malc-c,
In summary, if you want to market a product in the EU and it falls within the New Approach Directives, it will need a CE mark. The CE mark is not a mark of safety, quality, etc, it is a "statement" from the manufacturer (or distributor if it is manufactured outside the EU) that it complies with the directives.
So - what directives. These can be specific, ie the Toy directive or generic such as the Low Voltage Directive. The new approach directives require adherence to the essential requirements - ie the product must be safe, must not intefere with radio bands, etc. It is for the manufacturer to decide how he meets those directives. Normally we use harmonised standards which then provide a "presumption of conformity". For your product, the previous post identified the relevent LVD standards (there is another one BSEN61010 which is related to test and measurement equipment) If your product has electonics within (ie a microprocessor or some logic which has an oscillator, etc) it may need approval to the EMC directive as well!!!.
The route to CE marking can be self assessment, ie you as a manufacturer make a declaration of conformity that it meets the relevent directives but you need to be able to show proof, test records, etc. For small producers, the use of a test house is usual and unfortunately it can be expensive - £5k to £10K for an LVD assessment and emc testing.
The European Union have produced a "blue book" which covers the whole approach to the New Product Directives - for the EU it is not a bad book (might send you to sleep though) Find it at
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/polic...ts/blue-guide/
Hope this helps - let me know if you want any more information.
regards
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