Introduction to the Deda Carrying Saddle CNC Automated Processing Line Project

    Bearing saddles are key components of railway freight cars, and their production has always been subject to strict licensing management and full-process supervision by the Ministry of Railways. The production of this product must first be approved by China Railway Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "CR") and pass CRCC certification. Afterward, the design department will transfer the technology, and it must be filed with the National Railway Administration before production can begin.
    After Deda Company submitted its application to CR in 2020, CR organized expert groups to evaluate the company three times. The expert group recognized that Deda Casting Company meets the technical management, quality control, and production equipment requirements for manufacturing bearing saddles. In August 2021, CR agreed to sign a technology transfer contract, making Deda Company the first private enterprise to successfully obtain a technology transfer and CRCC certification after the Ministry of Railways' functions were transferred to China Railway Corporation in 2013.
    Currently, most CRCC-certified bearing saddle manufacturers are concentrated in the main locomotive production units within the CRRC system, and they mainly use conventional machine tools for processing, lacking automated and digitalized production conditions. CR’s annual production of railway freight cars is approximately 40,000 units, requiring 320,000 bearing saddles. There are about 930,000 active freight cars in use, and the annual demand for repair and maintenance is about 400,000 units, with a total demand for bearing saddles exceeding 720,000 units.

    To meet the development demands of heavy-load, fast-paced freight car manufacturing and expand into international markets, our company has introduced digital technology into the production of bearing saddles. We have now achieved an annual production of 100,000 bearing saddles and successfully established the country's first automated freight car parts production line. This production line consists of 8 CNC machining centers with IoT systems, six-station CNC loading equipment, workpiece testing devices, an automated logistics handling production line, four CNC robotic arms, and workpiece fixtures.
    The CNC machining centers and workpiece transfer robotic arms used in this project all employ high-end CNC systems. The project integrates leading domestic intelligent manufacturing technologies, combining industrial robotics, intelligent manufacturing, IoT technology, and other advanced manufacturing core technologies. It focuses on core locomotive components, creating an intelligent and industrialized processing and production unit. This first automated production line enables a light-free factory, with online testing, data integration, and full lifecycle traceability of products.