Key EU Regulations in the area of MOCAs
With regard to food machinery, the application of the Machinery Directive alone is not sufficient, but the application of Regulation 1935/2004 is also required. Basically, there are two general regulations issued by the European Union: EC Reg. No. 1935/2004, which provides a harmonized EU regulatory framework establishing general principles of safety and inertness for all […]
The noise of the machines
Noise is an inherent characteristic of the machine that every manufacturer is required to consider during the design phase. Poor consideration of noise can lead to the manufacture of a product with high noise-related risks. This issue is addressed in Requirement 1.5.8 of Annex I of the Machinery Directive: “The machinery must be designed and […]
Food processing machinery and food contact materials: legislative aspects and compliance
Food is essential for human well-being, so the process, distribution and control along the production chain are duly regulated. During the production cycle, food comes into contact with many materials: processing, storage, preparation, serving. These materials are called MOCA (Materials and Objects in Contact with Food). The MOCA category includes containers for transporting food, packaging […]
EU Regulation 2023/1230, the role of digital media and cybersecurity
Cybersecurity, once EU Regulation 2023/1230 comes into force, will become a key issue in machine safety. EU Regulation 2023/1230, which will come into force on January 14, 2027, repealing Directive 2006/42/EC, “lays down health and safety requirements for the design and construction of machinery, related products and partly completed machinery to allow them to be […]
How is it defined an assemblies of machinery and how shall be assessed an industrial line?
How a set of industrial machines is defined and how a industrial line is certified. Because of the generic nature of the definition, it is necessary refer to the official guide of machinery Directive. At §38 it is explained that an assembly of machineries is so considered if: the constituent units are assembled together in […]
The EMC Directive
In the industrial (and non-industrial) world, electronics play a crucial role in the design of everyday products. Electrical and electronic systems that rely on the use of electrical signals to perform more or less complex functions are not infallible, but (as with living beings) are sensitive to external perturbations. The reliability of electrical and electronic […]
Did I make a Machine or a Partly-Completed Machinery?
Have I built a Machine or a quasi-Machine? There is often confusion among manufacturers about the difference between the two products. A recurring phrase is: ‘to this day we still declare units without a switchboard to be machines, as their purpose is defined, and if these units were connected to the power supply on site, […]
The new Machinery Regulation (1230/2023)
On 14 June, the text of Regulation 1230/2023 was published in the Official Journal of the European Parliament. The new Machinery Regulation represents a major innovative boost for all machinery manufacturers in the European Union, setting new targets and regulating some aspects that remained poorly defined in Directive 2006/42/EC. The first point worth noting is […]
RoHS and WEEE: when apply and what to do
The RoHS and WEEE directives (2011/65/EU and 2012/19/EU) regulate the use of certain substances and the disposal of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) at their end-of-life. In general, an EEE is defined as equipment that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields with voltages below 1000 VAC and 1500 VDC for proper functioning. Also included, […]
ATEX and machineries – what does and what doesn’t need to be marked?
Should a machine working with combustible gas or dust be ATEX-marked? The answer is… it depends. Article 1 of Directive 2014/34/EU defines that it applies to: equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres; safety, control and regulating devices intended for use outside potentially explosive atmospheres but necessary or useful for the […]
