Festo has launched an electrically-operated pneumatic soft-start and exhaust valve. Known as the MS6-SV, the valve provides machine builders with a compact, all-in-one solution for maximising the safety of automation systems. It is fully compliant with the new EN ISO 13849-1 standard on machinery safety and is certified to categories 3 & 4. EN ISO 13849-1 replaces the existing EN 954-1 safety standard on 30 November 2009, and forms part of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC which becomes mandatory at the end of 2009. The valve helps designers and machine builders address some of the key issues in the directive, including mean time to (dangerous) failure, self-diagnostics, common cause failure protection, and external validation and certification. The MS6-SV valve provides a 3/2-way function and an exhaust flow rate of 6000 litres per minute, which is 1.5 times its standard maximum operational flow rate – making it suitable for implementing “emergency stop” functions in safety-critical system areas. All MS6-SV valves feature an integral LED status display for local condition monitoring, diagnostics and troubleshooting.