AMETEK MX CTSH - Manual (Page 16)

California Instruments Revision H 16
User Manual MX Series CTSH Compliance Test System
2.3 Why do you have to test?
In general, these IEC directives do not have the legal force of law. However, the European Union (EU) has
issued Euro Norms in the context of these IEC directives that are legally binding and are enforced by the
EMC Police. The relevant enforceable standards are EN61000-3-2 and EN61000-3-3, which supersede
EN60555.2 and EN60555.3 respectively. These standards are also known under the IEC designator IEC
61000-3-2 and IEC 61000-3-3. Recently, the universal EN 61000 convention has been adopted for all IEC
standards.
Individual member countries have issued identical national norms, either in their native language or in
English, which carry the same legal enforceability. Other countries such as Japan and the USA are in the
process of adopting similar standards. Penalties for violating these norms range from hefty fines to jail time.
In cases where the manufacturer is not located in the EU, his distributor or authorized agent will be held
liable. Local customs agencies can stop equipment that does not meet these IEC norms at the border.
Compliance testing of equipment is performed by accredited laboratories run by European government
agencies assigned with enforcing these norms. Also, competing vendors have been known to submit
failing test results on competitors' products to local governments to force prosecution and gain a
competitive advantage in the market place.
Conformance to the EMC low voltage directive is indicated by the CE mark. Note however, that the CE
mark includes MORE than just IEC 61000-3-2 and IEC 61000-3-3.
More recently, work has been done on testing of higher power EUT's, in particular up to 75 A per phase.
This has resulted in IEC 61000-3-11 for flicker. A standard for harmonics of these EUTs is still in the works.
The MXCTSH supports the draft version of the IEC 61000-3-12 standard at this time.
2.4 IEC 61000-3-12 Harmonics
Harmonics standards are imposed to limit current harmonics produced by equipment connected to the
public utility network. The IEC 61000-3-12 standards seeks to impose standards for maximum allowable
current harmonics emissions. The standard is presently still in draft form (2002) but is expected to be
harmonized.
2.4.1 IEC 61000-3-12 Test Limits
The IEC 61000-3-12 test standard defines EUT test classes by connection type called stages. The following
connection stages are defined:
Stage Description
Stage 1 Simplified connection
Stage 2 Connection based on network and equipment data
Stage 3 Connection submitted to the local supply authority
Equipment shall be assessed for connection in accordance with the requirements for the three stages
specified above.
Stage 1: Simplified connection
Equipment complying with the harmonic currents emission limits into the public supply system defined for
Stage 1 connection can be connected at any point of the supply system, provided the short-circuit ratio R
sce
is equal to or higher than 33.