Hope this helps to clarify things: 1. 98/37/EC is a consolidating directive which is intended only to make clearer what the requirements of 89/392/EEC as amended by 91/368/EEC, 93/44/EEC & 93/68/EEC actually are.
2. I havn't had time to check this, but I think I am correct that 98/37/EC is only an interim text and if there is any doubt about the wording or meaning of the Directive, the original directives and amendments must be consulted. Certainly, if there is any conflict between 98/37/EC and the earlier directives (as amended) the original directive text applies since this is the one which was agreed by the full process of adoption by the member states whereas 98/37 was adopted by a fast-track process. 3. In any case, the law that actually matters is the implementing regulations in the member states, and none of these have changed because of 98/37/EC (although they have been affected by amendments to 89/392/EEC). 2. I can't speak for other countries, but unlike the UK EMC Regulations, which require that Directive number 89/336/EEC specifically be mentioned on the Declaration of Conformity, the UK Machinery regs. require only that "the machinery directive' is mentioned. To be on the safe side, I'd make sure the original 89/392/EEC was mentioned somewhere on the DofC even if you also refer to 98/37/EC. 4. As has already been said, clause 1.7.3. of anex 1 of 89/392/EEC (which is unaltered in 98/37/EC) states that "the year of construction" must appear on the product. I cannot see how this can be interpreted to allow a date code which does not clearly give the year of manufacture in an uncoded form. 5. 93/68/EC modified 73/23/EEC (the Low Voltage Directive) to require that the declaration of conformity for the product must show 'the last two digits of the year in which the CE marking was affixed'. Thus if you are declaring under both the LVD and the Machinery Directive (or just under the LVD) you must put the year number on the DofC. 6. If you want to download the full text of any of the CE mark directives, they are available on the EUR-Lex server, and are probably most easily found by going to our web page at http://www.conformance.co.uk/CE_MARKING/celist.html. <long straggle of previous posts snipped> Nick. --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators).
