LAB & Testing

Laboratory tests and machine testing for the European market

At A.C.&E., our qualified technicians perform the following tests with calibrated instruments in compliance with international standards and regulations:

Tests for electrical equipment of machinery
Verification in compliance with EN 60204-1
Verifications according to EN 60204-32 Safety Of Machinery – Electrical equipment Of machinery – Part 32: Requirements for lifting machinery
IEC 61439-2:2011 + IEC 61439-1:2011
CEI EN 60204-1:2006 IEC 60204-1:2016
IEC TS 60204-34:2016

Tests and verifications to access the Eurasian Customs Union market

GOST R IEC 60204-1:2007
GOST IEC 61439-2:2015 + GOST IEC 61439-1:2013

Tests and verifications to access the US market

NFPA 79:2018, NFPA 79:2015, NFPA 79:2012, NFPA 79:2007

Tests and verifications to access the Canadian market

CSA C22.2 no. 14-18
CSA C22.2 no. 286-17
CSA C22.2 no. 301-16

Tests and verifications to access the Australia and New Zealand markets

AS 60204.1-2005
AS/NZS 61439-1:2016 + AS/NZS 61439-2:2016

EMC

Test compliance – pre-compliance

ACE Lab relies on the best instrumentation available on the market today for both full-compliance measurements in our anechoic chamber and modular measurements directly on site.

With an isolation transformer and 125-A LISN, we are able to make field emission tests, entirely eliminating disturbances from the external environment.

Even for currents higher than 125 amperes we conduct tests in line with the standards, thanks to the use of a special probe. Moreover, with the use of the two antennas — log-periodic and biconical — our technicians at ACE Lab can measure emissions from machinery in the 30 to 1000 MHz frequency range.

Our team will also support your business in performing tests for conducted and irradiated emissions, immunity, and immunity to electrostatic discharge.

ATEX gas

LEL VERIFICATION
Verification with measurements of the flammable concentration of a substance: LEL
Explosive limits of a gas or liquid vapors define the concentration range within which an air-steam mixture or flammable gas will burn or explode if suitably ignited (e.g., by a spark). Following the calculation and classification of areas with explosion hazard in the presence of a gas, our technicians will make direct validations, verifications, etc., with instrumental measurements during the operating cycle.

ATEX: DUSTS
The characterization of potentially combustible dust whose chemical/physical characteristics are not known is important for correctly designing systems destined for ATEX/hazardous location areas. Testing methods for combustible dusts are determined according to standard EN 80079-20-2.
The ignition temperature may be determined for dust in a layer or in a cloud.

LIT: Layer ignition temperature
The ignition temperature for dust in a layer is determined by arranging a layer of dust within a metal ring situated on a hotplate heated to 400°C. The temperature is increased until the dust turns into embers.

MIT: Minimum ignition temperature
The ignition temperature of a cloud of dust is determined by dispersing a quantity of dust within an insulated instrument and raising the temperature up to 1000°C. The ignition temperature is determined when the dust visually sparks or ignites.

RESISTIVITY
Another parameter is volume resistivity.
This measurement is made by inserting the dust in a suitable container made of an insulating plastic. A voltage up to 1000 V is applied to the electrodes on the ends and the resistance of the dust is measured to determine whether it is conductive or non-conductive.

Hartmann tube

The Hartmann tube is a tool that allows a dust to be prescreened to determine whether it is potentially explosive. The dust is dispersed into the glass tube and an electric arc is triggered at the same time. If the dust ignites due to the high energy of the arc, it is characterized as potentially explosive.

Flammability

Flammability tests are used to determine the fire behavior of a plastic material. The test is made according to standard UL 94. It consists in placing a plastic sample in contact with the flame of a bunsen burner. Following this initial contact, the behavior of the sample is observed, that is, if the flame propagates or dies out.

Stopping time

The stopping of mechanical movement often represents the key factor in the safety of a machine. At A.C.&E., our team has developed a tool that integrates a multi-channel digital oscilloscope capable of acquiring signals at up to 100 kHz to record the actual stopping distance, stopping time, and acceleration/deceleration of mechanical movement following a trigger event such as:

Pressing an emergency button
Switching a photoelectric barrier
Opening a protective guard
Detecting a fault through the safety circuit

Effective stopping time tests and performance reliability are requirements of product standards such as ANSI B11 for the North American market and UNI EN ISO 16092 Safety of Machine Tools. They are also indicated in Type B standards such as ISO 13855 Safety of Machinery – Positioning of protective equipment according to the approach speeds of human body parts, for the design and installation of guards on industrial machinery.
The test results are recorded and analyzed through test reports, supplying data that may be integrated in the machine documentation.

Tests and verifications to access the North American market according to NFPA 79 and SPE-1000

For industrial control panels and industrial machinery:

UL 508A, Safety standard for industrial control panels
CSA C22.2-14, Industrial control equipment – General instructions no. 1 and 2
SPE 1000, Model code for the field evaluation of electrical equipment
NFPA 79, Industrial machinery

Temperature tests on any electrical equipment with up to 8 simultaneous measurements using calibrated instrumentation

Tests for acceptance and evaluation of unlisted components, special components for which there is no certified version for the UL/CSA market.

Lighting tests: according to UNI EN 1837, UNI EN 12464-1, and UNI EN 12464-2 for machinery and operator workstations

Noise tests

Electrostatic charge tests

Temperature tests with an 8-channel data logger for electrical panels, motors, electrical boards, and any electrical or mechanical equipment.

Safety Engineering

To address risk assessments, our engineers at A.C.&E. are able to provide technical solutions for machine adaptations using FEM calculations, motion analysis, and solid 3D models.

The GOM 3D Compact Scan is an extremely versatile high-precision acquisition tool (on the order of five microns under ideal conditions). Possible applications range from dimensional inspections of mechanical components to the detection of deformations in large structures.

The instrument acquires a point cloud corresponding to the component being examined and dimensional tolerances can be checked or the cloud can be compared to the nominal CAD model. Based on the model created with the ATOS software, deformation values due to static stresses can be obtained, and the component can be redesigned using the acquired data and reverse engineering.

Lab & Testing