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International · standards body

IEC 62061

It is a standard published by International Electrotechnical Commission.

IECMechanical Testing

About the Standard

Scope title: safety-related electrical control systems of machinery

IEC 62061 is a standard published by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). It publishes international standards for electrical, electronic and related technologies; it is the foundation of the EMC and electrical safety body of work. CISPR publications belong to a special committee within the IEC.

See the other 102 codes from IEC

Coverage areas

Mekanik Testler — What Does This Testing Field Cover?

The section below describes the field that code IEC 62061 belongs to; it is not the text of the standard or the regime itself. The scope title of the code is given above, and technical requirements are shared at the quotation stage.

Mechanical testing measures how a material or a part behaves under force. The family ranges from static loading (tension, compression, bending) to time-dependent behaviour (fatigue, creep), and from hardness and wear to fracture toughness.

What these tests have in common is that the result is reported as a MATERIAL PROPERTY. Yield strength or hardness is not a conformity decision; it is numerical data against which the design and the product standard will compare. Mechanical test reports are therefore usually an input to an engineering decision rather than to a product approval — material selection, safety factor, life prediction.

The distinction between static and dynamic behaviour is the key to understanding the field. A part may appear entirely unstressed under a static load yet break under repeated loading; fatigue fracture occurs at stresses well below the yield strength and gives no warning. For rotating, vibrating or cyclically loaded parts, a tensile test alone is therefore not sufficient evidence.

Test conditions determine the result, and this is critical for the readability of the report: specimen geometry, loading rate, temperature, conditioning and the gripping arrangement. The same material gives different values under different conditions. In plastics the rate effect is very pronounced, in metals the temperature effect; in composites the specimen orientation changes the result entirely.

Hardness is the most misused measurement in the field. Because it is fast, close to non-destructive and inexpensive, it is often used in place of strength. Conversion tables from hardness to strength exist, but they are APPROXIMATE and depend on the material group; using them as the sole evidence in material acceptance is wrong.

The fracture mechanics side requires a specific competence. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rate measurements make it possible to calculate how long a cracked structure will last; they are the basis of damage-tolerant design in fields such as pressure equipment, aircraft structures and pipelines.

Method groups in this field

  • Static tests

    Tension, compression, bending, shear and torsion. Yield and tensile strength, elongation and modulus of elasticity are obtained.

  • Impact tests

    Charpy and Izod notch impact; the brittle-to-ductile transition behaviour of the material is determined as a function of temperature.

  • Hardness

    Brinell, Vickers, Rockwell, Shore and micro hardness. Valuable for surface treatment depth and local differences in strength.

  • Fatigue

    Force- and strain-controlled axial fatigue, fatigue in bending; S-N curves and the endurance limit.

  • Creep and stress relaxation

    Behaviour under long-term load at high temperature; decisive for boiler, turbine and pressure equipment materials.

  • Fracture mechanics

    Plane-strain fracture toughness, the J integral, CTOD and fatigue crack growth rate.

  • Wear and friction

    Taber and rotating drum abrasion, coefficient of friction measurements.

Commonly confused in this field

  • Calculating strength from hardness is approximate; it cannot be used as the sole evidence in material acceptance.
  • Adequate static strength does not demonstrate fatigue strength; a cyclically loaded part requires a separate test.
  • If test rate and temperature are not reported, the result cannot be compared — especially for polymers and composites.
  • A test specimen and the actual part may not give the same value; moulding orientation, weld lines and differences in surface treatment all have an effect.
  • A strength value given for a composite without stating the specimen orientation is meaningless.
  • ASTM and ISO counterparts measure the same quantity but use different specimen geometries; the results are not treated as directly equivalent.

Which decisions these results support

  • Design verification and material selection
  • Incoming material control and supplier approval
  • Meeting the mechanical requirements of the product standard
  • Failure analysis, life prediction and damage tolerance calculation
  • Verifying heat treatment and surface treatment processes

Structure of the Code

Published by
IEC
Serial number
62061
Part
without partition

Codes in the library without release year is kept. The current version changes over time; If the year is specified in your specification, that version is taken as basis, if not specified, the most current version is applied.

Scope

Related Tests and Services

A separate test page based on this code has not yet been released. The code falls within the scope of the following test families.

Technical Requirements

Standard texts are copyright of the relevant organization; test condition, sample and acceptance criteria cannot be fitted here.

Technical requirements specific to your product, once we clarify the scope At offer stage shared in writing.

Relevant Product Groups and Legislation

This code is included in the standard tag of the product pages below.

These product pages carry notes for the following markets: European Union, United Kingdom, USA. Whether the standard is mandatory in the relevant market varies depending on the product group and the applicable legislation.

Regulations published with this code on the same product pages:

  • 2006/42/ATMachinery DirectiveThe current Machinery Directive. Imposes risk assessment, essential health and safety requirements and a technical-file obligation.
  • (EU) 2023/1230Machinery RegulationReplaces 2006/42/EC and becomes mandatory on 20 January 2027 with no further transition period. Requires notified-body involvement for Annex I high-risk machinery.
  • 2014/35/EULVDThe Low Voltage Directive. Governs electrical safety in the 50–1000 V AC range.
  • 2014/30/EUEMCThe Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive. Emission and immunity are covered together.
  • 2014/34/ABATEXEquipment and protective systems used in explosive atmospheres. The category and conformity route are determined by zone classification.
  • 2000/14/ATNoise EmissionNoise emitted into the environment by outdoor equipment. Machinery within scope requires a sound-power-level declaration and marking.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is this standard mandatory for my product?

Whether it is mandatory depends on the product group, the target market and the applicable legislation. Once you tell us your product and market, we clarify in writing whether this standard is required.

How long does the test process take?

Duration depends on the scope of the standard, the number of specimens and current capacity. The exact duration is shared, together with the specimen and scope details, at the quote stage.

Do you issue certification against this standard?

Which activity is carried out under which accreditation scope is separately confirmed at the application stage. Up-to-date scope information is published on our corporate page.

What happens if the standard I need is not here?

The library is based on a continuously growing inventory. If you cannot find the code you are looking for, you can send it through the quote form; we will assess the relevant scope and get back to you.

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