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Seven major tiers of CNC machine tools: which tier are you using?

2024-11-26

Machining centers are common CNC machine tools, with numerous brands and significant price differences. What accounts for these differences? Let's discuss. Please forgive my limited knowledge, and understand that this is purely my personal opinion; differing views are welcome.

The world's first machining center was developed in 1958 by the American company Kearney & Trecker. It added an automatic tool changer to a CNC horizontal boring and milling machine. The Beijing Machine Tool Research Institute developed China's first horizontal machining center, the JCS-013, in 1975, and China's first vertical machining center, the JCS-018, in 1978. There is also a claim that the JCS-013 was actually manufactured by the Beijing Second Machine Tool Factory. At that time, China lagged behind the world's technology by 17 years.

Domestic and international typical vertical machining center manufacturers are divided into seven categories. Taking the most conventional manufacturer's standard configuration three-axis 850 vertical machining center as an example (only for the main models, the configuration of each manufacturer will be different), let's discuss the characteristics of these seven types of products. Through ranking and comparison, a correct analysis of the position of domestic machine tools is made.

The first tier includes brands such as Mikron, Charmilles, Starrag, Liebherr, Willemin-Macodel from Switzerland, and Hermle, Omet, and Grob from Germany. These are considered top-tier players in the machining center field, with prices exceeding 1.5 million (currency unspecified).

From appearance and internal workings to design, innovation, processing capabilities, and precision, they are virtually flawless. Meticulously crafted, these machines boast extremely high machining accuracy but low production volume. Due to their exceptionally high Price and operating costs, they are typically purchased only when absolutely necessary.

Second Tier - Established Experts

The second tier includes well-known brands such as DMG, Spinner, and Stama from Germany; Mori Seiki, Okuma, Mazak, Makino, and Toyota Machine Works from Japan; MAG and Hardinge from the United States; and Fiam and Danobat from Italy and Spain, respectively. These are mainstay machine tools for leading global machinery manufacturers, with prices ranging from 800,000 to 1.5 million (currency unspecified).

These brands consistently rank among the top sellers of machine tools globally. They generally engage in small-to-medium batch production with effective control and high-quality products used for high-profit manufacturing. The Price is relatively more accessible compared to the first tier.

Third Tier - Strong Contenders

This tier includes Brands such as the Sino-Japanese joint ventures Beifang Okuma and Giant Mazak; Hardinge and Haas from the United States; Doosan, Hyundai, and Samsung from South Korea; and Yeong Chin, Tong Tai, Tainan, Fair Friend, and Apex from Taiwan. These are the leading machine tool Brands for leading domestic machinery manufacturers, with Prices between 450,000 and 800,000 (currency unspecified).

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