WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
85.15 Electric (including electrically heated gas), laser or other light or photon beam, ultrasonic, electron beam, magnetic ulse or plasma arc soldering, b r d n g or welding machines and apparatus, w ether or not capable of cutting; electric machines and apparatus for hot spraying of metals or cermets. E - Brazing or soldering machines and apparatus : 85 15.1 1 8515.19 8515.2 1 8515.29 - - Soldering irons and guns - - Other - Machines and apparatus for resistance welding of metal : - - Fully or partly automatic - - Other - Machines and apparatus for arc (including plasma arc) welding of metals : 8515.3 1 8515.39 8515.80 8515.90 - - Fully or partly automatic - - Other - Other machines and apparatus - Parts (I) SOLDERING, BRAZING OR WELDING MACHINES AND APPARATUS oup covers certain soldering, brazing or welding machines and apparatus, whether This e or fixed. They are also classified here when they are capable of cutting. portab ??= Welding operations may be performed manually or be fully or partly automatic. These include : (A) Brazing or soldering machines and apparatus. The heat is normally generated by induction or conduction using electrical power sources. Brazing and soldering are operations in which metal parts are joined b means of a filler metal with a lower melting oint that wets the parent metal(s). T e parent metal(s) does do) not participate by ksion in making the joint. The filler metal is usually distri uted between the surfaces of the joint by capillary attraction. Brazing can be distinguished from soldering by the meltmg point temperature of filler metals used. In brazing it is generally above 450 OC,whereas in soldering the melting point is achieved at a lower temperature. b K Only machines and apparatus which, by Teason of their special equipment (for example, a system for feeding in solder wire), are xdentifiable as solely or principally intended for brazing or soldering belong to this ~ o u p Other . appliances are to be considered as fiunaces, ovens or heating equipment wlthin the meaning of heading 85.14. This heading also covers electrically heated hand soldering irons and guns. (B) Machines and apparatus for resistance welding of metal. The heat required for forming welded joints is produced b the resistance to the flow of an electric current through the parts to be joined (Joule hea8. Durjng welding the parts are held together under pressure and fluxes or filler metals are not used. These machines are of many kinds v ng according to the t e of article to be welded. They include, for example, butt we1 mng or flash butt we1 ng machines; single-spot welding machines comprising guns with or without built-in power sources; multispot machines and associated equipment; projection welding machines; seam welding machines; high-frequency resistance weldmg apparatus. YT (C) Machines and apparatus for arc or plasma arc welding of metals, whether or not capable of cutting. (1) Arc welding. The source of heat is an electric arc struck either between two electrodes or between one such electrode and the work piece. There are many machines of this kind, e.g., for manual metal arc welding with coated electrodes; for gas-shielded arc welding; for welding or cutting with consumable or non-consumable electrodes or with covered arc (inert-gas metal arc welding (MIGMetal Inert Gas); active- as metal arc welding (MAG- Metal Active Gas); inert-gas tungsten arc welding ( IG-Tungsten Inert Gas); submerged arc welding (SA), electro-slag or electro-gas welding, etc.). f (2) Plasma arc welding. The source of heat is a constricted arc which, by ionisation and dissociation, converts auxiliary gas into a lasrna jet). The gas may be inert (argon, helium), polyatomic (nitrogen, or a rmxture of the two. (D) Machines and apparatus for induction welding of metals. The heat is produced by passing a cutrent through one or more inductor coils. (E) Machines and apparatus for electron beam welding, whether or not capable of cutting. The heat is produced in the piece(s) to be welded or cut by impact of the electrons of a focussed electron beam generated in vacuum. (F) Machines and apparatus for vacuum diffusion welding. The heat is generally produced by induction but may be produced by electron beam or resistance. The apparatus consists essentially of a vacuum chamber, vacuum pump, means of exerting pressure and heating equipment. (G) Machines and apparatus for photon beam welding, whether or not capable of cutting. Photon beam welding may be divided into : (1) Laser beam welding. The heat is derived from a source of essentially coherent, monochromatic radiation, which can be focussed into a high-intensity beam. It is produced by the impact of this beam on the piece to be welded. (2) Light beam welding. The heat is produced by impact of a non-coherent focussed light beam. (H) Machines and apparatus for welding thermoplastic materials. (1) Welding with electrically heated gas (hot gas welding). The surfaces to be joined are warmed by electrically heated gas (generally air) and joined under pressure with or without addtives. (2) Welding with electrically heated elements (heating element welding). The surfaces to be joined are warmed by means of electrically heated elements and joined under pressure with or without addtives. (3) High-frequency welding. Additives may be used. (IT) Machines and apparatus for ultrasonic welding. The parts to be 'oined are held together and sub'ected to ultrasonic vibrations. This process makes it possi le to join metals or alloys w ich do not res ond to ordinary welding techniques, and to weld metallic foils, parts of two or more ~fferentmetals, or plastic films. h a? Electric solder in^, welding or brazing machines are usually fed with low-voltage DC from a DC generator, or with low-voltage AC from a step-down transformer. The transformer, etc., is usually inco orated in the machine, but in some cases (e-g., in certain mobile machines), the weldin hea or is connected to the transformer, etc., by electric cable. Even in the atter case the the whole ap aratus provided the transformer, etc., is presented with its head or we ding appliance; presented se aratel transformer or generator is classified in its own appropriate heading (heading 85.0$or 8 5 . t h Y f 4 f This heading alsa covers industrial robots specially designed for welding purposes. The heading also excludes : (a) Packaging machines fitted with electric welding appliances (heading 84.22). @) Fusing presses (heading 84.51). (c) Machines designed exclusively for cutting (generally heading 84.56). (d) Friction welding machines (heading 84.68). (e) Soldering, brazing or weldin machines and apparatus of a kind solely or principally used for the assembly of semiconductors &eading 84.86). (11) ELECTlUC MACHINES AND APPARATUS FOR HOT SPRAYING OF METALS OR CERMETS These are electric arc apparatus which melt down metals or cermets and at the same time spray them by means of compressed air. The heading does not cover separately presented metal spraying pistols of heading 84.24. PARTS I Sub'ect to the general provisions regarding the classification of parts see the General Exp anatory Note to Section XVI),parts of the goods of this heading are also c assified here. These include, inter alia, soldering heads and tongs, electrode holders and metal contact electrodes (for example, contact pomnts, rollers and jaws) as well as torch points and sets of nozzles for atomic hydrogen hand welding equipment. The following, however, are excluded fkom this heading : (a) Consumable electrodes made of base metal or metal carbides (classified according to constituent material or in heading 83.11, as the case may be). (b) Electrodes of graphite or other carbon, with or without metal (heading 85.45).
Notes. 1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Electrically warmed blankets, bed pads, foot-muffs or the like; electrically warmed clothing, footwear or ear pads or other electrically warmed articles worn on or about the person; (b) Articles of glass of heading 70.11; (c) Machines and apparatus of heading 84.86; (d) Vacuum apparatus of a kind used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences (heading 90.18); or (e) Electrically heated furniture of Chapter 94. 2.- Headings 85.01 to 85.04 do not apply to goods described in heading 85.11, 85.12, 85.40, 85.41 or 85.42. However, metal tank mercury arc rectifiers remain classified in heading 85.04. 3.- For the purposes of heading 85.07, the expression “electric accumulators” includes those presented with ancillary components which contribute to the accumulator’s function of storing and supplying energy or protect it from damage, such as electrical connectors, temperature control devices (for example, thermistors) and circuit protection devices. They may also include a portion of the protective housing of the goods in which they are to be used. 4.- Heading 85.09 covers only the following electro-mechanical machines of the kind commonly used for domestic purposes : (a) Floor polishers, food grinders and mixers, and fruit or vegetable juice extractors, of any weight; (b) Other machines provided the weight of such machines does not exceed 20 kg. The heading does not, however, apply to fans or ventilating or recycling hoods incorporating a fan, whether or not fitted with filters (heading 84.14), centrifugal clothes-dryers (heading 84.21), dish washing machines (heading 84.22), household washing machines (heading 84.50), roller or other ironing machines (heading 84.20 or 84.51), sewing machines (heading 84.52), electric scissors (heading 84.67) or to electro-thermic appliances (heading 85.16). 5.- For the purposes of heading 85.17, the term "smartphones” means telephones for cellular networks, equipped with a mobile operating system designed to perform the functions of an automatic data processing machine such as downloading and running multiple applications simultaneously, including third-party applications, and whether or not integrating other features such as digital cameras and navigational aid systems. 6.- For the purposes of heading 85.23 : (a) “Solid-state non-volatile storage devices” (for example, “flash memory cards” or “flash electronic storage cards”) are storage devices with a connecting socket, comprising in the same housing one or more flash memories (for example, “FLASH E2PROM”) in the form of integrated circuits mounted on a printed circuit board. They may include a controller in the form of an integrated circuit and discrete passive components, such as capacitors and resistors; (b) The term “smart cards” means cards which have embedded in them one or more electronic integrated circuits (a microprocessor, random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)) in the form of chips. These cards may contain contacts, a magnetic stripe or an embedded antenna but do not contain any other active or passive circuit elements. 7.- For the purposes of heading 85.24, “flat panel display modules” refer to devices or apparatus for the display of information, equipped at a minimum with a display screen, which are designed to be incorporated into articles of other headings prior to use. Display screens for flat panel display modules include, but are not limited to, those which are flat, curved, flexible, foldable or stretchable in form. Flat panel display modules may incorporate additional elements, including those necessary for receiving video signals and the allocation of those signals to pixels on the display. However, heading 85.24 does not include display modules which are equipped with components for converting video signals (e.g., a scaler IC, decoder IC or application processer) or have otherwise assumed the character of goods of other headings. For the classification of flat panel display modules defined in this Note, heading 85.24 shall take precedence over any other heading in the Nomenclature. 8.- For the purposes of heading 85.34 “printed circuits” are circuits obtained by forming on an insulating base, by any printing process (for example, embossing, plating-up, etching) or by the “film circuit” technique, conductor elements, contacts or other printed components (for example, inductances, resistors, capacitors) alone or interconnected according to a pre-established pattern, other than elements which can produce, rectify, modulate or amplify an electrical signal (for example, semiconductor elements). The expression “printed circuits” does not cover circuits combined with elements other than those obtained during the printing process, nor does it cover individual, discrete resistors, capacitors or inductances. Printed circuits may, however, be fitted with non-printed connecting elements. Thin- or thick-film circuits comprising passive and active elements obtained during the same technological process are to be classified in heading 85.42. 9.- For the purpose of heading 85.36, “connectors for optical fibres, optical fibre bundles or cables” means connectors that simply mechanically align optical fibres end to end in a digital line system. They perform no other function, such as the amplification, regeneration or modification of a signal. 10.-Heading 85.37 does not include cordless infrared devices for the remote control of television receivers or other electrical equipment (heading 85.43). 11.-For the purposes of heading 85.39, the expression “light-emitting diode (LED) light sources” covers : (a) “Light-emitting diode (LED) modules” which are electrical light sources based on light-emitting diodes (LED) arranged in electrical circuits and containing further elements like electrical, mechanical, thermal or optical elements. They also contain discrete active elements, discrete passive elements, or articles of heading 85.36 or 85.42 for the purposes of providing power supply or power control. Light-emitting diode (LED) modules do not have a cap designed to allow easy installation or replacement in a luminaire and ensure mechanical and electrical contact. (b) “Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps” which are electrical light sources containing one or more LED modules containing further elements like electrical, mechanical, thermal or optical elements. The distinction between light-emitting diode (LED) modules and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps is that lamps have a cap designed to allow easy installation or replacement in a luminaire and ensure mechanical and electrical contact. 12.-For the purposes of headings 85.41 and 85.42 : (a) (i) “Semiconductor devices” are semiconductor devices the operation of which depends on variations in resistivity on the application of an electric field or semiconductor-based transducers. Semiconductor devices may also include assembly of plural elements, whether or not equipped with active and passive device ancillary functions. “Semiconductor-based transducers” are, for the purposes of this definition, semiconductor- based sensors, semiconductor-based actuators, semiconductor-based resonators and semiconductor-based oscillators, which are types of discrete semiconductor-based devices, which perform an intrinsic function, which are able to convert any kind of physical or chemical phenomena or an action into an electrical signal or an electrical signal into any type of physical phenomenon or an action. All the elements in semiconductor-based transducers are indivisibly combined, and may also include necessary materials indivisibly attached, that enable their construction or function. The following expressions mean : (1) “Semiconductor-based” means built or manufactured on a semiconductor substrate or made of semiconductor materials, manufactured by semiconductor technology, in which the semiconductor substrate or material plays a critical and unreplaceable role of transducer function and performance, and the operation of which is based on semiconductor properties including physical, electrical, chemical and optical properties. (2) “Physical or chemical phenomena” relate to phenomena, such as pressure, acoustic waves, acceleration, vibration, movement, orientation, strain, magnetic field strength, electric field strength, light, radioactivity, humidity, flow, chemicals concentration, etc. (3) “Semiconductor-based sensor” is a type of semiconductor device, which consists of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of detecting physical or chemical quantities and converting these into electric signals caused by resulting variations in electric properties or displacement of a mechanical structure. (4) “Semiconductor-based actuator” is a type of semiconductor device, which consists of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of converting electric signals into physical movement. (5) “Semiconductor-based resonator” is a type of semiconductor device, which consists of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of generating a mechanical or electrical oscillation of a predefined frequency that depends on the physical geometry of these structures in response to an external input. (6) “Semiconductor-based oscillator” is a type of semiconductor device, which consists of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of generating a mechanical or electrical oscillation of a predefined frequency that depends on the physical geometry of these structures. (ii) “Light-emitting diodes (LED)” are semiconductor devices based on semiconductor materials which convert electrical energy into visible, infra-red or ultra-violet rays, whether or not electrically connected among each other and whether or not combined with protective diodes. Light-emitting diodes (LED) of heading 85.41 do not incorporate elements for the purposes of providing power supply or power control; (b) “Electronic integrated circuits” are : (i) Monolithic integrated circuits in which the circuit elements (diodes, transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductances, etc.) are created in the mass (essentially) and on the surface of a semiconductor or compound semiconductor material (for example, doped silicon, gallium arsenide, silicon germanium, indium phosphide) and are inseparably associated; (ii) Hybrid integrated circuits in which passive elements (resistors, capacitors, inductances, etc.), obtained by thin- or thick-film technology, and active elements (diodes, transistors, monolithic integrated circuits, etc.), obtained by semiconductor technology, are combined to all intents and purposes indivisibly, by interconnections or interconnecting cables, on a single insulating substrate (glass, ceramic, etc.). These circuits may also include discrete components; (iii) Multichip integrated circuits consisting of two or more interconnected monolithic integrated circuits combined to all intents and purposes indivisibly, whether or not on one or more insulating substrates, with or without leadframes, but with no other active or passive circuit elements. (iv) Multi-component integrated circuits (MCOs) : a combination of one or more monolithic, hybrid, or multi-chip integrated circuits with at least one of the following components : silicon-based sensors, actuators, oscillators, resonators or combinations thereof, or components performing the functions of articles classifiable under heading 85.32, 85.33, 85.41, or inductors classifiable under heading 85.04, formed to all intents and purposes indivisibly into a single body like an integrated circuit, as a component of a kind used for assembly onto a printed circuit board (PCB) or other carrier, through the connecting of pins, leads, balls, lands, bumps, or pads. For the purpose of this definition : 1. “Components” may be discrete, manufactured independently then assembled onto the rest of the MCO, or integrated into other components. 2. “Silicon based” means built on a silicon substrate, or made of silicon materials, or manufactured onto integrated circuit die. 3. (a) “Silicon-based sensors” consist of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of detecting physical or chemical phenomena and transducing these into electric signals, caused by resulting variations in electric properties or displacement of a mechanical structure. “Physical or chemical phenomena” relates to phenomena, such as pressure, acoustic waves, acceleration, vibration, movement, orientation, strain, magnetic field strength, electric field strength, light, radioactivity, humidity, flow, chemicals concentration, etc. (b) “Silicon based actuators” consist of microelectronic and mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of converting electrical signals into physical movement. (c) “Silicon based resonators” are components that consist of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and have the function of generating a mechanical or electrical oscillation of a predefined frequency that depends on the physical geometry of these structures in response to an external input. (d) “Silicon based oscillators” are active components that consist of microelectronic or mechanical structures that are created in the mass or on the surface of a semiconductor and that have the function of generating a mechanical or electrical oscillation of a predefined frequency that depends on the physical geometry of these structures. For the classification of the articles defined in this Note, headings 85.41 and 85.42 shall take precedence over any other heading in the Nomenclature, except in the case of heading 85.23, which might cover them by reference to, in particular, their function. Subheading Notes. 1.- Subheading 8525.81 covers only high-speed television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders having one or more of the following characteristics : - writing speed exceeding 0.5 mm per microsecond; - time resolution 50 nanoseconds or less; - frame rate exceeding 225,000 frames per second. 2.- In respect of subheading 8525.82, radiation-hardened or radiation-tolerant television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders are designed or shielded to enable operation in a high-radiation environment. These cameras are designed to withstand a total radiation dose of at least 50 × 103 Gy(silicon) (5 × 106 RAD (silicon)), without operational degradation. 3.- Subheading 8525.83 covers night vision television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders which use a photocathode to convert available light to electrons, which can be amplified and converted to yield a visible image. This subheading excludes thermal imaging cameras (generally subheading 8525.89). 4.- Subheading 8527.12 covers only cassette-players with built-in amplifier, without built-in loudspeaker, capable of operating without an external source of electric power and the dimensions of which do not exceed 170 mm x 100 mm x 45 mm. 5.- For the purposes of subheadings 8549.11 to 8549.19, “spent primary cells, spent primary batteries and spent electric accumulators” are those which are neither usable as such because of breakage, cutting- up, wear or other reasons, nor capable of being recharged.