Last updated on September 20th, 2022 at 12:29 pm
Update to this article, September 2020. ISO 20430 was published in April 2020. ISO/TC 270 is now developing ISO 23582-1, Plastics and rubber machines — Clamping systems — Part 1: Safety requirements for magnetic clamping systems. Public review of ISO 23582-1 will start in the coming weeks, so if you are interested in this area, you should watch the public review section of your National Standards Body. For Canadians, see the SCC ISO Public Review Portal. If you are not a Canadian, please contact your National Standards Body for more information.
In July 2022, another project was proposed for development in ISO/TC 270: ISO 22506, Plastics and rubber machines — Safety requirements for extrusion machines for plastics. This project has not started yet. If you are a technical expert in plastics extrusion and would like to get involved in developing the standard, you can apply for membership through the Standards Council of Canada; if you are not a Canadian, please contact your National Standards Body to apply for membership in ISO/TC 270. – DN
Canada’s Participation in ISO TC 270
In February 2016, Canada formed a Standards Mirror Committee (SMC) to ISO TC 270, Rubber and Plastics Machinery. In April 2020, This international technical committee published ISO 20430, the first international plastic injection moulding machine standard. Until ISO 20430 was published, two standards have been fighting for dominance in the industry: EN 201, Plastics and rubber machines — Injection moulding machines — Safety requirements, and ANSI B151.1, American National Standard for Plastics Machinery – Horizontal Injection Moulding Machines – Safety Requirements for manufacture, Care and Use.
Canada has a strong plastic and rubber industry, with key equipment manufacturers like Athena Automation, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Mold Masters and GN Plastics, among others producing world-class machinery for the industry. The industry is represented nationally by the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada. However, Canada has never had its standard for this type of machinery.
Involvement in ISO TC 270 allows Canada’s plastics industry to have a voice in developing international standards for the machinery they design and build.
Why now?
Until ISO 20430 was published, the same two standards mentioned above have been fighting for dominance: EN 201 in Europe and ANSI B151.1 in North America. Until the relatively recent formation of ISO/TC 270 in 2012, there were NO international standards for this type of machinery. While some efforts have been made to harmonize the European and ANSI standards, there are still some significant gaps between these standards. In addition, ANSI’s B151 committee has several additional standards for auxiliary equipment for items like robots designed to unload moulds that are not directly addressed in EN standards.
Canada was given a chance to participate through our ongoing friendship with ANSI and the USA, so between 2012 and 2015, Canadian delegates attended ISO/TC 270 working group meetings informally, putting Canada’s perspective forward through the US ANSI TAG committee. However, in 2016 it became clear that we needed to form a Canadian Mirror Committee. If you are involved in the industry and you are a member of one of these general groups and would like to get involved with standards development, please go to our recruiting page and join us!
Committee Membership Matrix
| Matrix Category | Min | Max | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producer Interest (PI) | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| User Interest, Management (UM) | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| User Interest, Labour (UL) | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Regulatory Authority (RA) | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| General Interest (GI) | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 15 | 25 | 6 |
As you can see from the table, we need members in every group to meet our intended balance.
Definitions of the categories
Producer Interest (PI) — Machine builders, Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturers, Consultants, and Engineering Companies providing for-profit services related to plastics and rubber machinery.
User Interest, Labour (UL) — Canadian labour unions, labour organizations, and individual workers located at Canadian workplaces.
User Interest, Management (UM) — Trade associations, companies, contractors, and organizations representing companies engaged in work performed in Canada.
Regulatory Authorities (RA) — OHS provincial and federal regulatory bodies (labour and electrical).
General Interest (GI) — Safety associations, research organizations, institutions, and non-commercial consultants with expertise in the subject area.
We need your help!
SMC ISO/TC 270 needs your help!
Please sign up if you have the expertise and can volunteer your time!
Need more information? Contact Doug Nix!
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