IEC 62368-1.

Overview

IEC 62368-1 is the international safety standard for audio/video, information and communication technology equipment — the broad family that includes computers, networking hardware, displays, audio devices and telecom equipment. It is the standard a product in this space must meet to demonstrate that it is safe for users and their surroundings.

Rather than listing fixed constructional rules for each product type, IEC 62368-1 takes a hazard-based approach: it identifies the sources of energy inside equipment that could cause harm and requires safeguards that keep that energy from reaching people or igniting nearby materials. This makes the standard adaptable to new technologies without rewriting it for every new product.

Scope & Applicability

The standard applies to mains- and battery-powered electrical and electronic equipment within the audio/video, IT and communication technology sectors, including the components and subassemblies used in such products. It addresses the equipment as a whole — its enclosure, internal construction, and the materials that contain or separate hazardous energy.

IEC 62368-1 replaces the two earlier standards that previously split this field, so a single document now covers products that were once certified separately. Manufacturers bringing AV or IT equipment to market work to this standard as the baseline safety requirement.

Test Methods

Verification follows the hazard-based safety engineering model: each relevant energy source is classified and the safeguards protecting against it are tested. The main energy classes examined are:

• Electrical energy — protection against electric shock, including insulation, electric strength and the integrity of safeguards between hazardous and accessible parts.
• Thermal and fire energy — surface temperatures, resistance to ignition, and the ability of the enclosure to contain a fire that starts inside the equipment.
• Mechanical energy — the strength of enclosures and guards against impact and loading so that hazardous parts stay protected.

A central check is the fire-enclosure test, which confirms that if ignition occurs internally the enclosure prevents the spread of fire to the outside. The exact conditions, temperatures and acceptance criteria are defined by the standard.

Related Standards

IEC 62368-1 supersedes the earlier IEC 60950-1 (information technology equipment) and IEC 60065 (audio/video equipment), merging two product-specific standards into one hazard-based document. Equipment previously certified to those standards transitions to 62368-1, which is now the reference for the combined AV/IT and communication technology field.

Testing with ULMEKA

ULMEKA Mechatronics designs and manufactures test apparatus used to verify IEC 62368-1 safeguards, including fire-enclosure and mechanical-strength checks shared with related electrical-safety standards. The equipment below is configured to the relevant safeguard and equipment type; for a specific testing need, the requirements are confirmed at the proposal stage.