top of page
eric5337

CE, UL, and IEC Certification Standards and HASEL Actuator Design

Updated: Jan 31, 2022

HASEL Actuators from Artimus Robotics can meet international certification standards for the design, manufacturing, and testing of electronic technology.




Global standards promote safety and quality in the design and manufacture of products. From technical equipment to consumer products, safety is particularly important for electrical components. Multiple global standards organizations exist to protect all stakeholders in the product’s supply chain, from the manufacturer of the product, to the packager, to the distributor, and to the end-user. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is one of the largest of such organizations. There are also individual approvals of conformity to standards. Some of these include the CE mark (European Conformity), which is most common in Europe, and UL certification (Underwriters Laboratories), which is globally recognized.


Different types of electrical products have different safety risks. Heavy-duty equipment that consumes a lot of electrical power is very dangerous because of the high electrical current draw. Other types of electrical products, such as the soft electric actuators made by Artimus Robotics, have high electric voltage but very low electrical power consumption and very low electrical current, so these are much less dangerous. Safety considerations are still important, but the consequence of a high-voltage low-current accident is likely to be less dangerous (probably discomfort or minor injury) than the consequence of a high-current accident (probably severe injury or death).


Artimus Robotics designs actuators to conform with global standards requirements. The specific designs vary, but some general design characteristics include:

  • Outside electrodes are always grounded

  • Insulation is safe even if outside electrodes become high voltage (safe to touch)

  • Fault detection that shuts off the system in the event of a short or puncture


Some of the standards, such as IEC 60601-1 for medical devices, have specific requirements for high voltage creepage and clearance. For this standard, Artimus Robotics designs the high voltage components to be insulated and self-contained. Based on edition 3.1, this configuration would fall under 8.9.3 Spaces filled by insulating compound. After manufacture, the device would still have to pass tests for thermal cycling, humidity preconditioning, and dielectric strength tests.



About the International Electrotechnical Commission

The IEC is a global, not-for-profit membership organization, whose work underpins quality infrastructure and international trade in electrical and electronic goods. Our work facilitates technical innovation, affordable infrastructure development, efficient and sustainable energy access, smart urbanization and transportation systems, climate change mitigation, and increases the safety of people and the environment. The IEC publishes around 10 000 IEC International Standards which together with conformity assessment provide the technical framework that allows governments to build national quality infrastructure and companies of all sizes to buy and sell consistently safe and reliable products in most countries of the world. IEC International Standards serve as the basis for risk and quality management and are used in testing and certification to verify that manufacturer promises are kept.


About Artimus Robotics

Artimus Robotics designs and manufactures soft electric actuators. The technology was inspired by nature (muscles) and spun out of the University of Colorado. HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing ELectrostatic) actuator technology operates when electrostatic forces are applied to a flexible polymer pouch and dielectric liquid to drive shape change in a soft structure. These principles can be applied to achieve a contracting motion, expanding motion, or other complex deformations. For more information, please visit Artimus Robotics or contact info@artimusrobotics.com.


282 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page