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Selling a board - safety ?

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Wp100

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Would value opinions on a guys venture to make and sell a control board for leds, direct to the public,

Its simply a micro and a pwm PCA chip with 16 output channels via mosfets to control small 12v bulbs / leds.

Thing is that its design is for up to 2 amp per channel, hence the need for a 12v PSU capable of at least 20 amp , possibly up to 32 amps for his rated output, though doubt that would be often used.

He is making the control board but buying in the PSU and, as far as I know, just selling on a private basis, not even as an sole trader. ( in the UK)

At the moment he is considering input and output fuses, let alone pcb tracks etc to handle that current.

At that amount of current I am somewhat concerned about the consequences of any design / user handling flaw , the safety of this device, its users and for him as the person who will be called upon should the worst happen.

Do you think my concerns are justified and can offer any words of guidance I can pass on to him ... ? though don't think ' do not do it' will have any effect !

thanks
 
Hi,

Would value opinions on a guys venture to make and sell a control board for leds, direct to the public,

Its simply a micro and a pwm PCA chip with 16 output channels via mosfets to control small 12v bulbs / leds.

Thing is that its design is for up to 2 amp per channel, hence the need for a 12v PSU capable of at least 20 amp , possibly up to 32 amps for his rated output, though doubt that would be often used.

He is making the control board but buying in the PSU and, as far as I know, just selling on a private basis, not even as an sole trader. ( in the UK)

At the moment he is considering input and output fuses, let alone pcb tracks etc to handle that current.

At that amount of current I am somewhat concerned about the consequences of any design / user handling flaw , the safety of this device, its users and for him as the person who will be called upon should the worst happen.

Do you think my concerns are justified and can offer any words of guidance I can pass on to him ... ? though don't think ' do not do it' will have any effect !

thanks

You concerns are justified. I see you are from the UK where the laws about product safety are very stringent and procedural. I can't go into detail because it would be necessary to write a couple of books. In general though, a product must be safe according to multiple standards and must be also safe for reasonable misuse.

In terms of responsibility, any engineer involved is culpable and also the management and the company as a whole. My advice is that unless your acquaintance is going into high volume sufficient to cover the costs of complying with the many standards, he should reconsider. The least he should do is to establish the ground rules and consult a product expert.

On the other hand, I understand you can sell a kit without too much trouble but I have no experience of this.

spec
 
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2A isn't a lot..... It's the common ground that will need attention.. The PCB will be fine as long as the grounding track can take the current... I would have separate ground terminals for each channel... If the PCB is sold without the PSU then the onus is on the purchaser to meet the criteria...
 
Thanks for the comments, seems he may be better supplying it as a kit rather than a complete unit with psu.

Think he is unlikely to be selling many as there are already two similar devices in the UK market and it is quiet a low volume / niche market anyway and at typically £40 for just the assembled pcb , there does not seem much profit for the effort ..
 
Thanks for the comments, seems he may be better supplying it as a kit rather than a complete unit with psu.

Think he is unlikely to be selling many as there are already two similar devices in the UK market and it is quiet a low volume / niche market anyway and at typically £40 for just the assembled pcb , there does not seem much profit for the effort ..
Very wise.

spec
 
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