EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 for stone machinery: what buyers must check

Dates: 20 January 2027

Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 was published in the Official Journal on 29 June 2023 and entered into force on 19 July 2023. It applies from 20 January 2027. The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC is repealed from the same date and can be used until 19 January 2027.

The original Official Journal text said 14 January 2027. A corrigendum of 4 July 2023 corrected this to 20 January 2027. Some summaries still quote the old date.

There is no period in which a manufacturer can choose either text. DGUV Test, a German notified body, puts it plainly: from 20 January 2027 only the Regulation applies. A machine placed on the market on 19 January 2027 under the Directive stays lawful. A machine placed on the market on 20 January 2027 must meet the Regulation. DGUV Test also notes that a Declaration of Conformity may reference both texts if the machine meets both.

What counts is the date the machine is placed on the market (first made available in the EU), not the order date or the build date. A saw ordered in 2026 and delivered in February 2027 falls under the Regulation.

Regulation vs directive

A directive had to be transposed into national law in each member state. A regulation applies directly, with the same text in every member state. EU-OSHA summarizes the structure as unchanged: essential health and safety requirements, conformity assessment procedures and harmonized standards for the technical detail.

The annexes are renumbered. The essential health and safety requirements (EHSRs) moved from Annex I to Annex III. Annex I now holds the high-risk machinery list. Importers and distributors now have defined obligations of their own.

What changes in the requirements

Topic	What the Regulation requires	Where
Protection against corruption	Connecting another device, directly or remotely, must not create a hazardous situation. Safety-relevant hardware, software and data must be protected against accidental or intentional corruption. The machine must show which safety software is installed and record evidence of interventions.	Annex III, 1.1.9
Safety-related software and control systems	Control systems must withstand foreseeable malicious attempts by third parties, faults and foreseeable human error. Logs of interventions and safety software uploads are kept for five years.	Annex III, 1.2.1
Self-evolving behavior (AI)	Machinery with fully or partially self-evolving behavior must stay within its defined task and movement space. Data on safety-related decisions is kept for one year.	Annex III, 1.2.1; Annex I, Part A
Digital instructions	Instructions may be supplied in digital form, kept available online for at least 10 years. Paper instructions must be supplied free of charge within one month if the user asks at purchase.	Article 10(7)
Technical documentation	Kept for at least 10 years. Source code or programming logic may be requested by authorities where needed to check compliance.	Article 10(3)
Substantial modification	A physical or digital change, not foreseen by the manufacturer, that creates a new hazard or increases an existing risk. Whoever carries it out is treated as the manufacturer.	Article 3(16), Article 18

For a 5-axis CNC bridge saw, the practical impact is in three places: remote service connections (teleservice), the safety PLC and its software, and any retrofit done after delivery.

Annex I and stone bridge saws

Annex I lists machinery that needs third-party involvement. Part A requires a notified body. Part B allows self-assessment (module A) only if harmonized standards or common specifications are applied in full.

Part B, point 1, covers circular saws for working with wood and material with similar physical characteristics, or meat and material with similar physical characteristics. Stone is not mentioned anywhere in Annex I, and stone does not behave like wood or meat under a blade. On our reading, a CNC bridge saw for stone is not an Annex I machine. The manufacturer then uses internal production control (module A) under Article 25(4).

Two points of uncertainty remain:

• This is our reading of the text, not an official classification. The Commission can amend Annex I by delegated act. Check the current consolidated text before relying on it.
• Some safety components inside a saw are Annex I items in their own right, for example logic units for safety functions (Part B, point 17). Those are assessed by the component manufacturer. They do not make the saw itself an Annex I machine.

A bridge saw with a machine-learning safety function would fall under Part A.

Harmonized standards for bridge saws

The product standard for this machine type is EN 16564:2020, safety requirements for bridge type sawing and milling machines for natural stone, including NC and CNC versions. BSI lists it as current and prepared as a harmonized standard under the Machinery Directive. It covers bridge sawing machines, bridge sawing and milling machines and NC versions.

Presumption of conformity under the Regulation requires the standard to be cited in the Official Journal under the Regulation. We could not confirm whether EN 16564:2020 had been cited under 2023/1230 at the date of this guide. Ask your supplier which standards the Declaration of Conformity references and under which legal act. For the general machinery standards (EN ISO 12100, EN ISO 13849-1, EN 60204-1), see the compliance page.

EU Declaration of Conformity contents

Annex V, Part A sets out what the DoC must contain:

1. The machinery identification (product, type, model, batch or serial number), or the substantially modified machinery.
2. Name and address of the manufacturer and, where applicable, the authorized representative.
3. A statement that the declaration is issued under the manufacturer’s sole responsibility.
4. Identification of the machine allowing traceability (a color image may be included).
5. A statement that it conforms to the listed Union harmonization legislation.
6. References to harmonized standards or common specifications applied, with dates, or other technical specifications. Partial application must be stated.
7. Where applicable, the notified body’s name and number and the module used.
8. Where applicable, a statement that internal production control (module A) was used.
9. Place and date of issue, name, function and signature of the signatory.

Annex V also has an item for permanently installed lifting machinery, which does not apply to bridge saws.

What a buyer should ask the supplier for

• EU Declaration of Conformity for the specific serial number, naming Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 for machines placed on the market from 20 January 2027.
• Standards list with dates, including EN 16564 and the standards behind the safety functions.
• Risk assessment summary. The full risk assessment stays in the technical file (Annex IV, Part A), but the supplier can show the list of EHSRs applied, the protective measures and residual risks.
• Instructions language. Instructions in the language of the country of use. Ask for digital and paper versions.
• Remote access and cybersecurity. How teleservice connects, who can change software or parameters, and how interventions are logged.
• Safety software version and how updates are delivered and recorded.
• Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). Witness the machine cutting your material at the factory, check guards, interlocks and emergency stops, and review the technical documentation.
• Retrofit policy. Which later options (manipulator, electrospindle, tool changer) the manufacturer foresees. A foreseen option is not a substantial modification.

Used and imported machines

Machines already lawfully on the EU market keep their compliance unless substantially modified. Used machines imported from outside the EU are treated as placed on the market for the first time. The Blue Guide applies EU product rules to used products imported from a third country when they first enter the Union market. See new vs used bridge saws for the cost side of this.

United Kingdom and United States

United Kingdom. GOV.UK guidance states that CE marking continues to be recognized for placing products on the Great Britain market. It cites the Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations 2024, and the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 for machinery. CECE reports the recognition as indefinite for machinery. We could not confirm how GB will treat machines assessed only against Regulation 2023/1230 after January 2027. Confirm this with your supplier for GB deliveries.

United States. CE marking has no legal standing in the US. Machine electrical equipment is designed to NFPA 79, the electrical standard for industrial machinery. The control panel is typically built to UL 508A for industrial control panels rated 1,000 V or less, with a short-circuit current rating on the nameplate. The supply is usually 480 V / 60 Hz. Local inspectors may require a listed panel or a field evaluation. Specify the destination at configuration stage.

Next step

The documentation we supply with each machine is listed on the compliance page. Book a factory visit to witness a FAT and review the documentation before shipment.