
Conformity (SDoC). The supplier
must be based in the U.S. If the
product is imported, the importer
becomes the responsible party and
must obtain a copy of the compliance test results and certification
from the original manufacturer, or
perform the appropriate testing in
the U.S.

* Label the product so that it can be
uniquely identified and related to
the SDoC.
* The FCC logo is now optional.
* In the user manual or instructions,
add any pertinent information regarding compliance. (for example,
installation or cabling requirements).
* The technical information related
to compliance tests and results, together with assessments and conclusions, must be kept on file and made
available to the FCC on request.

Results in the EU
* Does the system work? Yes, surprisingly well.
* Awareness of the requirements?
Almost 100%.
* Do manufacturers ensure compliance? Generally, yes.
* Do low volume products comply?
Generally, yes.
* Are there some that flout the regulations? Inevitably, yes.
* Who are the worst offenders? Those
who import from the Far East.
* Does the policing work? Patchy. In
some EU countries, the relevant office lacks funding and expertise.
* Is self-testing a widespread practice? Yes, due to convenience and
cost savings.
* Expertise? Increasingly widespread,
even among low-tech manufacturers,
such as luminaire suppliers.

Benefits
Self-testing can bring cost savings. The
key parameter is the number of products
that may need certification in a typical
year. If only one product per annum is
likely to need certification, the lowest
cost option lies with use of test labs. If
many products per annum need certification, self-testing will bring cost savings.
The crossover point here in the UK lies
in the region of five or six products per
annum. This assumes both emissions
and immunity testing as required for
CE compliance, and allows for the higher
cost of immunity test equipment. For FCC
compliance, the crossover point is lower,
typically three to four products per annum, due to the lower equipment costs
involved when not including immunity
testing.
The above benefits consider only the
crude accounting costs. Actual benefits
include:
* The ability to test during design/
development phases, with consequent avoidance of later revisions
and retests
* Reduced time-to-market
* No delays caused by lack of test lab
availability
* Travel and transport costs avoided
* Increased EMC expertise and capabilities as staff become practised at
EMC testing and evaluations
These benefits may appear as incidental, but in fact they can bring results far

The Laplace Instruments LC300 is an ultra compact EMC test chamber suited
for testing handheld and other small devices. It is intended to be table- or
bench-mounted, and the usable internal test volume is a 300x300x300mm cube.
Laplace Instruments

JULY 2019 EVALUATIONENGINEERING.COM

http://www.EVALUATIONENGINEERING.COM

Evaluation Engineering

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