Automation
Industrial Automation Compliance: Controllers, Drives, and Robotics
Regulatory compliance for PLCs, drives, robots, safety components, HMIs, and industrial networking: functional safety, electrical, EMC, cybersecurity, and national approvals in every market you sell to.
The category
Automation components are sold to integrators who build them into machines regulated in every market the machine ships to.
The regulatory position
Your product's certificate is what lets your customer's machine conform.
Programmable controllers, servo and variable frequency drives, industrial robots, safety relays and controllers, light curtains and safety sensors, HMIs, industrial PCs, and fieldbus and industrial Ethernet equipment are rarely the final product. They're components and sub-systems that machine builders and system integrators design into equipment that will be placed on the market in many countries. That makes the automation manufacturer's compliance file a critical input to every customer's technical file. A drive with a recognized functional safety certificate lets an integrator claim a performance level. A controller with the right electrical certification saves the integrator's NRTL evaluation. A robot with a complete safety evaluation makes the cell integration simpler.
The regulatory set is demanding. Functional safety under IEC 61508, ISO 13849, and IEC 62061 for safety-rated products. Electrical safety under IEC 61010, IEC 61800-5-1 for drives, and IEC 60204-1 at the machine level. EMC under the industrial environment standards and IEC 61800-3 for drives. Robot-specific safety under ISO 10218. Cybersecurity under IEC 62443 and, increasingly, regulation such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act. And national certification in markets such as China, Korea, and Brazil for specified automation product types.
ORBIS Compliance works with automation manufacturers to certify products so integrators can rely on them, and with integrators to assemble the evidence their machine files depend on.
Product types
Automation products we support
Controllers and I/O
PLCs, PACs, distributed I/O, and edge controllers under electrical safety, EMC, and where safety-rated, functional safety certification.
Drives and motion
Variable frequency drives, servo drives, and motion controllers under IEC 61800 series safety and EMC, with safe torque off and other safety functions certified.
Robots and cobots
Industrial and collaborative robots under ISO 10218, with the safety, electrical, and EMC evidence integrators need for cell certification.
Safety components
Safety relays, controllers, light curtains, laser scanners, interlocks, and emergency stop devices, where functional safety certification is the product.
HMIs and industrial computing
Operator panels, industrial PCs, and displays under IT and industrial electrical standards, with hazardous location variants where required.
Industrial networking
Switches, gateways, and wireless industrial communication equipment, adding radio approval and cybersecurity to the industrial set.
Functional safety
The certificate integrators ask for first.
For safety-rated automation products, functional safety certification is the commercial differentiator. Integrators building safety functions need components with certified performance levels, safety integrity levels, and the associated data: MTTFd, PFH, diagnostic coverage, and mission time. A product without it forces the integrator to evaluate the component themselves, which many won't do. A product with it is designed in.
Functional safety certification is a rigorous process covering the safety lifecycle, the design, the verification, and the manufacturing. It's typically third-party, and the certifying body's recognition matters in each market. Software and firmware changes after certification have to be managed within the certified process, or the certificate stops applying to the product as shipped.
ORBIS scopes functional safety programs, coordinates the certifying bodies, and manages the change control and documentation that keep the certificate valid across a product's life. We also help integrators verify that the components they're specifying carry the certification their machine's safety functions require.
Cybersecurity
Connected automation is now regulated for security, not only safety.
Industrial control systems are increasingly connected, and regulators have noticed. IEC 62443 provides the framework, and it's moving from best practice to requirement through the EU Cyber Resilience Act, the Radio Equipment Directive's security provisions for wireless equipment, and sector regulation in critical infrastructure. Automation products with network interfaces will need documented security development, vulnerability handling, and update mechanisms as a condition of market access in a growing number of jurisdictions.
ORBIS tracks these requirements through law impact analysis, scopes the evidence alongside safety and EMC, and engages regulators where the application to a specific product is still unclear.
Questions
Automation compliance
We sell to integrators worldwide. Which national certifications do our components need?
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It depends on the product type and the market. China requires CCC for specified low-voltage components. Korea requires KC for certain electrical products. Brazil requires INMETRO for some. North America expects NRTL listing. The EU works on declaration. ORBIS maps the current requirements per product type and market, and designs the program so evidence is shared.
Does a firmware update invalidate our functional safety certificate?
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It can, if the update touches safety-related software or falls outside the change management process the certificate covers. Changes have to be assessed and, where required, reviewed by the certifying body. Managing that process is part of keeping the certificate meaningful.
How do robots differ from other automation products?
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Robots are evaluated as partly completed machinery under ISO 10218-1, with the integrated cell evaluated under ISO 10218-2. Collaborative applications add ISO/TS 15066. The robot manufacturer's file has to give the integrator what they need for the cell, including safety function data and integration requirements.
Automation products that integrators can design in anywhere.
Bring the product, its safety functions, and the markets your integrators and end users are in. We'll scope the functional safety, electrical, EMC, and national approvals as one program.
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