On May 26, 2023, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) officially released the IEC 62368-1:2023 (Fourth Edition).
The main differences between the 4th and 3rd editions:
1. Parts certified according to IEC 60065 / IEC 60950-1 will no longer be accepted (refer to Chapter 4.1.1 requirements of the second and third editions). Products that accepted components certified to these old standards during the previous certification process will need to be retested or provided with new component certification documentation in order to meet the requirements of the fourth edition of the standard.
2. The test requirements of thermoplastic material (thermoplastic) T.8 have been added. Inaccessible thermoplastic materials that are used as safety guards also need to be subjected to a stress relief test of T.8.
3. Chapter 4.10.3 adds the requirements for the main power cord, clarifying that the power cord only needs to meet the requirements of the G.7 power cord, and does not need to treat the power cord as an external wire to meet the requirements of Chapter 6, especially the fire protection requirements of the external wire in Chapter 6.5.
4. The requirements of wireless power transmitters have been updated, and the test requirements of wireless power transmitters have been clarified that they are only applicable to flat transmitters, and the test methods have been modified: foreign bodies during the test should have a reliable fixation method, and the four cycles of testing foreign bodies should be done twice, the first time the transmitter should work and then release foreign objects, and the second time should release foreign objects and then let the transmitter work, and the temperature limit value should be relaxed.
5. For children's non-detachable button batteries, the protection requirements also need to be added to the manual;
6. For the battery used in stationary products, IEC62133-2 can be applied;
7. Many battery manufacturers will give the current claim in the segmented temperature state, according to the new standard, both normal and fault states need to be considered, and give detailed test methods;
8. It is clear that the PS energy source needs to be evaluated for single cells or combined cells, and the fireproof shell can only be exempted if the output is below PS1.
9. The title of chapter M.4 deletes "portable" (portable equipment), and the scope of applicable equipment is larger.
10. Add additional safety protection requirements for standing equipment with lithium batteries.
It is expected that the first national standards corresponding to IEC 62368-1:2023 (4th Edition) will be published in the European Union and North America within 6-12 months. At present, the latest version of the EU standard is: EN IEC 62368-1:2020 (3rd edition), but the standard version of the official OJ (Official Journal) of the EU is still EN 62368-1:2014 (2nd edition). Therefore, it is generally believed in the industry that the EU will leapfrog the third edition and directly list the fourth edition as an OJ harmonized standard.
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