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CE marking / EU standards - internal connectors finger safe??

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max_torque:
I'm trying to establish if internal 240VAC connections need to be finger safe for an EU approved (CE marked) industrial applicance? 

The unit cannot be opened without tools, is externally labelled "isolate supply before removing cover", and is not required to be accessed at all by the end user.

There is a 240VAC pass through via a filter / power distribution box, that is a seperate enclosure within the unit, and i am looking for a suitable connector set to get power out from that box and routed onwards to the loads within the unit (each of which has it's own feed loom, consisting of L/N/E.   When each load is plugged in, then the connector is finger safe, but if unplugged it isn't.

Therefore, if you left the power on, used a suitable tool to remove the cover, unplugged one of the loads and stuck your finger into the socket left behind, you'd get a shock!

Has anyone got any design / sign-off experience that's relevant? There is a lot of standards and certification documentation i'm wading through, but i can't find an explicit requirement to be finger safe internally once something is un-plugged??     :scared:


krho:
Isn't this the same as opening e.g a computer power supply when under the power?

MosherIV:
How about the 3 pin IEC socket commonly found as power leads on computer equipment.

Conrad Hoffman:
Don't know about the regs, but it's just good practice to prevent contact whenever possible. It sounds like the connector should be reversed so the inaccessible half is the one with the voltage present.

Neilm:
It may depend on the standard you are trying to meet to allow you to declare conformity to the LVD.

If you are not sure then a risk assessment should be carried out. Would a service technician have a need to operate the unit with the cover off? Would they have a cause to disconnect the load?

I have designed equipment to IEC61010 (test and measurement). In this sort of situation where I had dangerous voltages exposed to a technician fault finding, risk assessments were carried out. A service manual was written that highlighted each of these areas. It is company policy that only approved service centers get the service manual and they only get approved if they have been on the training course for that equipment which would highlight the problems. I would also try (if practical) to have an LED on the board that would light if power was applied or caps were charged to dangerous voltage - have LEDs on them helps discharge them as well.

IEC61010 does have a section under documentation that says service personnel should have enough information to safely fault find, reassemble and perform any safety tests required to prove the unit is reassembled correctly. This has to be in place before the unit can pass - read the standard you are trying to meet.

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