Generic Chinese VFD, no CE and no earth connection to exposed metal heatsink

[john swift]

Jeff
I would say yes , its the norm

Going by the photos in various Chinese 6040 router threads
earthing is an after thought at best as they work without an earth , don't they !!!

it would appear the routers normally have the mains earth to the control box fastened to a painted metal surface !!!

the 220V 3 phase VFD output wired to a chassis mounting plug !!! not a socket
with no earth wire connected to the water cooled spindle motor
so I will expect there will be enough leakage current to the spindle motor and the rest of the machine to be felt when touched

I guess the lack of any earth wiring to the rest of the machine avoids earth loops in the signal wiring to and from the breakout board

I have a 4 ft LED light that I added an earth to the metal case
the upside is the 36W LED is brighter than the 2 x 36W florescent light it replaced

I have also rewired the mini-lathe I have as the push on connectors used was made from brass that was too thin to maintain good contact pressure


John

[Jeff]

Here is a link to the unit in question

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happybuy-Sp...s=happybuy+3.0

[magicniner]

If you click the sellers name on the line

"Dispatched from and sold by moretrade."

You get this -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/sp?_encodin...b=&vasStoreID=

Confirming that the items are sold and shipped from Shanghai.

Unless an item states "Fulfilled by Amazon" Amazon is merely the marketplace and you are dealing with the seller, you have clearly chosen to buy a Chinese product shipped from China and now you want to get it "de-listed" because it isn't CE marked and made to EU electrical safety standards?

Wire it up with the appropriate safe mounting, earthing and connections and see if it works, if not you have a legitimate gripe.

- Nick

[Gary]

My understanding is that because you are buying directly from China, then it can be imported without a CE mark, but if i were to import it and then sell it from within the EU, i would be breaking the law.
So if you buy it and put it in a CNC router and sell it, and the person who bought it got electrocuted, then you would most likely be prosecuted if it were found that items on the machine were not safe and had no CE.

Here is a link to the unit in question

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happybuy-Sp...s=happybuy+3.0

[Gary]

A long time ago, i was buying stepper drivers from IMS in the USA and they had no CE.
Parker, complained and we had a letter requesting further information.
Luckily they were under the low voltage threshold of the LVD and the case was dropped, but if it was not we would most likely have had a large fine and told to stop importing these drivers.

[Jeff]

The item was actually shipped from Germany, so yes it should be CE compliant. I've notified the seller of this and pointed out that if the unit isn't correctly bonded when it's installed it could be potentially fatal. I have every right to expect that electrical products, no matter where they are manufactured at least meet basic safety standards.

[magicniner]

The item was actually shipped from Germany.

It's just a 3rd party warehousing service used by a Chinese company from Shanghai.
On the bright side you should only have to send it back to the warehouse for a refund, then you can buy something with a CE mark ;-)

I've notified the seller of this and pointed out that if the unit isn't correctly bonded when it's installed it could be potentially fatal.

But your qualified electrical engineer would have spotted all that and either wired it correctly or condemned it :D

[Gary]

It's just a 3rd party warehousing service used by a Chinese company from Shanghai. On the bright side you should only have to send it back to the warehouse for a refund, then you can buy something with a CE mark ;-)

If it was sent from Germany, it would have been invoiced from Germany, so imported into the EU and resold, so if it is not CE, this is illegal.

But your qualified electrical engineer would have spotted all that and either wired it correctly or condemned it :D

Not the point. If it is dangerous it should not be sold regardless of where.

Also just because it has CE stamped on the device does not make it CE, you should ask for a copy of the certificate and this will give the details of the company who put it through CE and the number that you can check up on.