The 19th China International Machine Tool Exhibition was recently held in Beijing. The exhibition area of 310000 square meters not only broke the previous scale record of the exhibition, but also became the largest professional event for machine tools in the world in the past 10 years. More than 2400 companies from 31 countries and regions gathered together with the latest technology and products to showcase the cutting-edge trends of the machine tool industry in all aspects. Behind the scale upgrade is the strong demand in the Chinese market and the accelerated pace of innovation among machine tool enterprises. Mao Yufeng, President of the China Machine Tool Industry Association, said that as the world's largest machine tool manufacturing country and machine tool consumer market, China has not only promoted the technological upgrading and structural optimization of the domestic machine tool industry, but also injected strong impetus into the coordinated development of the global machine tool industry. The AI driven intelligent manufacturing upgrade has entered the venue, with crowds of people and low noise from machine tools, and a series of exciting "industrial shows" are being staged one after another. In front of the Huazhong CNC booth, the staff said "start intelligent programming" and instantly awakened the intelligent CNC system. A few seconds later, the imported model appeared on the screen, with astonishing response speed and output quality. This is the world's first new generation intelligent numerical control system that integrates AI chips and AI large models - the Huazhong 10 Intelligent Numerical Control System. As the world's first intelligent numerical control system with self-learning ability, its release marks a significant breakthrough in China's high-end numerical control system field, achieving a leap from technology "following" to innovation "leading". Huazhong CNC Chairman Chen Jihong told reporters, "We have endowed the system with self-learning ability and innovatively constructed a technical architecture of 'one intelligent base, two digital main lines, and three functional subsystems', creating a new paradigm for advanced intelligent manufacturing. At present, the system has the intelligent decision-making ability equivalent to engineers with 2 to 3 years of work experience, and can continue to evolve through data training. Its open platform supports localized deployment of enterprise small models, effectively ensuring data security. The breakthrough of Huazhong CNC in intelligent systems is not an isolated case. At this exhibition, the deep integration of AI technology and the machine tool industry has become a focus of attention in the industry. The latest products launched by numerous domestic machine tool companies vividly demonstrate the fruitful achievements of upgrading from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. Wuhan Heavy Machine Tool Group Co., Ltd., as the main production base in the field of heavy machine tools, released the world's first independently developed intelligent heavy machine tool - high-speed and high-precision intelligent heavy vertical milling machining center during the exhibition, and simultaneously launched the "Wuhan Heavy Cloud" online intelligent service platform, which was developed first in China. Compared to traditional heavy-duty machine tools, intelligent heavy-duty machine tools are empowered by AI to become smarter, more stable in performance, and more reliable in quality. Qin Yong, General Manager and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan Heavy Machine Tool Group Co., Ltd., introduced that this new product is equipped with a dynamic digital twin platform. During the operation of the machine tool, the internal sensors can detect the vibration curves of various parts in real time, and use the curves for precision compensation and feedback, thereby further improving the accuracy of the machine tool. Mao Yufeng introduced that with the empowerment of AI technology and the rapid development of the machine tool industry, the production efficiency and quality of enterprises have been rapidly improved, costs have been significantly reduced, and it has also promoted the coordinated development of upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain. The next 10 years will be a critical period for the development of intelligent CNC machine tools, a new generation of typical intelligent manufacturing equipment. ”Zhou Ji, an academician of the CAE Member and director of the National Strategic Advisory Committee for Building a Powerful Manufacturing Country, said that promoting the process of new industrialization with artificial intelligence technology has become the core technology path for the innovative development of the manufacturing industry, and the new generation of intelligent manufacturing is the key link in this path. New scenarios bring new demands. Machine tools are known as the "tools of manufacturing" and are the core hub of modern industrial systems. Represented by the 3C electronics industry and the new energy vehicle industry, the thriving emerging industries have brought new demands and opportunities to China's local machine tool industry, and a number of machine tool enterprises have risen in tandem. Above the booth of Wuhan Huagong Laser Engineering Co., Ltd., the sign "Laser Intelligent Manufacturing+AI" is particularly eye-catching. The fifth generation 3D five axis laser cutting intelligent equipment exhibited this time is equipped with an AI intelligent interactive system for the first time. Deng Jiake, the general manager of Wuhan Huagong Laser Engineering Co., Ltd., told reporters that the fifth generation of 3D five axis laser cutting intelligent equipment is improving in all aspects around high speed, high precision. With the rapid growth and lightweight development trend of new energy vehicles, domestic and foreign car companies have seen a surge in demand for high-strength steel plates, which must be laser cut. This has also driven companies to accelerate their pace of going global. In addition, the development of emerging industries such as commercial aerospace and low altitude economy has opened up broader market space for the machine tool industry. According to the "2024-2043 Annual Forecast of the Chinese Civil Aircraft Market", it is expected that China will need to supplement 8278 civil aircraft of various types. According to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the market size of the low altitude economy is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2025 and 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. Kede CNC Co., Ltd. has successfully seized the opportunity brought by the wave of emerging industries. The relevant person in charge of Kede introduced that the company's five axis vertical machining center, horizontal machining center and other products have been applied in the production of helicopter engines, large unmanned aerial vehicle fuselage structural components and other production processes. The amount of new orders signed by the company in 2024 increased by about 24% year-on-year. Among the newly signed domestic orders, the aerospace industry accounts for 53%; The repurchase rate of newly signed orders for five axis linkage CNC machine tools is about 41%, with private enterprises accounting for about 74%. The five axis linkage CNC machine tool independently developed by the company covers the processing of core components such as aircraft engine blades and landing gear, and has provided equipment for nearly 30 domestic aviation enterprises. Mao Yufeng analyzed that in recent years, China has cultivated and strengthened emerging and future industries, carried out large-scale demonstration actions for the application of new technologies, products, and scenarios, and promoted the safe and healthy development of emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low altitude economy, and deep-sea technology. Establish a mechanism for future industrial investment growth and cultivate future industries such as biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, and 6G. With the development of emerging and future industries, the demand for high-end machine tools continues to rise, and the demand structure of the Chinese machine tool market will undergo significant changes, with a significant increase in demand level. Actively integrating into the international industrial chain, the machine tool industry is a strategic basic industry that is closely related to national security and development, and its level of development is crucial. For machine tool enterprises, seizing opportunities for technological innovation and international development, actively participating in international industrial chain division of labor, and enhancing global competitiveness are the necessary paths for enterprise development and the need for national momentum transformation. Zhejiang Changer Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., which specializes in high-end CNC lathes, is an innovative pioneer in the industry. At this exhibition, the company showcased intelligent precision machining technology and intelligent transformation equipment. Lin Lvgao, Chairman of Changer Company, proudly stated that in response to major equipment demands, the company has overcome and mastered multiple key cutting process technologies, developed five axis/six axis CNC lathes for precision machining of turbine discs and compressor disc tenons for aviation engines, gas turbines, etc., providing high-performance industrial mother machines for aerospace, ships, etc., achieving import substitution, and exporting domestically produced high-end equipment to the global market. The largest central enterprise participating in this exhibition, China General Technology (Group) Holding Co., Ltd., showcased 29 sets of mainframe products with "high-end, intelligent, and green" characteristics, including 22 sets of machine tool mainframes, 3 models, 4 measuring instruments, and 8 types of functional components, as well as a variety of high-quality high-end machine tool products and full chain intelligent manufacturing solutions. At the exhibition site, General Technology Group signed contracts with several key industry clients, with an intended contract amount of nearly 500 million yuan two days before the exhibition. Chinese companies are actively "going global", while more and more foreign companies are choosing to "enter". This exhibition attracted more than 800 overseas machine tool companies to participate, and machine tool associations and trade promotion organizations from 13 countries and regions including Germany and the United Kingdom participated in groups. In recent years, major global machine tool companies such as Demagesen Precision Machinery, Yamazaki Mazak, and Tongkuai have all built factories or expanded production capacity in China. This two-way interactive flow provides opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises to reduce costs and improve efficiency, expand incremental markets, and also forces local enterprises to catch up and innovate, jointly build the machine tool industry ecosystem in competition and cooperation, and jointly explore the Chinese and international markets. The world economy is constantly moving forward in the interweaving of cooperation, openness, trade protection, free exchange, and tariff barriers, and every decision is crucial. ”Mao Yufeng said that he believes China will inevitably be an important gathering place for the global machine tool industry, an ideal investment destination, and an innovative application scenario for technological progress. Walking with China is walking with opportunities, and investing in China is investing in the future. (New Society)