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I am developing a device that contains 5 inputs (piezo buttons) and 5 outputs (2x pump - induction motor, fan - induction motor with basic speed control using dimmer circuit, 2x source for LED lighting). The PCB will be placed in a box with IP65 protection. The input power supply of the device is 230V, the power supply for the control part is provided by an IRM-10-12 Mean Well (https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/ac-dc-single-output-encapsulated-power-supply-irm--10--12) source, which is located on the PCB and powered from the 230V. The outputs are controlled by FINDER relays (https://www.tme.eu/en/details/40.61.9.012.000/miniature-electromagnetic-relays/finder/40-61-9-012-0000/) and use the 230V power. The control logic is provided by an atmel atmega 328p chip and is powered from the 12V Mean Well power supply.

I am interested in whether it is necessary to conform with the IEC 61010-1:2010 standard for such a device. The scope of the standard states in section 1.1.1 b):

Electrical control equipment
This is equipment which controls one or more output quantities to specific values, with each value determined by manual setting, by local or remote programming, or by one or more input variables.

In my opinion, this device undoubtedly belongs into this category and should conform to the standard. However, the customer already has several devices on the market of a very similar nature for which he has not used this standard and claims it is not necessary. I would like to know your opinion on whether it is necessary to develop such a device according to the IEC 61010-1:2010 standard or not.

JRE
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jan019
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1 Answers1

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What matters is what product category the end result sorts below. This is a standard for measurement and laboratory equipment. Not for electrical control equipment - what you have found seems just to be a definition of a broad term used by the standard.

This standard seems to cover industrial process-control, which would be things like pressure meters, thermometers etc etc. It is not clear to me what your product is doing. Pump, motor and some LEDs don't sound like a measurement device at all, but a whole control system.

I'd need more info, but spontaneously it sounds like IEC 60204 - Safety of machinery – Electrical equipment of machines is more relevant here. This one in turn contains sub-standards for various different types of machinery.

EDIT

Regarding EU compliance, I just checked the list of harmonised standards sorting under the Machinery Directive and this standard is not listed. So regardless of if it applies to your product or not, you aren't required to follow it (in EU) unless an harmonized standard from that list refers to it as a normative source. Legislation in other places of the world outside EU is another story.

Lundin
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  • Hi, thank you for the quick and informative reply. The product is only for the EU and therefore the answer is clear. – jan019 Oct 06 '21 at 14:47
  • To add more context, the device will be used as a controller for hydromassage tubs. I'll have a look at the standard that you referenced, but most probably the standard used on the other devices of the client, will be sufficient - IEC 60730. Thanks again! – jan019 Oct 06 '21 at 14:54
  • @jan019 Ok so it isn't an industrial application at all. Then maybe the machinery directive isn't relevant either. IEC 60730 is the functional safety standard for consumer electronics. Beware: these functional safety standards are _massive_ with _lots_ of requirements on everything from development procedure, quality system, hardware, software etc etc... You'll need the help of a test house to get this right. Expect around 5 times longer time to market and 5 times as expensive development. Including consultants, test houses, software tool licensing... And Atmega 328p is a no-go. – Lundin Oct 07 '21 at 10:19
  • Regarding MCU choise then NXP is probably still the market leader of safety MCUs [see this](https://www.nxp.com/products/product-information/nxp-product-programs/iec-60730-safety-standard-for-household-appliances:APIEC60730). There are other alternatives from ST, Renesas, Infineon, TI. How serious you need to get depends on how safety critical your tub is. In case there is a chance that your application might injure people, then you are probably in for the toughest safety level. – Lundin Oct 07 '21 at 10:24
  • @jan019 Also... some manner of bath tub and IP65, think again. Bathrooms are probably some of the worst environments possible out there. – Lundin Oct 07 '21 at 10:29
  • Thank you very much for your insight and recommendations. I was actuallly thinking about the process regarding a release of a product claiming use of a certain safety norm. Of course any product that is released for the EU market must have a CE, but as far as I understand, the product owner can produce the CE mark for his own product without any external organization. Is this the same for a norm, i.e. any producer can state that his product complies with a given norm and an official test by a test house or any other legimitate authority is needed? – jan019 Oct 11 '21 at 17:16
  • Also, you say that atmega 328 is a no-go, is this a "unwritten" industry standard or is this actually based on some requirements from the norm? – jan019 Oct 11 '21 at 17:18
  • @jan019 Written. I haven't worked with IEC 60730 specifically, only the parent standard 61508. Depending on safety level required (if memory serves 60730 calls them classes A to C where C is highest), certain safety measures become "highly recommended", which means that you have to make a very good argument not to implement it. The specific requirements on the MCU hardware means that you need a specialized one. And some things that _can_ be implemented in software like checksums, march patters, ECC etc are painful to implement in software. It saves lots of time to use a functional safety MCU. – Lundin Oct 12 '21 at 06:39
  • @jan019 Anyway start by doing a risk assessment with FMEA, investigate if there is any risk of injuring people with the product and if so how likely, how severe etc. So you get a rough idea if IEC 60730 applies and if so, what class you need to aim at. – Lundin Oct 12 '21 at 06:41