EN 263:2008

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2009
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SIST EN 263:2002
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Sanitary appliances - Crosslinked cast acrylic sheets for baths and shower trays for
domestic purposes
Sanitärausstattungsgegenstände - Vernetzte gegossene Acrylplatten für Badewannen
und Duschwannen für den Hausgebrauch
Appareils sanitaires - Feuilles d'acrylique réticulées coulées pour baignoires et receveurs
de douche a usage domestique
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 263:2008
ICS:
83.140.10 Filmi in folije Films and sheets
91.140.70 Sanitarne naprave Sanitary installations
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN 263
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
February 2008
ICS 83.140.10; 91.140.70 Supersedes EN 263:2002
English Version
Sanitary appliances - Crosslinked cast acrylic sheets for baths
and shower trays for domestic purposes
Appareils sanitaires - Feuilles d'acrylique réticulées coulées Sanitärausstattungsgegenstände - Vernetzte gegossene
pour baignoires et receveurs de douche à usage Acrylplatten für Badewannen und Duschwannen für den
domestique Hausgebrauch
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 12 January 2008.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the CEN Management Centre or to any CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN Management Centre has the same status as the
official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36  B-1050 Brussels
© 2008 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 263:2008: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword.3
1 Scope.4
2 Normative references.4
3 Requirements.4
3.1 General requirements.4
3.2 Thickness.4
3.3 Heavy metal content.5
3.4 Colour.5
3.5 Thermal stability.5
3.6 Colour fastness.5
3.6.1 Resistance to UV light.5
3.6.2 Resistance to hot water .5
3.7 Resistance to chemicals and stains .5
3.8 Resistance to wet and dry cycling.5
4 Test methods.5
4.1 Determination of tensile strength .5
4.2 Determination of thermal stability.6
4.3 Determination of colour fastness to hot water.6
4.4 Determination of resistance to chemicals and stains.6
4.4.1 Reagents.6
4.4.2 Apparatus.6
4.4.3 Procedure.7
4.4.4 Results.8
4.5 Determination of resistance to wet and dry cycling .8
4.5.1 Test specimens.8
4.5.2 Procedure.8
4.5.3 Results.8
4.6 Verification of crosslinking.8
4.7 Determination of water absorption .8
4.7.1 Principle.8
4.7.2 Apparatus.9
4.7.3 Test specimens.9
4.7.4 General conditions.9
4.7.5 Procedure.9
4.7.6 Expression of results.9

Foreword
This document (EN 263:2008) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 163 “Sanitary
appliances”, the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by August 2008, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at
the latest by August 2008.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 263:2002.
The performance criteria for baths and shower trays for domestic purposes made from crosslinked cast acrylic
sheets are divided into two European Standards as follows:
prEN 198 Sanitary appliances - Baths made from crosslinked cast acrylic sheets - Requirements and test
methods.
prEN 249 Sanitary appliances - Shower trays made from crosslinked cast acrylic sheets - Requirements and
test methods.
This revised version of EN 263 includes the following amendments, compared to the version of 2002:
 Deletion of reference to ISO 62 standard for water absorption test and replacement with the description of
the test itself.
 Modification of eosine concentration in resistance to chemical and stains test.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

1 Scope
This European Standard specifies requirements and test methods for cross-linked cast acrylic sheets (called
acrylic sheets hereafter) from which baths and shower trays for domestic purposes are manufactured.
NOTE For the purposes of this standard, the term "domestic purposes" includes use in hotels, accommodation for
students, hospitals and similar buildings, except when special medical provisions are required.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 20105-A02, Textiles - Tests for colour fastness - Part A02: Grey scale for assessing change in colour (ISO
105-A02:1993)
EN ISO 306, Plastics - Thermoplastic materials - Determination of Vicat softening temperature (VST) (ISO
306:2004)
EN ISO 527-2, Plastics - Determination of tensile properties - Part 2: Test conditions for moulding and
extrusion plastics (ISO 527-2:1993 including Corr 1:1994)
EN ISO 4892-2, Plastics - Methods of exposure to laboratory light sources - Part 2: Xenon-arc lamps (ISO
4892-2:2006)
3 Requirements
3.1 General requirements
The acrylic sheet shall comply with the requirements given in Table 1.
Table 1 - General requirements
Property Test method Requirement
Vicat softening point 1)
≥ 105°C
EN ISO 306
Water absorption 4.7 of this standard ≤ 40 mg
Tensile strength EN ISO 527-2 and 4.1 of this ≥ 60 MPa
standard
Cross-linking 4.6 of this standard no sign of dissolving or sticking
1) Method B 50, temperature raised at a rate of (50 ± 5)°C/h.

3.2 Thickness
The thickness of the acrylic sheet shall be not less than 2,7 mm. The maximum tolerance on thickness ∆h
shall be ± (0,4 + 0,1h), h being the nominal sheet thickness in mm.
3.3 Heavy metal content
Heavy metal contents of crosslinked cast acrylic sheets for baths and shower trays should be lower than those
defined in the European Directive 91/338/EEC.
3.4 Colour
The acrylic sheets shall be transparent or coloured. In the case of coloured sheet, the colourant shall be
incorporated during the manufacture of the sheet and the colour shall be throughout the thickness of the
material.
3.5 Thermal stability
When tested by the method given in 4.2, the acrylic sheet shall show no evidence of blistering.
3.6 Colour fastness
3.6.1 Resistance to UV light
When tested according to EN ISO 4892-2 with an irradiance of 0,5 GJ/m in the wavelength range of 290 nm
to 800 nm, the colour change noted in the acrylic sheet shall be recorded in terms of the grey scale for
assessing colour change specified in EN 20105-A02. The fastness rating shall be not less than grade 3.
3.6.2 Resistance to hot water
When tested in accordance with 4.3, the colour change noted in the acrylic sheet shall be recorded in terms of
the grey scale for assessing colour change specified in EN 20105-A02. The fastness rating shall be not less
than grade 3.
3.7 Resistance to chemicals and stains
When tested in accordance with 4.4, the acrylic sheet shall show no permanent staining or deterioration.
3.8 Resistance to wet and dry cycling
When tested in accordance with 4.5, the acrylic sheet shall not show any adverse changes in appearance
such as blisters, crazes, cracks and discoloration.
4 Test methods
4.1 Determination of tensile strength
The test specimen shall be of type 1B according to EN ISO 527-2. The thickness of the test specimen shall be
that of the sheet from which it is cut.
The test shall be carried out at a temperature of (23 ± 2)°C and the test specimens shall be conditioned to this
temperature for at least two days before testing.
The speed of testing shall be (5 ± 1) mm/min.
The mean of five determinations shall be recorded as the tensile strength of the material but if a test specimen
breaks in the grips the result shall be disregarded and a further determination made. The tensile strength shall
be calculated by dividing the breaking load by the cross-sectional area of the specimen before testing.
4.2 Determination of thermal stability
Hang two sheets 300 mm square, taken from the acrylic sheet, in a circulating oven at (200 ± 5)°C for 20 min
when this nominal temperature is reached. Remove the sheets from the oven, allow them to cool to room
temperature while hanging vertically and visually examine them for the presence of bl
...