DDSCV1.1 3 and 4 axis offline motion controller

[bikepete]

I've had some dealings with CE marking (via a completely different industry). As has been said it involves a declaration of conformity issued by the manuf or importer, but that really needs to be backed by technical documentation in case of challenge (the possibility is remote that this would occur, sure...).

For sale within China there's clearly no need for any CE marking.

But if the controller had been developed with the intention of export to EU markets, then the manufacturer would likely have designed it with that in mind (e.g. using lead free solder) and conducted the relevant tests (e.g. EMC) etc. to ensure that it will comply with the relevant EU directives.

An importer (other than for personal use) can self-certify the DoC as you say (and must also place a CE mark on the product before placing it on the market in the EU), but they should have sound grounds for stating it complies with the relevant directives, and would need evidence of this compliance if ever challenged by the authorities.

(Not an expert) but I think the controller in question falls under:

- EMC Directive (electromagnetic interference)

- RoHS (covers things like lead in solder)

Just possibly the Machinery Directive if it controls safety logic e.g. e-stops.

Also presumably the General Product Safety Directive if selling to end users. Not sure if that applies to B2B sales.

I don't think it's affected by the Low Voltage Directive as despite the name that's for 50V AC or 75V DC upwards.

For enthusiast importers supplying it for DIY shed use all this may not matter much, given it's a pretty low risk sort of item all in all.

But if these were to be imported commercially by e.g. one of the main model engineering suppliers, they'd probably want to make sure it was all above board. And if the manufacturer can't provide the necessary evidence/assurances, that could prevent such suppliers taking it on. Which might keep sales numbers down and reduce the manufacturer's incentive to improve it...

Re the larger £400ish jobbies - not looked too hard but didn't see anything on the web pages saying they are CE-ready & EMC/RoHS compliant either.

None of this will stop me getting one (£140 job initially) when my machine eventually gets finished enough to be ready for it - am just waiting until the last possible moment before ordering to ensure I get the latest version.

Cheers

Pete