editor's blog
Subscribe Now

Yet Another Safety Standard

We’ve spent some time with hardware and software standards intended for so-called “safety-critical” applications, the poster child for which is the airplane. Adding variety to this scene, a recent release by Escatec, a Swiss manufacturer, indicated compliance with ATEX.

ATEX represents yet another peril: work that must be done in a potentially explosive environment. Think coal mine. Or, for those of you with a more pastoral bent, grain silos. It’s a European directive, modeled after a French directive titled, Appareils destinés à être utilisés en Atmosphères Explosives.

There are two groups of equipment: one for mining operations and one for surface operations. Within mining, there are two further subgroups, M1 for equipment that has to keep running when things turn nasty, and M2 for things you wouldn’t operate in that situation. For Group 2, equipment is ranked by risk into three categories, and further according to whether the risk is vapor or dust.

Equipment that falls under this directive must have its own ignition source, operate under normal atmospheric conditions, and be likely to find itself in an explosive environment. Certification is required to mark the equipment with the usual CE and a further EX indicating that it passes muster and can be sold anywhere in the EU.

So it makes sense for a piece of equipment to be certified; why then is a manufacturer like Escatec being certified? Turns out that this element of certification looks into the supply chain and manufacturing process for approval. Any manufacturer, inside or out of Europe, must be certified for sale in Europe. Which is why Escatec also says that they’ll be able to certify their Asian plants easily when they ramp because those follow in close lockstep with their Swiss plant.

Equipment made there still requires design certification, so it’s not a free ride to use a certified manufacturer, but it’s part of the problem solved.

More info on Escatec in their release

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Dec 1, 2023
Why is Design for Testability (DFT) crucial for VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) design? Keeping testability in mind when developing a chip makes it simpler to find structural flaws in the chip and make necessary design corrections before the product is shipped to users. T...
Nov 27, 2023
See how we're harnessing generative AI throughout our suite of EDA tools with Synopsys.AI Copilot, the world's first GenAI capability for chip design.The post Meet Synopsys.ai Copilot, Industry's First GenAI Capability for Chip Design appeared first on Chip Design....
Nov 6, 2023
Suffice it to say that everyone and everything in these images was shot in-camera underwater, and that the results truly are haunting....

featured video

Dramatically Improve PPA and Productivity with Generative AI

Sponsored by Cadence Design Systems

Discover how you can quickly optimize flows for many blocks concurrently and use that knowledge for your next design. The Cadence Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer is a revolutionary, AI-driven, automated approach to chip design flow optimization. Block engineers specify the design goals, and generative AI features within Cadence Cerebrus Explorer will intelligently optimize the design to meet the power, performance, and area (PPA) goals in a completely automated way.

Click here for more information

featured webinar

Rapid Learning: Purpose-Built MCU Software Tools for Data-Driven Embedded IoT Systems

Sponsored by ITTIA

Are you developing an MCU application that captures data of all kinds (metrics, events, logs, traces, etc.)? Are you ready to reduce the difficulties and complications involved in developing an event- and data-centric embedded system? This webinar will quickly introduce you to excellent MCU-specific software options for developing your next-generation data-driven IoT systems. You will also learn how to recognize and overcome data management obstacles. Register today as seats are limited!

Register Now!

featured chalk talk

Switch to Simple with Klippon Relay
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Lars Hohmeier from Weidmüller explore the what, where, and how of Weidmüller's extensive portfolio of Klippon relays. They investigate the pros and cons of mechanical relays, the benefits that the Klippon universal range of relays brings to the table, and how Weidmüller's digital selection guide can help you choose the best relay solution for your next design.
Sep 26, 2023
8,041 views