System safety for compressed air operation

Dienstag 29 Mai 2007

Safety first!

Sudden loss of pressure, system standstill, collision – safety functions must take effect immediately. Accidents and additional costs which result from production stoppages must be prevented. Festo’s MS6-SV soft-start/exhaust valve is just one example of integrated safety functions within the system.

More and more importance is being placed upon integrated safety standards by the end users, and the manufacturers are obliged to fulfil this requirement. For Festo, this means “risk minimisation and preventive thinking”. Not only for manual parts feeding, but for setup, service, maintenance and restart as well. Emergency functions such as positive retention and safe exhaust must be assured. Safety functions are extended over the entire control sequence – from compressed air preparation to drives and valves, right on up to controllers.

Guaranteed fast and safe
Where process safety is concerned, the MS series features the MS6-SV soft-start/exhaust valve. In the event of sudden emergency stops in safety-critical systems, it reliably stops compressed air supply by means of venting, thus assuring safety for the operator and the machine. The exhaust flow rate is 6000 litres per minute – 1½ times faster than air supply.

Thanks to the valve’s redundant 2-channel design, single fault security is achieved: Even if an error occurs at the valve, venting of the system is still assured. The use of the valve, which is certified in accordance with DIN EN 954-1, category 3, and the new DIN EN IS0 13849-1 standard, provides the equipment manufacturer as well as the end user with the highest possible levels of safety. An additional advantage: Its compact dimensions make the MS6-SV extremely flexible where installation is concerned – either as part of the modular system for MS service units, or as a stand-alone.

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