The machine tool is an indispensable tool in the production of industrial parts. For a long period of time, it needs to be manually operated step by step. With the advancement of science and technology, computer technology has been integrated into production, and CNC machine tools have been produced. This new type of equipment greatly improves the production efficiency, freeing people from the production process, and the automatic operation of the machine can be realized by inputting the program. Many factories and companies use CNC machine tools. It has high precision and can produce parts that cannot be made by traditional machine tools. It is one of the preferred manufacturing equipment for many processing industries.
Classifications of Machine Tools
A machine tool refers to a machine that makes a machine, and is generally divided into metal cutting machine tools, forging machine tools and woodworking machine tools.
- According to processing methods, objects, or purposes, it can be divided into lathes, milling machines, planers, grinders, drilling machines, boring machines, broaching machines, gear processing machines, and etc.
- According to the size of the workpiece and the quality of the machine tools, it can be divided into instrument machine tools, medium and small machine tools, large machine tools (10~30t), heavy machine tools (30~100t), and super-heavy machine tools (above 100t).
- According to the machining accuracy, it can be divided into relative accuracy and absolute accuracy. Most lathes, grinders, and gear machining machines have three precision products, or three relative precision classes.
- According to the different control methods, machine tools can be divided into traditional machine tools and CNC machine tools. Among them, the traditional machine tool is a machine tool controlled by humans, while the CNC machine tool is an automatic machine tool equipped with a program control system. Compared with traditional machine tools, CNC machine tools have greatly improved the processing efficiency and processing accuracy, and have become the mainstream of the modern machine tool industry.
- According to the applicable scope of machine tools, it can be divided into three types: general-purpose machine tools, specialized machine tools, and special-purpose machine tools.
- According to the structure and layout of the machine tool, it can be divided into vertical type, horizontal type, gantry type, and etc.
Applications of CNC Machine Tools
The functional components of CNC machine tools mainly include
CNC system, spindle, motor, drive, lead screw, guide rail, tool magazine, swing head and turntable, etc. These are the unit technology carriers of CNC machine tools and determine the level of performance of CNC machine tools. Let's take a look at the fields where CNC machine tools can be used:
- Aviation industry: For parts such as aircraft wings, fuselage, tail, etc. and engine parts, the required models are high-speed five-axis machining centers, gantry mobile high-speed machining centers, precision CNC lathes, precision horizontal machining centers, and multi-coordinate files. Milling centers, precision gear and threading control machine tools, etc.
- Railway locomotive manufacturing industry: For the high-speed railway locomotive body, axles, wheels and other parts, it needs large and medium-sized CNC machine tools: CNC lathes, vertical and horizontal machining centers, five-axis machining centers, gantry file milling machines.
- Weapons manufacturing industry: For tanks, armored vehicles, bullets, guns, cores and other products, it needs CNC lathes, vertical and horizontal machining centers, five-axis machining centers, gantry filing and milling machines, filing and milling machining centers, and gear machining, and etc.
- Mold manufacturing industry: It is aimed at automobile panel molds, die-casting molds, forming extrusion molds, etc., requiring high-speed CNC milling machines, precision electrical machining machines, high-precision machining centers, and precision grinding machines.
- Electronic information equipment manufacturing industry: For high-end electronic product casings, motor rotor stators, motor housing covers, etc., small precision CNC machine tools are needed: high-speed milling centers, high-speed machining centers, small precision lathes, small precision punches, precision and ultra-CNC machine tools for precision machining and precision electric machining machine tools.
- Power equipment manufacturing industry: For power generation equipment, heavy-duty CNC gantry filing and milling machines, large-scale floor-standing filing and milling machines, large-scale CNC lathes, special milling machines for blade root grooves, and blade CNC machining machines are required.
- Metallurgical equipment manufacturing industry: For continuous casting and rolling complete sets of equipment, large gantry milling machines and large CNC lathes are required.
- Construction machinery manufacturing industry: For gearboxes, excavating arms, car bodies, engines and other components, small and medium-sized CNC machine tools are needed: CNC lathes, medium-sized machining centers, CNC milling machines, and gear processing machine tools.
Shipbuilding industry: For diesel engine body, heavy-duty and super-heavy gantry milling and filing machines and heavy-duty CNC floor milling and filing machines, as well as large-scale CNC lathes and turning-milling centers, large-scale CNC gear grinding machines, crankshaft-controlled milling machines, large-scale crankshaft turning-milling centers and crankshafts are required grinders etc.- Automobile manufacturing industry: For vehicle components: engines, high-efficiency, high-performance, special-purpose CNC machine tools and flexible production lines are required; for spare parts processing, CNC lathes, vertical and horizontal machining centers, and CNC high-efficiency grinders are required.
Advantages And Disadvantages of CNC Machine Tools
Advantages:
- High machining accuracy
The machining accuracy of CNC machine tools is higher than that of ordinary machine tools, which can reach 0.05 to 0.1MM. Since it controls the operation of the machine in the form of digital signals, the positioning accuracy is high. Whenever the numerical control device outputs a pulse signal, the machine parts move by 0.001MM, and it can compensate the directional gap of the feed transmission chain and the average error between the screw pitches, which greatly improves the machining accuracy.- Stable processing quality
Under the normal operation of the machine tool, the same batch of products are processed under the same processing conditions, and the produced parts are highly consistent and there is not much difference in quality.- High production efficiency
The emergence of CNC machine tools has greatly improved the efficiency of production. It can move quickly, and can perform large-scale and high-speed cutting processing, which effectively reduces the processing and auxiliary time. In addition, it can issue instructions on the computer, and it does not need to be adjusted and set again and again, which reduces a lot of manpower and time.- Leverage production management modernization
CNC machine tools can greatly standardize the tools used, precise processing time, and facilitate modern management.
Disadvantages:
- Equipment is expensive
The CNC machine tool itself is expensive and is generally used in the production of parts of a certain scale.- High technical requirements for maintenance personnel
- CNC machine tools not only have certain requirements for users, but also higher requirements for maintenance personnel. Once the machine is damaged, it needs to be handled by a special person, and the price is relatively expensive.
