Laser machine guarding and CE marking in Europe Available to Purchase

The guarding of laser processing machines when the final machine is to be put into service within the European Union (EU) or countries within the European Free Trade Area (EFT A) requires the consideration of a number of “Directives” to ensure the compliance necessary for free movement into all Member States of the EU and the adequate protection of workers. This paper outlines the Directives that are essential to enable full compliance of laser products and especially those intended for the industrial market. Individual Directives are explored looking at the essential safety requirements for each Directive and how these requirements can be fulfilled. European harmonized (sometimes known as “normalised”) standards are highlighted together with how these standards can be used to aid the demonstration of compliance. This paper is aimed at those who do or intend to exploit the EU community now expanded to now include 25 countries with a population of over 450 million.