Electrical & Electronic

We offer testing to the following standards applicable for Electrical electronics industry:

Many companies introduce 'small' changes in production and substitute components and then forget to re-qualify for regulatory compliance. It is important for serial manufacturers to routinely test, so they have knowledge of the actual performance of the items of equipment they supply to their customers.

With efficiency and expertise we guide our customers through the ever changing maze of international regulation. TRaC provide regulatory compliance testing and certification to assist manufacturers in gaining access to key international markets. TRaC can help with CE marking, FCC,  VCCI and more.

Commercial industries we serve include: 

Multimedia / IT / office equipment

Multimedia equipment (MME) is arguably the fastest changing industry in the world and covers products which are essentially contain information technology equipment (ITE) that combine one or more other functions. Included with the definition of MME are PC's, PDA's, games machines, internet connected white goods (fridges etc).

As the industry is so rapidly changing and evolving the job of gaining approvals for these devices is ever changing. The process is however the same – the issue comes in deciding on what regulations need to be complied with and what standards are used to demonstrate compliance.

The standards communities are (and will always be) behind the product related industries which means that the standards are always catching up with the new technologies – who could have predicted in the 1980’s that a fridge would monitor its contents and then automatically place an order to restock when appropriate?

Many of TRaC's customers fit into the definition of MME equipment manufacturers and are regularly working together to decide on what regulations and standards are most appropriate for given applications. In some circumstance we are able to act as the mediator between understanding the regulations required and the type of technology used to ensure overall compliance, whether the topic is safety, EMC and/or any of the other relevant areas of approval.

Example: A laptop PC with Bluetooth communication

Typically MME equipment must comply with EMC and safety legislation. It is also very common for MME to also incorporate a wireless function which brings with it an additional set of tests. Our wireless section [link] details the additional functional requirements for these types of devices however as an example, the following table provides an overview on what a typical MME with wireless function would need to comply with for approval in the EU.

In the US, tests are loosely based on the same as the example above however are controlled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for radio and EMC aspects and OSHA for the safety.

Household products / consumer goods

Product approval for household products has been the longest established around the world. These devices include the most simple of thermostat operated heating equipment (kettles, toasters, heaters, irons etc) and washing machines, tumble dryers, fridges etc. Since these products were the first mass produced electrical items, safety requirements (and latterly other phenomena including EMC etc) have been mandatory for many years - in the EU these requirements have existed since 1973.

Whilst the development of new products for the white goods industry is slower than for multimedia equipment, the rate of new products is ever increasing. What were considered very simple thermostatic controlled products (for example, a toaster) are now largely microprocessor based. This brings with it challenges for approvals - going back to the toaster example, we used to consider that if no bread was inside the toaster, it was off (electrical circuit broken by the thermostat). In the case of a microprocessor based example when the toaster is not toasting, it is in a standby mode with mains electricity powering all parts of the product and hence could present electrical interference or a safety fault. The standards need to be updated accordingly to reflect the changing technology.

The main issues of regulatory compliance for household appliances relate to EMC and safety. The standards that support many of the regulatory requirements are the oldest of the industries  and can be summarised below as a typical example of the directives and standards needed for these types of products in the EU.

Example: A mains powered toaster 

Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) equipment

ISM products are not an industry in their own right however is an important technology which is used in many types of environments. The term ISM is defined as follows: "Operation of equipment or appliances designed to generate and use locally radio frequency energy for industrial, scientific, medical, domestic or similar purposes, excluding applications in the field of telecommunications"

Typical applications include the production of physical, biological, or chemical effects such as heating, ionisation of gases, mechanical vibrations and hence cuts across many types of operating environments. Typical products that are designated as ISM include microwave ovens, induction cooking hobs, many types of medical equipment designed to cut or coagulate blood products and the like.

TRaC has extensive knowledge of these types of equipments and has worked on IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)  standards in this area for many years and hence understands the issues and technologies involved.

Example: A plasma cutting torch 

Lighting products 

The lighting industry covers a wide variety of environments and products. For example a luminare can be used in almost any type of environment – household, commercial, office, industrial are a few however think of the different technologies used:- incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, RF lighting, neon lights for advertising and many more.

The lighting industry is therefore a complex industry with products which see uses in most types of environments using a wide variety of technologies.

TRaC understand the technologies and environments to enable to guide you to the most appropriate directives, regulations and standards.

It is not always clear which standards to use due to the application of the product. For example, if the dedicated lighting standards cover products whose primary function is to provide light, what standards to things like rope lights or neon advertising signs need to comply with?

Example: A mains powered florescent luminare

Electronic test and measurement equipment

The environment for electronic test and measurement equipment is very wide and varied. It takes in to consideration dedicated test and measurement laboratories (for example, chemical, electrical, forensic etc) through to measurement equipment used to monitor stress and strains in buildings, radioactive waste levels or even approval test labs!

The typical products defined as test and measurement are detailed below:

Electrical measurement and test equipment 

This is equipment, which by electrical means measures, indicates or records one or more electrical or non-electrical quantities, also non-measuring equipment such as signal generators, measurement standards, power supplies and transducers.

Electrical control equipment

This is equipment, which controls one or more output quantities to specific values, with each value determined by manual settings, by local or remote programming, or by one or more input variables. This includes Industrial Process Measurement and Control (IPMC) equipment, which consists of devices such as:

• process controllers and regulators;
• programmable controllers;
• power supply units for equipment and systems (centralized or dedicated);
• analogue/digital indicators and recorders;
• process instrumentation;
• transducers, positioners, intelligent actuators, etc.

Electrical laboratory equipment

This is equipment which measures, indicates monitors or analyses substances, or is used to prepare materials, and includes In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) equipment. This equipment may also be used in areas other than laboratories, for example self-test IVD equipment may be used in the home.

The typical environments in which the above products operate are detailed below: 

• equipment for use in residential, commercial and light-industrial environments,
• equipment for use in industrial locations;
• equipment for use in laboratories or test and measurement areas with a controlled electromagnetic environment;
• portable test and measurement equipment.

Given the industry is so wide there are many different directives, regulations and test standards that are in force which vary from country to country. 

Example: A mains powered spectrum analyser