A year or two ago Rasb. Pi tried to call themselves a kit. One of their distributers sensed an impending regulatory meltdown and forced them to test delaying the release of the device.
I'm in the US...
I had a friend, (RIP) who took an 8,000$ fine and had to do a recall on HV power supply kits for HENE lasers, because he did not file the paperwork with the Center for Devices and Radiologic Health. They cited him for improper labeling, failure to submit a required manufacturers report for a non-ionizing radiologic device, and failure to keep sales records. The cost of the lawyer to negotiate the fine down from 20,000$ , far, far, far exceeded his profit on selling the kits.
CDRH's attitude, and they found Federal law to back this up, was there is no such thing as a kit exemption.
The FCC also spells that out in low power Part 15 devices, or they used two, as to what is the definition of production, which if I recall is five units or more not for personal use. Ask Ramsey Electronics to tell you the story of their FCC raid, and how they had to change their product line.
So, Make a popular, non-compliant product, and in rare cases, you'll need to do a recall, and get a lawyer.
Now here is where it is gets sticky. If I'm a home owner, my insurance policy may have some fine print about not paying if I have a fire caused by a device that does not meet or was tested for CSA, UL, CGA, etc. Of if my product caused a death, I'd probably have the same issues for a untested product. I'm sure there are quiet a few home owners or insurance companies who would be looking to sue at that point.
I actually had to do some post fire consulting for a friend who makes commercial power supplies. He makes dozens of different OEM models every year and cannot afford to certify each revision. He is self insured, and documents every device he makes in a series of bench tests. He got sued for 2 Million Dollars after a fire, which would have wiped his business off the map, leaving twenty people unemployed. A post fire investigation firm hired by the Insurance company targeted his product as the probable source of ignition. It was not, but it took flying me and several experts in to prove it.
Because he reads the standards, his product is ground bond tested, properly fused, shielded, has green wire ground etc... He had a test documentation folder for every unit that shipped. That saved him, and barely.
Turns out the graduate student using the lab left 5 litres of alcohol where it spilt onto a halogen lamp next to the PSU in question.
This burned thru a wood shelf holding nanoparticles of iron oxide, a fine metal powder, and a nitrocellulose-polymer mix. That spilled onto the 1/16th inch thick steel case of the power supply and burned thru it.
Only after I proved the existence of the nanoparticles did the investigators let my friend off. All that really saved him was a photo taken at quality control showing the proper bonding, the fuse holder, and the green wire safety ground. Also, if he had not known a veteran university researcher who could fly down and take a look, he would have lost his company. The university would not let anyone interview the grad student, who developed a mysterious severe pneumonia when the investigators came. Life threatening pneumonia in the Southern US in the summer is very rare.
That is two of the three cases I personally know of in five years. Ramsey's case was documented on their web site and was a long time ago. I know of quite a few small laser shows who violated US rules and found themselves busted. The FCC cases are listed on a few web sites, with some of the reports being quote humorous.
The third case involved another friend, A used small, surplus, gyroscope stabilized platform, EBAY, and a pair of DHS agents. That story is not going to be told, but he dodged jail for being stupid about ITAR.
At some point, your product is no longer a kit. Most kit vendors can tell you of regulators visiting at some point, possibly including Sparkfun.
So, in rare cases, kits or amateur use products come back to bite you.
Steve
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