On June 9, 2006, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union published the latest version of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC in their official journals. Compared with the previous Machinery Directive 98/37/EC, the new directive has undergone significant changes in terms of scope of application, basic health and safety requirements, conformity assessment procedures, and market supervision. According to the requirements of the new directive, it will officially come into effect 20 days after its release, on June 29, 2006. Overall, the new directive separates similar content from the current directive into separate chapters, with a clearer structure and easier understanding of the content, which helps manufacturers, certification bodies, and member states to understand and apply the content of the directive.
The previous Machinery Directive 98/37/EC was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 23, 1998, replacing the 1989 Directive 89/392/EEC and subsequent revised directives 91/368/EEC, 93/44/EEC, and 93/63/EEC. Since January 1, 1995, the Machinery Directive has officially become a mandatory regulation in Europe,
At the same time, all EU member states must incorporate some of their basic provisions into their respective national laws. The EU Machinery Directive is not aimed at technical details, but focuses on safety and health regulations related to mechanical design and structure. The new EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC came into effect on December 29, 2009.
Mechanical Instruction Abbreviation MD: (Mechanical refers to a device that is driven by non-human or other animal forces, equipped with or designed to be equipped with a driving system, composed of several components, and at least one component can move, designed to accomplish a specific purpose;); 99% of the production and processing equipment used in the factory belongs to the machinery defined here. Machinery is divided into ordinary machinery and dangerous machinery.