In September, KAMAZ commissioned two automatic metal cutting lines at its forging plant. The next stage of modernization will be a forging line with a press force of up to 14,000 tf, commissioning of which is planned for 2027.

The new lines are built on the basis of F-200NC circular cutting machines and are designed for blanks up to 200 mm in diameter. They will be used to produce crankshaft and front axle beam forgings. The design capacity of the cutting lines within the project reaches 600 thousand blanks per year, with work organized in three shifts.

Automation affected not only the cutting itself. After separating the blank from the metal, a gantry manipulator picks it up from the unloading zone and stacks it layer by layer into containers according to a specified scheme. In the old equipment, blanks were simply dropped by a pusher after cutting, so the new system reduces the volume of manual operations in this area.

The new lines should provide the blank preparation stage for the future forging line, the basis of which will be a press with a force of up to 14,000 tf. The first equipment delivery to the enterprise is expected in autumn 2026, and commissioning and launch of the line are scheduled to begin in 2027.

The KAMAZ forging plant previously used P-150 circular cutting machines with a maximum cutting diameter of 150 mm. The new equipment increases the permissible blank diameter to 200 mm and combines cutting, unloading, and stacking into an automated process.