UL Certification 1

[symphony123]

1. Currently there are some UL certified drawings for one of our products. Both casting and Machining drawings are UL certified. We have an issue where the Supplier is having trouble with their sand cast Markings. Its a NPT marking on the top which they are unable to get it on the sand cast, and they want to do it during the machining process. But as its been specified in the Casting drawings, they r requesting us to change our drawings.
But every change that we make on our drawings would cost us a lot as each rev level up requires certification again.
considering these issues can anyone suggest what best could be done such we do not have to change the drawigns and the supplier is permitted to go ahead and have the marking done during thier machining process. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[DRWeig]

Symphony123 - have you spoken with UL Engineering on this change? Surely, the NPT marking isn't on the list of critical components -- I would think that they would work with you on the method of applying it, covering it with just a letter to add to your product file.

When we make non-critical changes, it usually winds up costing $1000, plus the time needed to send the new drawings to the folks who maintain the online files.

Let us know how you decide to proceed!

Good on ya,
Goober Dave

 

[symphony123]

Dave,
Thank you for the reply - I am just wondering if its a non critical change do we still have to get the UL certifications or can we have other specifications to mention this deviation so that the drawings will not be touched at all??
Regards
VL

 

[Noway2]

That really depends on what is contained in your UL file, and in this case the exact words matter.

If the modifications effect a controlled drawing, then I would say, yes you need to have them re-evaluated. If you are changing something that is marked as a this part - or equivalent, you may have some wiggle room. Similarly, if the change doesn't effect the "form/fit/function".

Also consider your relationship with UL and the engineers that have responsibility. If you have a good working relationship with them, haven't had problems in the past, have maintained active projects and accounts (i.e. spent enough money), you may be able to get them to agree that the change is allowable.

If you do proceed with the change, the risk that you face is that the inspector will catch it during a periodic audit. If this happens, the response could be anywhere between you needing to get the file updated and revocation of your listing.

 

[yasky]

Whether or not a UL engineer says "ok" over the phone is irrelevant and will never fly during an audit inspection. A UL Manager may be able to negotiate a decent price with you if the change does not affect form/fit/function, but either way, you're still supposed to open a project and wait for its completion before making the change on your end, so you're still out time + money.

What you want to do is open a small project with UL and remove anything from your drawings that doesn't need to be there, or list it as optional (think flexibility, future-proofing). Therefore, some changes in the future will not require a rev change/UL project. Take advantage and do the same for the text portion of the UL file report.

Over the years, I have come up with a tactic that, thus far, has worked even better, but it's proprietary. If you're interested in hearing about it, contact me.