Machine tools are a key technology in the country's industrial development, and it is needed from launch vehicles to a screw.
However, China's technology in the field of precision machine tools has been subject to people for a long time, and the equipment of the United States and Japan is exported to the mainland at sky-high prices, and we can only swallow our anger and pay.
Since then, they have refused to provide China with relevant equipment in an attempt to contain China's development, but now China has not only broken the blockade between the United States and Japan, but also let them suffer the consequences.
Precision machine tools are of great use
Precision machine tool is a kind of high-precision, high-efficiency processing equipment, which plays a vital role in modern manufacturing.
Precision machine tools meet the demand for high-quality, high-precision products in all walks of life by controlling and operating a variety of cutting tools to transform raw materials into complex parts and assemblies.
First of all, precision machine tools provide high-precision machining capabilities, and they can achieve machining accuracy in millimeters or even smaller sizes.
Accurate machining dimensions and smooth surface quality are critical for industries such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, etc.
For example, turbine blades, engine parts, and flight control systems all require high-precision machining to ensure performance and safety.
At the same time, this is also one of the biggest differences between precision machine tools and ordinary machine tools, one can be finished, the other can only be rough machining, which is better and worse to compare and come out.
Secondly, precision machine tools have high-efficiency machining capabilities, and they can quickly and continuously carry out cutting, milling, drilling, grinding and other processing operations, thereby greatly improving production efficiency.
This is critical for mass production and volume manufacturing, where the high-speed cutting capabilities and automation capabilities of precision machine tools enable producers to respond quickly to market demands and deliver high-quality products in a short period of time.
In contrast, ordinary machine tools are not only limited in production efficiency, but also have high costs, unsatisfactory products, and simply thankless.
Precision machine tools promote process innovation and product upgrades, and through advanced control systems and multi-axis machining capabilities, precision machine tools can handle more complex geometries and design requirements.
This drives innovation in product design and process technology, providing manufacturers with greater flexibility and competitiveness.
Precision machine tools also support advanced machining technologies, such as five-axis machining, laser machining, etc., providing the necessary means for high-precision needs in special fields.
Encirclement, pursuit, blockade
For a long time, China has been a big importer of machine tools, and about one-third of the world's machine tool orders come from China.
However, this technology has always been controlled by the United States and Japan, just like the chip field.
In the past, the mainland imported machine tools completely depended on the face of others, what price people said, we can only give what price.
After entering the 21st century, they began to kick their noses and faces, and even directly added "special clauses" to the transaction contract.
In the terms, it is clearly stated that if the machine tool is used in the CNC machine tool research unit, it will not be sold, and later directly prohibit the use of machine tools in high-end fields such as aerospace.
Once they find out, they will think that we have breached the contract and will pay liquidated damages.
Even, they also require in the terms that the location, use and use of machine tools installed in China must be specified by the United States and Japan.
Once there is a mistake in these problems, the machine tool can even be directly "automatically locked", and the equipment we spend a lot of money on becomes broken iron.
As the saying goes, "the customer is God", but we, as customers, have to be so angry, which no one can accept.
This is this humiliating history, so that our researchers have strengthened their determination to develop machine tools, and must break through the core technology of machine tools to create precision machine tools that belong to China.
In 2013, we finally built China's first cradle-type five-axis CNC machine.
However, due to the immaturity of technology and the failure to put into mass production, the mainland still relied on a large number of imports, and at that time, the import volume of such machine tools alone reached 50 units.
Break through the blockade
After the United States and Japan knew that we were building our own precision machine tools, they began to restrict the export of some precision instruments in an attempt to stifle the mainland's technology.
Under great pressure, our researchers began to start from the parts of the machine tool, constantly overcoming difficulties, and once again broke through the blockade in the encirclement and blockade of the United States and Japan.
In 2018, we already have the technology to produce large-scale horizontal turning-milling composite CNC machines, which are quite advanced even in the international market.
Today, China has the ability to independently produce precision machine tools, the "heavy weapon of the country", according to the Nikkei Chinese report.
China's machine tool field has gradually been replaced with lower-cost domestic equipment, on the basis of which foreign orders have been greatly cut, breaking the "tradition" of sky-high import prices, resulting in a serious shrinkage of the market of the United States and Japan in China.
Statistics show that since June 2023, Japan's orders from China have decreased by 21%, and the overall external order volume has decreased by 45%.
At the beginning, we had to import 50 cradle-type five-axis CNC machine tools a year, but now, the annual import volume is less than 10 units.
From these data, it is enough to see that China's development and transformation in the field of precision machine tools.
This is undoubtedly a huge loss for foreign related companies such as Japan and the United States.
Because according to their original plan, it will take at least 50 years for China to develop its own precision machine tools, during which they completely through technological containment, so as to occupy the Chinese market and make huge profits.
But China has broken through the core technology in a short period of time and gradually expelled foreign products from the market, and what they have lost is such a huge foreign trade market as China.
Not only that, with the continuous advancement of China's machine tool technology, we can also export to other countries in the future and occupy a place in the international market.
When the situation is directly reversed, it will be our turn to seize the market of the United States and Japan, and even the day when it is China's turn to take the technical neck of the United States and Japan may not be far away.
Resources:
[1] Ta Kung Pao: "Focus Tracking/Domestic Precision Lathes Rise and Hinder and Long"
【2】Central Government Portal: "Behind China's Precision Machine Tool Service European Market"