UL Certification

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is a safety certification company in standards development, testing, and certification. It has over a century of expertise in innovating safety solutions for new products and new technologies. UL tests products in a wide range of industrial and commercial areas, certifies manufacturers, and sets and updates safety standards.

The UL logo on the products is the most widely accepted certification that a product meets US and Canadian safety requirements. For electrical appliances, the main focus of UL is to ensure fire protection and electrical safety.

UL certification about PCB

The main standards of PCBs are UL 796, the specific PCB standard, and the UL 94 for flammability of plastics materials. These specify many performance tests to measure the long-term reliability and fire safety of the PCB. If a board is released in accordance with these standards, the board will be marked with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) logo.

The parameters used for PCB certification will be determined by the application of the circuit board in its final product. Some industries have some specific standards and vary parameters in UL certifications, such as specific flame rating, direct support requirements (DSR), maximum operating temperature (MOT), the relative thermal index (RTI), and minimum comparative tracking index (CTI) rating. The requirements of these parameters may be different for the PCBs based on different applications of the end-products.

There are two levels of PCB recognition that manufacturers can apply for: full recognition and flammability-only recognition. The type of PCB identification required depends on the application of PCBs in the end-products. Materials, construction, parameters, and manufacturing process are the main elements controlled for a recognized PCB. Therefore, when customers indicate that the PCBs need to meet UL, customers need to specify the UL parameters required for the PCB applications of the end products. Or tell PCB manufacturers whose field is the PCBs applied in.

The importance of UL in the PCB industry

UL is the only organization that publishes PCB safety standards. UL certification can demonstrate the PCB products have been passed the product safety benchmark.  And the UL recognized PCBs could be used globally.

It is well known that UL recognized PCB components and materials had passed the industry' s most stringent safety tests and follow-up program. With UL certification on the PCBs, PCB manufacturers can assure customers that the boards they get a match or exceed industry standards for preventing the electric shock or fire. It has been certified for safe use and follows specific standards and guidelines during development and construction.

If PCB manufacturers produce PCBs for industries that do not have UL certifications, manufacturers may not need to certify the boards. But, many end products now also require PCBs to meet UL standards, such as audio and video equipment, medical equipment, and industrial control equipment, etc. In any case, if the boards are officially certified according to industry safety standards, PCB manufacturers will be more attractive than the competitors.

UL certification of NextPCB

All UL recognized PCBs and components have a UL logo. Online Certifications Directory on www.UL.com and UL iQ database on iq.ul.com are the two tools to check the information of UL certifications.

The UL identification number of NextPCB is 20141016-E469747, please click UL certification to get more information. 

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