The Austrian Grass Group is a specialist in motion systems for the global furniture industry with more than 70 years of history. With seven production sites in Europe and the Americas, the company employs 1,890 people and is serviced by 14 sales offices worldwide. With the slogan “Moved by Grass”, the Grass Group focuses on developing innovative products and solutions. Its product line covers drawers, slides, hinges, flaps, interior accessories and opening systems, including handleless opening systems, to meet the diverse needs of the furniture industry.

New for old, more effective

SSN25-1UVCL-047C21 Grass is a world-renowned manufacturer of mobile systems, including retractable slides. To improve safety at its Salzburg plant, Grass needed to upgrade its entire steel molding press line to meet current safety standards. Because of the special importance of presses in safety specifications, Grass is always looking for a partner who can retrofit and upgrade existing equipment.

In Austria, Grass chose to work with safety automation specialist Piermagnetic to adapt the equipment to a high standard process. The solutions offered by Piermagnetic include the use of the small controller PNOZmulti 2 and the automation system PSS 4000, which are the main components in terms of safety. In addition, the safety sensor and control unit PITgatebox are supplemented to ensure the safety and control technology of the entire press line is up to the latest level.

Safety upgrades inside and outside the press

Grass is committed to improving the process stability of its steel molding press lines. To this end, Pilmagh has carried out a complete transformation of the reel and straightening machine, the copying machine and the automatic punching machine. During the transformation, a new switchgear and console were installed on the copying machine to improve operating efficiency. In terms of safety technology, the focus has been upgraded to the small controller PNOZmulti 2, which has a dedicated module for safety press control. At the same time, the automation system has been upgraded to a higher level, the PSS 4000, with the new drawstring switch and the safety switch PSENcode for accurate position monitoring.

SSN25-1UVCL-047C21

To protect the reel and straightener, a safety locking device, PSENmlock, is also installed. The device and the security door can be managed safely through the control unit PITgatebox. In addition, where additional accessibility safety features are required, the existing equipment is equipped with a safety light curtain PSENopt II to protect the operator’s fingers, palms and body. Through this series of modifications and upgrades, Grass’s press production line after the completion of the transformation, not only the process stability has been improved, but also the safety has reached a new standard, ensuring the efficient and safe operation of the production line.

SSN25-1UVCL-047C21 Solution advantage
• Increased production efficiency of the press line by reducing cycle time from 3.5 seconds to 3 seconds
Maximise safety with the most advanced safety and control technology according to EN ISO 13849-1
• One-stop transformation of all equipment parts on the press production line

“If a similar renovation is necessary, we know who to turn to based on our experience last time. Because it’s a textbook process: meeting deadlines, providing manufacturer-neutral advice, actual implementation, and the final conformity assessment process, everything is perfect.” Andreas Huber, Gras corporate maintenance manager, commented on the services provided by Pierre Magneto.