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FXICC Acquires Additional Accreditation as
International Product Safety Testing Laboratory
From Belgian Government

First in Japan to be Enable to Test All Safety-Related Items
for Information Equipment at One Location



TOKYO, April 9, 2007 – The Belgian Accreditation Structure (BELAC) run by the Belgian Ministry for Economic Affairs completed technical inspection of three fields in the product safety-related evaluation system at Fuji Xerox’s FXICC (Fuji Xerox International Certification Center) located at the Ebina Center: namely, electrical and mechanical safety assessment and testing, laser safety testing and chemical emissionNote 1 testing. FXICC was then granted BELAC NBN EN ISO/IEC17025 certification.

Note 1: Chemical emission refers to chemical substances emitted from equipment such as VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) etc.

FXICC had already obtained BELAC certification in the areas of EMCNote 2, acoustic noise and radio frequency. With the certification in the additional three fields, FXICC is now capable of swiftly, accurately and fairly evaluating all items of safety (electrical and mechanical safety, laser safety, chemical emissions, EMC, acoustic noise and radio frequency) required for electric/electronic devices, including digital color multifunction machines and printers.

Note 2: EMC: Electromagnetic Compatibility

This is the first time in Japan that a facility has attained BELAC NBN EN ISO/IEC 17025 certification for having the ability to handle all safety-related evaluation tests for information equipment at one location.

As the Belgian government has a mutual recognition agreement with the authorities of other countries, Fuji Xerox multifunction and copy machines are exempt from undergoing additional examination before shipment. This includes testing of radio frequency for products bound for Europe and North America, as well as testing of acoustic noise levels as stipulated by the Blue Angel Mark, a German eco label.

As a manufacturer that supplies products to the global market, Fuji Xerox treats product quality and safety as priority themes. To enhance both of these areas, Fuji Xerox started operation in June 2005 of the Radio Wave Anechoic Chamber Building that houses a Radio Frequency (RF) Fully Anechoic Room with world-leading performance, as well as a 10m Semi-Anechoic Chamber, which ranks as one of the largest facilities of its kind in Japan. In line with this, Fuji Xerox acquired the BELAC certification for EMC, acoustic noise and radio frequency.

In October 2006, Fuji Xerox established the FXICC at the Ebina Center, as an independent organization from the product development division. Further to this, a facility to test chemical emissions has been set up while equipment to evaluate product safety has been enhanced. The relevant authorities inspected Fuji Xerox facilities before expanding accreditation to the aforementioned three areas, and BELAC certification was granted in February 2007.

In accord with expansion in the scope of accreditation, Fuji Xerox built additional 10m Semi-Anechoic Chamber in the Radio Wave Anechoic Chamber Building that starts operation in April 2007, in order to improve raise operation rate of existing EMC facility as well as to provide safety evaluation services for other companies’ products.

The rapid development and popularity of electric/electronic devices and communication equipment has significantly increased the potential for radio waves transmitted by such devices to trigger malfunctions in other equipment or cross-interference between radio waves to the extent of blocking normal operations and possibly even affecting the human body. Today, it is imperative to carefully consider the "electromagnetic environment", with the aim of preventing adverse interactions between individual electromagnetic waves and potential damage to equipment operation.

To meet these requirements, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) establishes international standards and defines allowable limits of electromagnetic emission from electric/electronic devices and communication equipment, including digital color multifunction devices and printers.

Customers are demanding presentation of impartial and highly accurate evaluation data regarding the chemical emission from electric/electronic equipment, on account of rising awareness of the safety of chemical substances, including concerns over sick house syndrome. Amid this background, new international standards are being devised that integrate the various eco labels.

Accordingly, Fuji Xerox established two environmental measurement chambers at the Ebina Center, one 5m3 and the other 25m3, the largest in Japan. In addition, it equips an analytical test lab at the Takematsu Center (Kanagawa Prefecture), which can swiftly handle from sampling to analysis and evaluation.

In the electrical and mechanical safety field, IEC has formulated international safety standards for office equipment and information processing devices akin to those in the EMC field. Basic requirements are stipulated to guarantee safety in products such as electric shock guards, burn prevention, injury prevention and fire protection construction (burnout).

In the laser field, the market calls for products with emission levels that enable safe operation, as lasers can cause retinal damage and burns depending on emission level. IEC has again devised international standards, setting allowable limits of the laser emission level.

As a manufacturer that supplies products to the global market, Fuji Xerox is committed to further improving the quality and safety of its products through testing of large-scale systems like computer printers, as well as digital multifunction/office devices, through the use of equipment that complies with forthcoming EU and international standards.

Outline of New 10m Semi-Anechoic Chamber

Room size : W 14.0m x L 22.0m x H 8.5m
Features :  
  • Employs a newly developed radio wave-absorbing material that realizes an anechoic space with an extremely wide frequency range (30 MHz to 40 GHz).
  • The chamber has a turntable floor with 5m-diameter (5-ton load capacity), making it capable of measuring large-scale equipment.
  • Noise emitted from the top surfaces of various kinds of equipment can be measured using an antenna elevator with automatic electric elevation angle controls.
  • Introduction of a 3-phase compliant 45 kVA CVCF (Constant-Voltage, Constant-Frequency) system enables measurement of high-current equipment.
  • A movable perpendicular wall enables measurements of power noise end terminal amplitude without changing the positioning of large equipment.

Outline of Radio Wave Anechoic Chamber Building

Site area : 2,160m2
Total floor space : 2,997m2 (two levels, reinforced concrete)
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