ATEX directive
Notified Bodies Notified Bodies provide the professional and independent judgements, which consequently enable manufacturers or their authorised representatives to fulfil the procedures in order to presume conformity to directive 94/9/EC. Their intervention is required - for issuing of EC-type examination certificates, and for inspection, verification and testing of equipment, protective systems, devices and components before they can be placed on the market and/or put into service; - for the assessment of manufacturers quality assurance system in the production phase. >>list of bodies notified under Directive 94/9/EC |
ATEX directive - FAQ's
>> ATEX vacuum pumps manufacturers... Directive 94/9/EC (ATEX Directive) for the equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX). Corrigendum to Directive 94/9/EC Guidelines on Directive 94/9/EC The objective of these guidelines is to clarify certain matters and procedures referred to in directive 94/9/EC(4) concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. text of the directive in other languages" Should a pump/electric motor combination intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres be classified as electrical equipment within the meaning of Article 8 (1)(b)(i)? This subject was discussed at the ATEX Standing Committee on the 6th & 7th February 2003. The following is a summary of that discussion. A basic distinction should be made between the following: 1. For the purposes of Directive 94/9/EC, a pump and electric motor constitute a "safety-related" device, i.e. the pump and electric motor cannot be considered separately for the purposes of assessing explosion risks. In this case, the unit as a whole is to be considered an item of electrical equipment. Example: split tube motor pump. 2. The pump and electric motor may form part of the same functional unit, but they do not constitute a "safety-related" unit for the purposes of explosion protection, i.e. no new explosion risks arise as a result of their being combined. They do not therefore constitute an item of equipment which, as an integral whole, falls within the scope of Directive 94/9/EC, but rather a combination of "individual items of equipment" in terms of explosion protection. In this case, therefore, pump and electrical motor must be considered separately in terms of the application of this Directive. See Chapters 3.7.1 and 3.7.3 of the Commission's ATEX Guidance notes. When a Mechanical Seal[1] is a Machinery Element and when an ATEX-Component ? Definition: A mechanical seal is a device which prevents leakage of fluids along rotating shafts. Primary seal function is at right angles to the axis of rotation between one stationary ring and one rotating ring. Machinery element: These are parts of machinery not defined within 94/9/EC. Most mechanical seals are machinery elements. Typically these seals are: Catalogue mechanical seals and their parts, selected by the equipment manufacturer alone or with assistance from the mechanical seal manufacturer. mechanical seals stocked by the equipment manufacturer or end user for general applications mechanical seals used for applications where the service conditions are not closely specified non cartridge-seals and parts standard cartridge-seals. Mechanical seals will also be machinery elements if a risk assessment by the mechanical seal or equipment manufacturer shows that the seal is not expected to be an ignition source even in the event of fault conditions. ATEX component: The following definition is taken from the European Commission ATEX Guideline (Second edition). The two defining elements for components are that they, are essential to the safe functioning of equipment and protective systems with respect to explosion protection (otherwise they would not need to be subject to the directive); with no autonomous function (see 3.8) (otherwise they would have to be regarded either as equipment, protective system or as device according to Article 1.2). Engineered mechanical seals maybe classified and sold as ATEX components. Typical examples are: Mechanical seals for specific applications where close co-operation between mechanical seal manufacturer and equipment manufacturer is required and will often result in a specifically designed mechanical seal. Mechanical seals for some category 1 equipment. In this case the mechanical seal manufacturer shall supply sufficient information about the performance of the seal so that the equipment manufacturer does not need to repeat unnecessary efforts such as tests or calculations concerning the mechanical seal in order to ensure that the equipment complies with ATEX requirements. The equipment manufacturer shall supply sufficient information about the intended application and equipment. Responsibilities: A) Mechanical seal manufacturer: - Case 1: Mechanical Seals supplied as Machinery Element It is normal practice that the manufacturer of mechanical seals supplied as Machinery Element provides complete documentation for safe use of his product i.e.: instruction manual for incorporation into equipment, which shall include safety aspects and limits of operation. - Case 2: Mechanical Seals supplied as ATEX Components Mechanical seals shall comply with article 8.3 of 94/9/EC ATEX Directive. An ATEX component mechanical seal shall be supplied at least with the following information: all information/documentation given for case 1 results of relevant calculations and/or tests that have been carried out a temperature rating as far as possible an indication of the category a list of ATEX essential safety requirements that the mechanical seal complies with what fault conditions have been considered for category 1 or 2 mechanical seal a close specification for intended use, for example gas group a certificate of conformity marking for components in accordance with the latest ATEX Guidelines B) Equipment Manufacturer: In all cases the equipment manufacturer is responsible for the entire package within his scope of supply and therefore it will be required to comply with article 8.1 of 94/9/EC ATEX Directive. [1] This consideration paper does not consider mechanical seal control systems. Schutzklassen Klassifikationen brennbare Medien: Gase, Dämpfe evtl. explos. Atm.: - ständig, langzeitig oder häufig (Cenelec Klassifikation Zone 0): Geräte Gruppe: 1G - gelegentlich (Cenelec Klassifikation Zone 1): Geräte Gruppe: 2G - selten und kurzzeitig (Cenelec Klassifikation Zone 2): Geräte Gruppe: 3G brennbare Medien: Staub evtl. explos. Atm.: - ständig, langzeitig oder häufig (Cenelec Klassifikation Zone 20): Geräte Gruppe: 1D - gelegentlich (Cenelec Klassifikation Zone 21): Geräte Gruppe: 2D - selten und kurzzeitig (Cenelec Klassifikation Zone 22): Geräte Gruppe: 3D Drehschieber-Vakuumpumpen nach ATEX ? 20.01.2004 Die Baureihe Enivac (Dr.-Ing. K. Busch GmbH) umfasst explosionsdruckfeste Drehschieber-Vakuumpumpen nach ATEX, die technisch auf der bewährten Baureihe R5 basieren. Sie eignen sich zur Förderung explosionsfähiger Gas/Luft- oder Dampf/Luft-Gemische und saugen die meisten Stoffe der Explosionsgruppe IIB3 sowie Benzindämpfe ab. Die Pumpen gibt es in drei Baugrößen mit 16, 40 und 63 m³/h Saugvermögen. Sie werden mit Öl geschmiert, mit Luft gekühlt und erreichen Enddrücke von 5 bzw. 20 hPa (mbar). Explosionsgruppen und Temperaturklassen
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After 30 June 2003 products may be placed on the market in the EU territory, freely moved and operated as designed and intended in the expected environment only if they comply with directive 94/9/EC (and other relevant legislation).