Machines safety

Electrical machines are the backbone of industrial production. They are generally large and power hungry devices that are fixed installed into the local installation. The required supply voltage or current can be custom and provided with local or built-in transformers.

To asure safe operation, both the machine and the installation have to be tested. The most important part of the test is the visual inspection. It includes determining everything from state of assembly to documentation review and safety labels. Final functional part of testing determines the machines has the required functionality, and that all the functions are executed in a safe manner.

Electrical part testing requires generating high currents and voltages. The extent od testing depends on the results of the visual test. The assembled machine with documentation and test results for all required periods will be tested in a different way and to a different extent to a dissassembled used machine that only came with the type test results from 15 years previously.

The general standard covering the testing of machines is the IEC/EN 60204, but the actual extent of the testing is often covered by particular standards for the specific type of machines. The definitive source for testing requirements however are stated in the machine manufacturer's documentation. It is often impossible to generalise the requirements even for a type of machine, particularly if the machine is custom made for the particular location.