EMC Directive 2014/30/EU: electromagnetic compatibility of machinery

Directive 2014/30/EU has two basic requirements:

• the equipment must not generate electromagnetic disturbance above the level that lets radio, telecommunications and other equipment work as intended;
• it must have adequate immunity to the disturbance expected in its intended use.

This is usually shown with harmonised standards, for example the generic standards for industrial environments in the EN 61000-6 series. Technical documentation, an EU declaration of conformity and CE marking are needed.

The EMC Directive applies alongside the Machinery Regulation: the first deals with electromagnetic disturbance, the second with safety. The two meet, because a disturbance can make a safety-related control system fail.

The EMC Directive distinguishes apparatus, placed on the market with declaration and CE marking, from fixed installations, assemblies installed permanently at a given location. Fixed installations need no declaration or CE marking under the EMC Directive, but good engineering practice must be followed and documentation kept. A line assembled at the customer's site needs case-by-case assessment.

1. List every applicable EU act, including the EMC Directive, in a single declaration for the machine.
2. Keep the EMC test reports and the certificates of the main components, such as inverters and power supplies.
3. When you change an electronic component in a series, check whether the EMC behaviour changes too.

TARGA links the installed configuration and the published declaration to every serial number, so you know which combination of components was delivered.