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In most cases, production plants contain moving mechanical parts and are powered by electricity. Therefore, the Machinery Directive as well as the EMC-Directives and mostly the Low voltage directive to apply. The special machines and production systems that require CE marking include in particular:

• Robot systems
• Interlinked production plants and production lines in all industries, e.g. interlinked production plants for the chemical, pharmaceutical and automotive industries
• Interfaces and automation between different parts of the system
• Laser systems
• Test benches
• Blast furnaces and foundries
• Tunnelbohrmaschinen und jegliche Maschinen für den Bergbau (hier ist meist zusätzlich die ATEX-Richtlinie für explosionsgefährdete Bereiche anzuwenden)
• Jegliche Art von Förderbändern
• Tunnel boring machines and all machines for mining (in most cases the ATEX directive for potentially explosive atmospheres also applies here)
• Special machine tools
• Custom-made products

Such systems are often found in production lines in manufacturing companies, but can also occur on a small scale. Robot-assisted systems usually also represent a set of machines. A set of machines is subject to CE marking.

• There must be a production-related connection. This means that the machines are designed to work together towards a common goal (for example, the manufacture of a product) and that the machines have a common, higher-level control system.
• There must also be a safety-related connection. This describes the fact that a hazard in one machine could lead to hazards in the other parts of the linked system. An assessment must therefore be machine-specific and individual. Please contact us if you need support.

The manufacturer of the linked system is responsible for this. The Machinery Directive also provides for further measures, such as a common emergency stop device.

Most of the time, interlinked systems are created in manufacturing companies unknowingly by purchasing various machines and then having them work together. In this case, the manufacturing company that arranges and operates the individual machines in this way is considered the manufacturer of the interlinked system. It therefore also assumes responsibility and liability for possible injuries to people if they are harmed by a hazard arising from this interlinking. The manufacturer is obliged to ensure the safety of the machine by carrying out a new conformity procedure. If an interlinked system is designed and manufactured for sale to a customer, the individual machines are often purchased from different manufacturers. In this case, the role of the manufacturer (and therefore also the responsibility) can be taken on by a manufacturer of a component of the interlinked system. However, it is also possible for the customer (i.e. the buyer of the interlinked system) to take on the role of the manufacturer. This question must be clarified before the sale.

• The conformity procedure must be repeated for a linked system or set of machines. A risk assessment must therefore be carried out again. This differs from the risk assessments for individual machines because, for the set of machines, the interfaces of the machines and the hazards due to events in other areas of the set of machines must also be assessed.
• The linked system or set of machines requires its own nameplate.
• The linked system or set of machines requires its own declaration of conformity from the manufacturer.
• New technical documentation and operating instructions are also required.