New European standard for laser products EN50689:2021

On March 27, 2022, CENELEC in Europe released the radiation safety standard for laser products EN 50689:2021 Safety of laser products — Particular Requirements for Consumer Laser Products. The new standard will be adopted on September 27, 2022 and will be enforced after September 27 The earlier released EN 60825-1:2014+A11:2021 stipulates that after the release of EN 50689, consumer laser products must comply with this standard.

CENELEC official website link:

https://standards.cencenelec.eu

Product definition in EN 50689:2021:

Consumer laser product A consumer laser product is a product that constitutes or contains a laser and is intended for use by ordinary consumers (non-professionals) or a product that, even if not intended for ordinary consumers, may be used by ordinary consumers under reasonably foreseeable conditions.

The following 4 categories of products are not covered:

• It does not include laser projection products with a wavelength of 380 – 780 nm, which are expected to be used for a long time and project directly onto the user's retina, such as VR and AR products;

•  Laser products that are only used by professionals and are unlikely to be used by ordinary consumers are not included (compliance with the laser product standard EN 60825-1 is sufficient);

•  Excludes toy products (should comply with the electric toy standard EN 62115);

•  Does not include class 1C consumer laser products (Class 1C products: the product is in close contact with the irradiated person, the leaked radiation does not exceed the class 1 level, and the laser only irradiates the surface of the human skin and does not irradiate the eyes. For example, laser beauty devices and laser hair removal devices).

Additional requirements of EN 50689:2021:

First, compliance with EN 60825-1 is required, followed by the following additional requirements:

•  Laser products that attract children (not toys, but other appearance, color, functions, etc. will attract children to play and use):

•  Laser classification must be class 1;

•  The laser radiation level at any position does not exceed the maximum radiation value specified in Table A.5 of EN 60825-1:2014;

•  If the laser wavelength is in the range of 180-315 nm (ultraviolet region), the maximum radiation value does not exceed 0.001 W/m2;

•  Comply with other relevant regulations;

•  Must comply with the battery requirements of EN 62115 (electrical toys standard).

Other Consumer Laser Products:

•  Laser classification can only be class 1, class 2 or class 3R;

•  The laser reach at any location cannot exceed class 3B;

•  Laser radiation during operator maintenance does not exceed the declared laser classification level.

For class 3R products, there are additional requirements:

•  It cannot be a laser pointer;

•  Explain in the manual why a class 3R laser is necessary and why a weaker class 2 or class 1 laser cannot be used;

•  There should be a design to avoid false triggering and corresponding laser emission indication;

•  No direct view of the beam is required for function or use;

•  The laser wavelength can only be within the range of 400 nm ≤ λ < 1250 nm;

•  When classifying lasers according to EN 60825-1, C6 can only take the value of 1;

•  Within the wavelength range of 400 nm to 700 nm, the peak power of continuous laser or pulsed laser within 0.25 s shall not exceed the accessible laser limit of class 3R of 0.5 W;

•  Within the wavelength range of 700 nm to 1250 nm, the peak power of continuous laser or pulsed laser within 100 s does not exceed the accessible laser limit of class 3R 2 × C4 × C7 mW.

EN 50689:2021 additional requirements for marking:

To comply with the marking requirements of EN 60825-1, the following additional requirements must be met:

The reference standard is changed to EN 50689:2021 (simultaneous labeling of EN 50689:2021 and EN 60825-1:2014 is allowed);

It must be indicated that it is a consumer laser product.

Example:

EN 50689:2021 additional requirements for instructions:

•  In addition to meeting the requirements of EN 60825-1, for class 3R products, it is also necessary to:

•  Instruct users not to intentionally irradiate people; if it is an outdoor product, remind users to avoid irradiating people with lasers;

•  Description of the launch indicator;

•  Instructions on how to trigger the laser correctly;

•  It indicates that when doing laser classification, the value of C6 is 1;

•  Explain why a class 3R laser is necessary and why a weaker class 2 or class 1 laser cannot be used;

•  Describes that the product complies with EN 50689;

•  Provide date, manufacturer or supplier information.