EMC and Safety Pre-Compliance
Pre-compliance reviews for EMC, ESD and electrical safety, so your product goes to the test lab ready to pass rather than to find out what is wrong.
A failed EMC test costs a lab booking, a redesign and weeks of delay. Most failures come from a short list of causes that can be seen in the PCB design long before a product reaches a chamber. We review boards and products against UKCA, CE and FCC requirements, fix what we find, and give you a test plan, so the formal test confirms compliance instead of discovering problems.
What this includes
- Radiated and conducted emissions risk review (CISPR 32, FCC Part 15)
- ESD simulation and protection review (IEC 61000-4-2)
- Immunity, fast transient and surge applicability
- Single-fault electrical safety review (IEC 62368-1, IEC 61010-1)
- Readiness verdict, ranked fixes and lab test plan
- Failure diagnosis from existing lab reports
What we check
Radiated and conducted emissions from clocks, switching regulators and cables, estimated against CISPR 32 and FCC Part 15 limits. ESD robustness on every exposed connector and button, to IEC 61000-4-2, including whether protection parts are in the right place and have a low-inductance path to ground. Immunity to radiated and conducted interference, and whether fast transient and surge tests apply. Electrical safety under single-fault conditions, to IEC 62368-1 or IEC 61010-1 depending on the product: what happens when a regulator fails, a track shorts or a battery misbehaves.
Analysis on the real design
We work from your actual PCB design files. Every port and net is classified, ESD strikes are simulated on each exposed pin, emissions are estimated from the real clocks, switchers and cable lengths, and the result is cross-checked with a full-wave electromagnetic model of the board where the risk justifies it. Stitching, decoupling, filtering and return paths are checked against the layout rather than against a generic checklist.
A clear verdict and a ranked list of fixes
You get a red, amber or green readiness verdict for each area, a list of fixes ranked by risk and cost, and a test plan you can take to an accredited lab. Where a fix is a layout change, we can make it. Where you already have a lab report showing a failure, we compare it against the design to find the cause.
UKCA, CE and FCC
Products sold in Great Britain need UKCA marking, or CE marking, which is still accepted for most product types. Products sold in the EU need CE marking under the EMC Directive, the Low Voltage Directive or, for anything with a radio, the Radio Equipment Directive. Products sold in the USA need FCC Part 15 authorisation and, for mains-powered products, often a safety listing from a nationally recognised test lab. We design for all three markets from the start, so one design can be tested for each without rework.
Common questions
What is EMC pre-compliance?
Pre-compliance is checking a product against EMC and safety requirements before formal testing at an accredited lab. It finds the likely failures while they are still cheap to fix. It does not replace the formal test or the certificate, but it makes it far more likely that the first formal test is the only one you need.
Do you issue CE, UKCA or FCC certificates?
No. Formal testing is done by accredited test labs, and you as the manufacturer declare conformity. We prepare the design so it passes, write the test plan, support you at the lab and diagnose any failures. We can also help you assemble the technical file that sits behind the declaration.
When should we do a pre-compliance review?
Before you order the board you intend to certify, ideally while the layout can still change easily. A review of a finished board is still worthwhile, but some fixes then need a board spin. If you have already failed a test, a review against the lab report is the quickest way to find the cause.
Our product uses a pre-certified radio module. Do we still need EMC testing?
Usually yes. A pre-certified module covers the radio itself, but the finished product still needs to meet EMC requirements as a whole, and the rest of your board can still cause emissions or fail ESD. Using a module does reduce the radio testing needed, which is why we often recommend one at lower volumes.
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