The new press is the second large-scale forging press supplied to the company by SMS group, following the 80-MN press commissioned in 2006.
At Nakamura’s Komaki plant, non-ferrous alloys such as nickel, copper, aluminum, and titanium, as well as tool steels, stainless steels, and various high-alloy materials are forged. The facility, which is among the industry’s leading producers in processing these temperature-sensitive, high-quality materials, aims to further increase capacity and production efficiency with the new 12.5-MN press.
With a stroke rate of up to 205 strokes per minute, the ultra-high-speed press enables faster and more cost-efficient forming of demanding materials such as Inconel, titanium, and copper. By reducing the need for repeated reheating, the new technology improves productivity while lowering overall production costs.
The press is equipped with SMS group’s compact hydraulic drive system, which offers significant energy savings compared with conventional hydraulic drives while reducing the required installation space by around 50%. In addition, the integrated SMS ForgeBase technology allows operators to predefine material-specific forging strategies and automatically calculate pass schedules, based on a database containing parameters for more than 200 materials. The system enables seamless switching between fully automatic, semi-automatic, and manual operation, providing flexible production control and consistent product quality.
The digital package supplied by SMS group is designed to enhance plant performance and reduce maintenance costs. Offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS), the package includes SMS-Metrics for process data recording and Smart Alarm for rapid fault detection. This increases process transparency and supports a proactive maintenance approach.
Commenting on the project, Alexander Schander, Sales Manager Forging Presses at SMS group, said: “The combination of high-speed mechanical performance, compact and energy-efficient drive systems, and digital tools enables Nakamura to produce temperature-sensitive forgings with higher efficiency.”
The signing of the FAC confirms that all technical requirements of the project have been successfully met and that the press has reached its targeted operational performance, while also demonstrating SMS group’s commitment to delivering innovative and customized solutions to the forging and steel industries.
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