Why does my printer look like its been opened before?

#1

I get this question several times a week so I thought I would post it here in case anyone is wondering.

Here at 3DPC we do ETL certification for every printer we sell. ETL certification is an examination of electrical devices to allow them to be legally run in Canada. Canada is a little different from most countries. All electrical devices in Canada must have either an ETL or CSA certification on them.

The Governing body on this process is TSSA. Here is a link to their website for further information.
https://www.tssa.org/modules/news/blogcomments.aspx?BlogId=682e6d27-69f4-4052-8e71-df9326bf60b4

In order to complete this certification process, we must open every printer that comes into our shop and have it electrically examined and tested for qualification. Once complete you will find a rectangular blue sticker with the ETL logo on it. This tells you that yes we have opened every box certified and resealed it.

Here is a list of other items/industries that can be affected by ETL/CSA certification.
https://www.intertek.com/testing/

Be rest assured we do not sell “used” or “refurbished” printers unknowingly to our customers. At some points, we may have Demo or display models in store for sale but they are plainly marked as being demo units. We still stand behind them with all warranties handled in-house or through the manufacturer.

Hope this helps to answer any questions our customers may have.

#2

one of the reasons I bought from 3DPC. if it’s not inspected when it gets here I have to have it inspected if it’s something that’s staying here or in Canada. It was ok before when I had the guy from Halifax come for bigger machines I’d have him do the other equipment and cost it into the job. but it’s been a long time since I’ve had him here and the guy is $2k every time he leaves his driveway so legally if I have a printer here (like I do now) that’s not inspected I could get fined. My second printer is not inspected. it had come from the US

1 Like
#3

Out of curiosity, where do you work that you would be fined for using an un-certified 3D printer?

#4

We actually have a few of our customers that have suffered just that fate. Machines have been red-tagged and if not rectified they will be fined. I’ve Been told it’s not just a slap on the wrist.

#5

In Ontario, we had a facility where we imported a few hundred different types of packaging machines from Europe mostly Italy, China, and Taiwan every few months there would be a shipment and we’d sell them all over the Americas, we used to get them all inspected even the US ones because it was easier and made the cost seem lower per unit. and it was something nobody else in the US was doing so we had something to talk about to a customer the rest didn’t have. the guys that came in from CSA, Warnock Hersey, and UL would totally rat you out if they say anything that wasn’t stickered. they were always afraid something would get sent out and cause a problem in the field. It was worse in Mississauga because the fire inspector looked out for these things too. We also made our own machines so we had insurance people around sometimes. We had a big shredder sent to use as a sample for cardboard, the thing was a death trap so we wouldn’t sell it but we used it because it made good dunnage. the first guy was an electrician contracted for a job, he tagged it out then the heath and safety people came in and wrote a report up calling it a safety hazard too (that’s why we weren’t selling them) Electrically it wasn’t unsafe but EU doesn’t use AWG sizes so none of the wire was any good and it had a fused neutral (a nono at the time). So here is my little shop sometimes I have the same people needed to come in and look at machines before we ship them so I’m always cognizant of what’s being plugged in here.

1 Like
#6

if you make a habit out of it it can be X thousands of dollars per day if it’s attached to the building. There are a few Russian bakeries I’m surprised are still in business from this.
For Canada, we had some dealers that would ask us to let them have the machines and they would get them certified on their own (to save money) I only know only 2 dealers that actually did that but they were importing too. generally, if you’re selling business to Business the one that is using it is ultimately responsible for it to be approved and safe. But if you are selling it to the public you are resposible and it’s a huge risk if you sell unapproved stuff because you’re holding the bag wherever that machine goes until someone alters it.

1 Like
#7

@Jason - well great, now you’ve ruined the illusion for me.
I assumed that you were opening the box to sprinkle in some PLA dust while chanting g-code to appease the 3d printing gods and bless us all with good prints.

3 Likes
#8

The technopriests approve of this ideology xD

2 Likes
#9

This is the first time I’ve heard about being fined for being in possession of non-certified electrical equipment. Non recognized Canadian approval meant you use at your own risk, meaning if it burns down your house, cause injury, etc., no insurance claim. In my line of work, we have to use Canadian approved equipment, no exception, a company policy, and more importantly if we are seeking electrical inspection thereafter. I’m sure every one of use has some device electrical or not in our possession that we use every day?

1 Like
#10

We need to be careful at my work too. We have had issues in the past. Insurance also may not cover any issues caused by appliances not approved for use in Canada. Jason I’d just add UL (ULc) also is acceptable. There usually is a small c added to the mark, signifing Canadian eletrical code. CSA (group) is a company, many fake or counterfeit certificates are to 'csa codes" which is meaningless.

1 Like
#11

being in possession. No it has to be available to be used. So if you had something like that with the plug cuff off you’re ok. As a consumer you’ll have no problem. If you’re selling to the public your screwed. most places in canada buy from the distributor not from the manufacturer and it’s taken care of already. If you go direct or make it yourself its gotta be looked at.

No a CE sticker is not acceptable.heh … get that all the time.

Also Wisconsin wont accept CSA

1 Like
#12

I work in a university there is no way to not do everything by the book.

1 Like
#13

I used to import welders from Italy a few years ago and had each one inspected and issued an inspection sticker by the local Ontario Hydro inspector. He recorded the individual machine serial numbers and the corresponding inspection sticker number. He mentioned that it was within his authority to have any product that was offered for sale to the public to be removed from display in a store (or even a flea market) if it did not have the required certifications. One way that some importers got around this was to have units supplied without plugs or line cords…it would shift the burden of certification to whoever finally made the product usable.

1 Like
#14

Or not completely assembled?

1 Like
#15

If there are electrical connections to be made inside and enclosure then yes. if it’s just attaching a power cord then no. the rule I always kept in mind was if it was something that was going to be sold to the public then it had to be looked at. if they are sold to a business that was then going to install or commission it themselves then it is their responsibility. we sold a lot mostly through distributors so we had all our stuff done just to protect them, and us. These distributors got themselves into the weirdest problems sometimes.

1 Like
#16

Our inspector here does take apart each machine and verify each one. We have come across the machine to the machine are slightly different but he is very theory and to ensure they all 100% pass ETL.

It was a much larger process than I thought it would be but the guy we deal with does a lot of on-site certification for equipment coming in from outside of Canada as well. It takes about 80% of his job I would guess.

1 Like