EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 Revision

New EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Important Changes

Your client calls and asks you to modernize a 10-15-year-old packaging line. The scenario is familiar: "Let's upgrade the PLC, increase the speed by 20%."

It sounds like a great engineering project, doesn't it? You complete the job, issue the invoice, and the machine runs perfectly. However, there is a problem.

According to the European Union’s new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, the work you just performed might have crossed the line from "simple maintenance" to a "Substantial Modification."

If so, congratulations! You are now legally considered the "New Manufacturer" of that machine. The original manufacturer’s liability is gone; the full CE compliance responsibility, risk assessments, and legal liability for the machine's entire lifespan (including its past 15 years) are now on your shoulders.

So, how do you protect yourself from this risk? Here are the critical rules that will become fully mandatory in 2027, but which you need to know today.

1. The Article 18 Warning: What is a Substantial Modification?

The old Directive 2006/42/EC had gray areas. However, the new Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 clarifies the issue with Article 18. When you make a physical or digital (software) change to a machine, you must ask yourself these 3 questions.

If your answer to these is "Yes," you are legally the manufacturer:

Does this modification create a new hazard or increase an existing risk?
Are the existing protective measures (guards, sensors, etc.) insufficient to mitigate this new risk?
Are additional protective measures required?

If the answers are yes, you must perform a completely new CE marking, prepare a new technical file, and issue a Declaration of Conformity for the machine.

2. Recommendations from Aces Process to Avoid Risk

To avoid being crushed under this legal burden, you must optimize your processes now. Based on our industry experience, we recommend the following:

Update Your Contracts: Clearly define the limits of liability in retrofit projects.
Conduct a Preliminary Risk Assessment: Document existing risks before touching the machine.
Stay Within "Simple Upgrade" Limits: If possible, keep the modification at a level that does not require "new protective measures."

3. Not Just Mechanical: Software is Also a Risk

The new regulation covers not only gears and motors but also software. If an AI module or remote connection feature you add to the machine carries a cybersecurity risk, this now falls under the scope of CE compliance. Ensure your software is secure.

Legal Basis: The information shared in this article is based on the text ofRegulation (EU) 2023/1230, published in the Official Journal of the EU on June 29, 2023. This Regulation repeals the old Directive 2006/42/EC and will become mandatory in all member and candidate countries (including Turkey) as of January 20, 2027.