In the civil engineering and building sector, structural safety is an absolute priority. When designing and installing support elements in bridges, viaducts, or large structures, two fundamental concepts arise repeatedly: the EN 1337 standard <\/b>for structural supports and CE marking. <\/p>\n
Although they are often mentioned together, many engineering and construction professionals wonder: what are the real differences between them? How do they complement each other in the manufacturing process? In this article, we answer all your questions about quality control for these critical components. <\/p>\n
The first pillar of quality is the EN 1337 standard for bearings<\/b>, specifically Part 3 (EN 1337-3), which strictly regulates elastomeric bearings. This European standard defines in detail the technical characteristics and physical properties that all raw materials used in manufacturing must meet. <\/p>\n Rubber and elastomers:<\/b> Establishes the thresholds of elasticity, resistance to aging, Shore hardness and behavior under extreme temperature variations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Steel plates:<\/b> Defines the steel grades and thickness tolerances that the internal metal plates that are vulcanized inside the elastomer must have.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n By using the appropriate materials according to these standards, the support implicitly meets the requirements of European regulations. However, the standard alone only defines the material theory; a further step is needed to ensure its validity in practice. <\/p>\n This is where the CE marking<\/a><\/b> (European Conformity) comes into play. In terms of materials, there is no physical difference between a support that simply meets the standard and one that bears the CE mark. The fundamental difference lies in the demonstration and verification<\/b>. <\/p>\n The CE marking is the system that officially certifies that these materials meet all the specified technical characteristics in practice. To obtain this mark, it is mandatory to carry out a series of physical and mechanical tests on the finished parts. <\/p>\n At Cacesa, we have our own laboratory<\/b> equipped with specialized machinery to perform the compression, shear, and quality control tests required for CE marking. Although clients or project management sometimes request that tests be sent to accredited external laboratories for greater impartiality, having in-house capacity significantly speeds up turnaround times. <\/p>\n Obtaining CE marking is not a one-time procedure. It is an ongoing commitment to quality that requires strict production control. <\/p>\n To maintain the European conformity mark for supports under the EN 1337 standard<\/b>, manufacturers must undergo an annual external audit<\/b>. During this process, an independent certification body reviews: <\/p>\n Manufacturing records: Complete traceability of every batch of rubber and steel used.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Test history: <\/b>Reports of mechanical tests performed in our laboratory to verify that the properties remain stable.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Internal processes: <\/b>The correct calibration of vulcanizing presses and measuring equipment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n In summary, while the EN 1337 standard<\/b> for bearings establishes the mandatory technical parameters for rubber and steel, the CE marking<\/b> is the physical and unequivocal proof that these standards have been met through actual testing and under the control of external audits. At Cacesa<\/a>, this double quality filter is what allows us to offer maximum peace of mind to the engineering firms that rely on our structural solutions for national and international projects. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EN 1337 Standard for Elastomeric Bearings and CE Marking In the civil engineering and building sector, structural safety is an absolute priority. When designing and installing support elements in bridges, viaducts, or large structures, two fundamental concepts arise repeatedly: the EN 1337 standard for structural supports and CE marking. Although they are often mentioned together, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elastomeric-supports-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cacesarubbers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Features regulated by the standard:<\/h3>\n
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2. The CE Marking: Certification through physical testing<\/h2>\n
Where are the control tests performed?<\/h3>\n
The role of annual external audits<\/h2>\n
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Conclusion: Guaranteed safety from theory to practice<\/h2>\n