Machining centers are the most common CNC machine tools, with numerous brands and significant price differences. Where exactly are the differences? Listen to the comments. Being ignorant and ignorant, please let go of any machining center manufacturers who have not been mentioned. This article is purely based on personal opinions. If you have any different opinions, please feel free to criticize.
The world's first machining center was first developed by the American company Carney Trek in 1958. It has added an automatic tool changing device on the basis of the CNC horizontal boring and milling machine. In 1975, Beijing Machine Tool Research Institute developed China's first horizontal machining center JCS-013. In 1978, China's first vertical machining center JCS-018 was developed. There is also a theory that JCS-013 is actually manufactured by Beijing Second Machine Tool Factory. Back then, the technological distance between China and the world was 17 years.
Nowadays, China's current machining center technology application is basically synchronized with the world, and there is a significant gap in accuracy and stability compared to world-class levels. Why is there a significant price difference between foreign and domestic brands for the same 850 vertical machining center (with an X-axis stroke of 800mm and a Y-axis stroke of 500)?
Divide typical vertical machining center manufacturers at home and abroad into 7 categories. Taking the most conventional manufacturer's standard configuration of a three-axis 850 vertical machining center as an example (only for main models, the configuration of each manufacturer may vary), let's talk about the characteristics of these 7 types of products. By queuing and comparing, make a correct analysis of the position occupied by domestic machine tools.
The differentiation of each tier is a big headache. The manufacturers mentioned in this article are all enterprises that have survived years of market testing, and their product prices are basically recognized by the market. The product prices can basically reflect their product configuration and actual value. The final decision is based on the approximate selling price, which is actually not very scientific and there is no other way.
Tier 1- Super First Class Players
In the first tier, brands such as Swiss Mikron, Swiss Baume, Swiss Strag, Swiss Ligit, Swiss Might, German Hammer, German Omet, and German Giant Wave are among the top players in the field of machining centers, priced at over 1.5 million yuan.
Whether in terms of appearance, design level and innovation, or processing ability and precision, it is almost impeccable. Exquisite craftsmanship, striving for excellence, machine tool processing accuracy is extremely high, and production output is very low. Due to the high price and cost of use, users often have to make purchases in a last resort.
The brand image of the machining center in the first tier is towering, and for ordinary users, it can only be viewed from a distance and cannot be played with, like a supercar in a machine tool. The high cost of procurement and usage directly leads to a very low market application rate due to the scarcity of resources. Although the selling price is high, the profit may not be high, and although the quality is good, the operation may not be good. The turning around after the glamour may be a sad tear. The Swiss Michelin has been acquired by the Swiss Achaemier Group, and the Swiss Baume has been acquired by the Swiss Strag... It is not surprising to think of the world's top supercar, the Bugatti Veyron, which dominates the automotive industry with a tragic four time turnover.
The quality of machine tools is ensured by factors such as the quality of the bed material, the level of mechanical processing, the quality of components, assembly quality, and production control. The assembly quality of machine tools is always guaranteed manually, unlike products such as automobiles and household appliances that can achieve automated assembly. The level of assembly technicians varies, and there are strict delivery time restrictions for mass production of machine tools. Therefore, it is difficult to ensure a high level of quality for machine tools produced in large quantities. This is also why the top ten machine tool manufacturers in the world in terms of sales cannot enter the first tier.
Tier 2- Dominating Masters
The names of several players in the second tier, including German DMG, German Spinner, German Stama, Japanese Mori Seiji, Japanese Dainuo, Japanese Mazak, Japanese Makino, Japanese Toyota Industrial Machinery, American MAG, American Harding, Italian Fedea, and Spanish Danobat, are almost familiar and well-known. They are the main machine tools of world-class machinery production enterprises, with prices ranging from 800000 to 1.5 million yuan.
These contestants consistently rank among the top in the world's machine tool sales rankings. Commonly produced in small and medium-sized batches, with proper control and good quality, only used for producing high profit products. The price is relatively down-to-earth compared to the first tier.
The second tier manufacturers have strong promotion efforts, high market share, and specialize in solving difficult mechanical processing problems. They are well-known and almost surpass the first tier manufacturers. For mechanical processing enterprises with a certain scale, it is embarrassing to say that their products are top-notch without a few second tier players sitting there. Most of the machine tools in some companies are mid to low-end, and they will also buy one or two second tier machine tools to fill the storefront, specifically for accepting orders and customer visits. This is the same reason why Audi cars, although not top-notch luxury cars, can become the preferred choice for business vehicles.
The first and second tier teams are significantly ahead in product quality and technological innovation. At present, advanced technologies such as natural or artificial marble bed technology, bed temperature control technology, linear motor drive, ball screw center cooling, center of gravity drive, ultra fast tool changing mechanism, high-speed electric spindle, etc. have all been applied in the first and second tier products.
The first and second tier teams are almost dominated by the Swiss, Germans, and Japanese. Their rigor and the consistent tradition of valuing skill training in these three countries are the foundation for their ability to manufacture excellent machine tools. The opportunity for Chinese companies to enter the first and second tiers within 10 years is very slim.
Third tier team - skilled attackers
The main machine tool brands in China's top tier machinery production enterprises include Sino Japanese joint venture Beiyi Da Nuo, Sino Japanese joint venture Little Giant Mazak, American Ha Ting, American Ha Si, Korean Dou Shan, Korean Hyundai, Korean Samsung, Taiwan Yongjin, Taiwan Dongtai, Taiwan Taichung Precision Machinery, Taiwan Kuai, and Taiwan Gaofeng. The selling price ranges from 450000 to 800000 yuan.
Although enterprises producing first-class products also use machine tools from the first and second tier, due to high procurement costs, they still mainly use machine tools from the third tier in large quantities. These machine tools are sturdy, durable, reliable, and stable, with no chain breakage at critical moments, making them a good helper in ensuring product quality and production efficiency.
The third tier is mostly joint venture brands of foreign and Taiwanese machine tool enterprises in China or produced domestically, playing the role of a wolf in the ecological environment of machine tools, and playing a very positive role in promoting the technology, management, and marketing level of the domestic machine tool industry.
Tier 4- Real combat main force
Beiyi, Beijing Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nantong Technology, Xinrui, Neway, Rifa, Haitian, Daikin, Taiwan Lichi, Taiwan Daqiao, Taiwan Dali, Taiwan Youjia, Taiwan Liwei, Taiwan Egma, Taiwan Qifa and other brands are the main machine tool brands in first and second line mechanical production enterprises. The price is around 320000 to 450000 yuan.
The market share of machine tools in the fourth tier is no less than that in the third tier, although it is slightly inferior in stability and accuracy retention compared to the third tier, because the price is more affordable, it has also become the main model in high-level mechanical processing enterprises.
This echelon of enterprises is composed of excellent domestic enterprises and some mainland factories of Taiwanese enterprises. With a little effort, it may pose a threat to the third echelon, especially a few private domestic machine tool enterprises with high starting points and rapid progress, which are very likely to enter the third echelon in a few years.
5th tier - Wanjinyou
Processing centers of brands such as Shenyang, Baoji, Yunnan, Dalian, Long March, Hanchuan, Ningjiang, Kaida, Lianqiang (New Zhejiang), Qinghai Yiji, Lunan, Hangji, Baojia, Wannan, Jieyongda, Yonghua, Dilaime, Datian, Jiatai, Longsheng, etc. can be seen in any corner of mechanical processing enterprises. The selling price is approximately 250000 to 320000 yuan. Some brands may also launch discounted models that cut corners and are not recommended for use.
The 850 Lijia in this price range has the largest sales volume in the domestic market and is most accepted by ordinary mechanical users. There are as many as one or two hundred leading brands, and the competition has reached a white hot point. What dirty, tiring, and unmanned work are all done by these machine tools, and the working environment is relatively harsh. The superior temperature and humidity environment has nothing to do with them.
At least half of the manufacturers in this echelon use the method of assembling optical machines to produce vertical pipes, resulting in severe product homogenization and relatively low entry barriers. If the factory scale is comparable and the management is reasonable, the difference in quality between different brands is very small.
Choosing this echelon of machine tools requires users to have strong application capabilities, and they can flexibly choose the most suitable machine tool components and accessories according to their actual needs. Using the right and good machine tools can produce impressive products.
The major domestic machine tool giants are fully capable of creating Lijia in the third and fourth tiers, but they relax their demands on themselves and willingly participate in price wars in the fifth tier, using huge subsidies from the country to compete with small and medium-sized enterprises. What should be said? The frequent mergers and acquisitions of foreign machine tool companies by several giants have not brought substantial improvements to their own products and markets, but have earned the nickname of "Destroyer of Foreign Machine Tool Brands". What is the problem?
Tier 6- Affordable
Small brand machines such as Haiteng, Baishite, Yiming, Daisen, Dingya, Haite, Lichuang, Dingtai, and Zhongbo generally use low-end brand CNC systems, with a sales price of approximately 180000 to 250000 yuan. Some enterprises adopt the production model of assembling optical machines.
The machine tools in the 6th tier are inferior to those in the 5th tier in terms of quality standardization management due to their relatively small scale. At the same time, in order to reduce costs, some cheap brands will also be selected for component selection, which may have a certain impact on stability. Strict baking machines and factory inspections are good methods to reduce the failure rate of machine tools before leaving the factory.
For small and medium-sized enterprises with low product accuracy requirements and tight procurement budgets, the 6th tier machining center is a good choice. The emergence of Siemens 808D has also added more options for CNC systems in this echelon.
Tier 7- First choice for saving money
The 7th echelon is a processing center assembled by guerrilla forces, with a cost of less than 180000 yuan.
The method is for users to purchase components such as optical machines, CNC systems, screw rods, and tool libraries on their own, and then the guerrilla assembly team is responsible for on-site assembly. The quality level is directly related to the site conditions and the work mood of the guerrilla assembly team, and there is no QC process such as quality control. The quality of service can be known without using one's brain.
This level of machining center generally uses Taiwan's new generation, Baoyuan, or domestically produced Kandi and Guangzhou CNC systems. Mitsubishi M70 and FANUC 0I-MATE MD are also common. The brand used for the screw guide rail is also not bad, while other components are purchased with a frugal attitude.
If you have a good personal relationship with the guerrilla assembly team, and the assembly technician has a high level of expertise and also knows some mechanical and electrical maintenance, then congratulations on greatly reducing the cost of purchasing and using machine tools. If you do not meet any two of these three conditions, the usage cost you pay may be higher than purchasing the 6th or even 5th tier.
The proportion of entrepreneurs who are financially strapped to purchase Riga through this method is relatively high. When making a purchase, please pay attention to two things: first, conduct repeated research to gain a deeper understanding of the quality of machine tools, machinery and components, as well as the acceptance methods of machine tools; second, investigate the reputation of the guerrilla assembly team.
Summary
The vertical assembly manufacturers of 7 tiers form a diamond shape, with the top vertex representing the first tier. The team continues to grow from top to bottom, and the line connecting the two points on the left and right of the diamond represents the fifth tier, which is the densest tier of the manufacturer. The team begins to shrink further down, and the point at the bottom of the diamond represents the seventh tier.
The 1-3 tiers are all foreign-funded enterprises, the 4th tier is composed of domestic and Taiwanese enterprises, and the 5-7 tiers are dominated by domestic enterprises. There are products in the 5-7 tier in foreign countries, and the strong presence of domestically produced Lijia in this range prevents them from entering the domestic market. This is something that Chinese people should be proud of.
It is not difficult for domestically produced Lijia to break through to the third tier, but it will be very difficult to go further. We hope that all of you here will work hard to create world-class machine tools, so that you can witness this historical moment alive.