This European Standard deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events relevant to thermoforming machines for continuous sheet and single sheets of thermoplastics materials, when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are foreseeable by the manufacturer (see Clause 4).

A thermoforming machine may consist of a forming unit or a forming unit linked to one or more additional units. This standard covers the following units:

• continuous sheet unwind unit;

• single sheet feed unit;

• material intake;

• conveying equipment;

• heating unit;

• preheating unit;

• edge heating unit;

• component feeding/inserting unit;

• forming station;

• finishing station;

• stacking station;

• discharge station;

• residual sheet winding unit;

• sheet cutting unit.

This European standard does not apply to units mounted upstream or downstream of the thermoforming machine:

• which have a separate control system; and/or

• are located separately.

NOTE 1 This European Standard specifies requirements for machines supplied as a single forming unit or a number of units designed to operate as a single machine. Additional units that may be introduced at a later stage should be considered separately applying relevant standards and taking into account any hazards arising through their interaction with the thermoforming machine.

This European Standard does not apply to units which are integrated into form, fill and seal machines. These are covered in EN 415-3:1999.

This European standard does not apply to units which incorporate heating systems which are fuelled by gas.

NOTE 2 Thermoforming machines generally do not create explosive atmospheres. In principle they therefore correspond with line F of Table 2 of the ATEX Guideline and consequently do not fall within the scope of Directive 94/9/EC.

This European Standard is not applicable to thermoforming machines which are manufactured before the date of its publication as EN.