CEN/TC 271/WG 6 - Electroplating equipment - Safety

This document describes all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relating to plating and anodizing lines, when used as intended and in compliance with the foreseeable conditions of the manufacturer. In addition, procedures for testing and measuring safety requirements, marking of equipment and minimum operation requirements are specified.
For reference to plating lines and anodizing lines the term plating line is used in this document.
This document applies to the design and construction of plating lines and anodizing lines including its transporter systems for surface treatment of industrial products by means of inorganic or organic electrolytes or by means of other process chemistries.
Plating lines and anodizing lines in terms of this standard are arrangements of process tanks for:
-   electrolytic treatment of work pieces (e.g. electrocleaning, passivation, electroetching, burnishing, electrolytic polishing and brightening, drying);
-   wet chemical treatment of work pieces (e.g. degreasing, passivation, chemical polishing, etching, pickling, blackening);
-   electrolytic and electro-less metal deposition, even on non-metallic work pieces made electrically conductive by corresponding treatment;
-   changing of substance composition on the surface of metallic work pieces e.g. burnishing, blackening, phosphatizing, chromating and;
-   anodizing (anodic oxidation);
including rinsing tanks and the corresponding transporter equipment (e.g. transporter systems, handling gantry, bean, etc.), where the products are lifted in and out of tanks.
This document distinguishes between the following types of plating lines:
-   Type 1:    manual lines;
-   Type 2:    semi-automatic lines;
-   Type 3:    fully automatic lines.
Furthermore, it specifies equipment marking and requirements on user information.
This document does not deal with hazards resulting from plating linesparts above category 1 of PED (Pressure Equipment Directive).
This document is not applicable to:
—   transporter systems of carrousel lines (see EN 618 and EN 15095) (For transporter systems of carrousel lines see EN 618 and EN 15095);
—   equipment for the preparation and treatment of water and wastewater;
—   machinery for dip coating and electro-deposition of organic liquid coating material (EN 12581);
—   horizontal plating lines (e.g. printed circuit board, etching, reel to reel, continuous plating lines);
—   machinery for surface cleaning and surface pre-treatment of industrial items using liquids or vapours (EN 12921-1, EN 12921-2, EN 12921-3, EN 12921-4).
NOTE   Machinery for surface cleaning and surface pre-treatment (EN 12921 series) could be part of a plating line.