China's machine tool industry has achieved remarkable accomplishments over the past 40 years
Published Time:
2020-03-17
“The Eighteen Arhats” was a figurative term used in the 1950s and 60s to describe the leading enterprises in China's machine tool industry. Their past glory evokes fond memories of the companies and individuals who made outstanding contributions to the industry during that era. More than half a century has passed, and today, China's machine tool industry, like other fields, has undergone earth-shattering changes and achieved remarkable accomplishments. Especially since the reform and opening up, and in the past ten years or so, as the ‘mother machine’ industry of manufacturing, the machine tool industry has seen a large number of enterprises grow rapidly, with industry leaders such as Shenyang Machine Tool Group, Dalian Machine Tool, Qiqihar Second Machine Tool Plant, and Shanghai Machine Tool Works achieving numerous successes.
“Eighteen Arhats” was a figurative term used in the 1950s and 60s to describe the leading companies in China's machine tool industry. Their past glories evoke fond memories of the companies and individuals who made outstanding contributions to China's machine tool industry during that era. More than half a century has passed, and today, China's machine tool industry, like other fields, has undergone earth-shattering changes and achieved remarkable accomplishments. Especially since the reform and opening up and in recent decades, as the "mother machine industry" of manufacturing, a large number of machine tool companies have experienced rapid growth. Industry leaders such as Shenyang Machine Tool Group, Dalian Machine Tool, Qiqihar Second Machine Tool, and Shanghai Machine Tool have achieved remarkable results, gaining widespread market share and reputation both domestically and internationally, particularly in the area of heavy and large-scale CNC machine tools. Numerous examples abound.
R&D of high-end machine tools urgently needed by emerging industries
Taking three products that won the 2010 "First Prize of China Mechanical Industry Science and Technology" as examples, in the past few years, China's machine tool industry has diligently improved its skills, actively tackling key technological problems and achieving significant breakthroughs in major equipment urgently needed by industries such as automobiles, aerospace, and new energy.
For example, the Shanghai Machine Tool Works Co., Ltd.'s project, "Key Technologies and Equipment Development for High-end CNC Grinding Machines for the Steel and Automotive Industries," was developed by Shanghai Machine Tool Company to meet the needs of the steel industry, creating a series of heavy-duty CNC roll grinders suitable for manufacturing large-size steel plates. Among them, the largest domestically produced ultra-heavy CNC roll grinder capable of grinding 250-ton workpieces was included in the national major scientific and technological project "High-end CNC Machine Tools and Basic Manufacturing Equipment." This project was successfully accepted by the expert panel not long ago.
Seven innovative achievements were made during the R&D process of this project: ultra-heavy roll top grinding technology; high-performance headstock and tailstock structure design; online precision measurement of large rolls; heavy-load bearing large-scale refinement technology; sand wheel frame structure design of heavy-duty roll grinders; research and development of micro-feed system for CNC roll grinders; and development of roll grinding control software and NC process implementation. The project has applied for and been granted 8 national invention patents and 6 utility model patents.
This project also became a "goose that lays golden eggs." During the R&D process, Shanghai Machine Tool Company mastered the core technology for the research and development of heavy-duty roll grinders, established an R&D and testing platform for heavy-duty roll grinders, and formed a research, development, and production base for heavy-duty rolls, laying the foundation for improving the technical level of the domestic grinder industry.
Another project that won the first prize, the "Key Technologies and Equipment of Double-Gantry Large Torque Mechanical Spindle Five-Axis CNC Machine Tool" by Jining Second Machine Tool, features advanced five-axis linkage heavy cutting characteristics. It can perform precise cutting of complex three-dimensional curved surfaces, improving the precision and smoothness of the workpiece's machined surface, meeting the needs of major engineering projects in China's Three Gorges Project, large-scale power generation projects, shipbuilding, military industry, and other sectors. This project is China's first set of major projects.
For a long time, China has relied on imports for the water turbine blade processing equipment needed for large hydropower projects. The successful development of this project has broken the foreign technology monopoly. Previously, this core technology of mechanical transmission five-axis linkage was only mastered by a few developed countries. High-precision, heavy-cutting processing of complex surfaces for large-scale hydropower equipment, water conservancy transportation equipment, ship propellers, and automotive molds, as well as key component processing for major national investment projects such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project, and the West-to-East Gas Pipeline Project, urgently require this type of processing machine tool.
Looking at Jiangxi Jack Machine Tool's independently developed "Key Technologies and High-Speed Servo CNC Grinding Machine for Irregular Parts," this project invented a new high-efficiency and precise servo grinding method for irregular shaft-type parts and a multi-head group grinding method for irregular composite surfaces. It developed ultra-high-speed grinding technology and CNC processing automatic programming system software, developed a high-speed electro-spindle composed of a high-speed/ultra-high-speed grinding cylindrical hydrostatic guide rail and linear motor feed system and liquid hydrostatic bearing, developed a large-scale precision irregular composite surface servo CNC grinder and ultra-high-speed CBN servo CNC grinder, and achieved industrialization. The appraisal committee composed of academicians and experts such as Zhou Qinzhi from the China Machinery Industry Federation unanimously agreed that "the two sets of equipment developed by this project have a high starting point and strong innovation, and their overall technology is at the internationally advanced level."
This machine tool provides efficient, precise, and flexible processing technology and equipment for the manufacture of large, irregular, and complex shaft-type parts required in China's national defense and military industries, such as tanks, armored vehicles, submarines, automobiles, aircraft, and ships. The project's R&D of hydrostatic guide rail linear motor feed system technology, multi-head group processing technology, servo grinding technology, and high-speed/ultra-high-speed grinding technology, etc., as well as common technologies and functional components, can be widely used in various general-purpose grinding machines such as high-speed external circular, planar, and centerless grinding machines, and grinding machines for precision parts such as crankshafts, pistons, and piston rings, providing efficient, precise, and flexible theories, methods, and technologies for grinding processing. It can replace imports and significantly improve the ability of China's high-end CNC grinding equipment to participate in international market competition.
Large and heavy CNC machine tools achieve world-leading results
In China's machine tool industry, which is rapidly moving from "large but not strong" to "both large and strong," breakthroughs have been made in the field of heavy machine tools in recent years, achieving remarkable achievements. Qiqihar Second Machine Tool Group, a leading enterprise in the production and R&D of heavy CNC machine tools in China, has achieved world-leading results in high-end heavy machine tools. The company's TK6932/L410 double-column heavy-duty CNC floor-type milling and boring machine, which was specially designed for CITIC Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., has completely independent intellectual property rights and is the world's first machine of its kind representing the ultimate in manufacturing. It is understood that the TK6932 is a high-efficiency, high-precision, and high-reliability advanced equipment. This machine tool widely uses the world's most advanced technologies and has an internationally leading level. It is currently the largest CNC floor-type milling and boring machine in the world. The product is mainly used for the processing of large precision parts in the national defense, military, aerospace, power generation equipment, energy transportation, and mold manufacturing industries. It is particularly suitable for processing large housings for nuclear power and hydropower, large presses, and ultra-large workpieces. Experts believe that its successful development marks China's entry into the ranks of world powers in heavy CNC machine tools.
As for Wuhan Heavy Machine Tool Group Co., Ltd., its products enjoy a high reputation both domestically and internationally. Wuhan Heavy Machine Tool's independently developed XKD2755 double-gantry four-head ultra-heavy CNC boring and milling machine, XKC5680 turning and milling composite processing machine tool, and CKX double-column 16-meter ultra-heavy CNC vertical milling and turning machine are all considered first-class domestically and world-leading heavy and extra-large equipment.
Shanghai International Machine Tool Show becomes a showcase for high-end CNC machine tools
Whether it is national major projects or other high-end CNC machine tools that are leading domestically or even internationally, they are frequently featured at the annual Shanghai International Machine Tool Show. In recent years, domestic and foreign machine tool manufacturers have used the Shanghai International Machine Tool Show as an ideal venue to showcase their strength and launch their latest R&D products. This is partly due to the influence of the exhibition itself, and partly reflects the remarkable achievements made by China's machine tool industry.
To ask where the 'Luohan' are now, everywhere heroes are fading into the evening smoke. In the more than half a century since the founding of New China, China's machine tool industry has grown from small to large, from weak to strong, achieving rapid development. On the day of national celebration, we must continue to carry forward the spirit of the 'Eighteen Luohan' of that year, a spirit of fearlessness and hard work, and strive towards the goal of being 'both large and strong'.
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