MORI SEIKI｜NEWS

NL Series Receives the 34th Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun 2004 Machine Design Award

The Machine Design Award, hosted by the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun and sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, is given to products with outstanding industrial design combined with original technology and functions, which fill a social and economic need. The NL Series received the 34th Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun 2004 Machine Design Award, a prestigious sub-category of the award. This is the 3rd time a Mori Seiki product has won the award, following up on the NV5000 vertical machining center which had won the 32nd award and the NH5000 horizontal machining center which had won the 33rd award - both special prizes. The awards ceremony was held on July 29th at the Hotel Grand Palace in Iidabashi, Tokyo, with President Mori in attendance.

In developing the NL Series, our primary goals were to ensure solid tool tip rigidity and maximize cutting performance. Cutting was revamped from the ground up, and we took a completely fresh approach in designing the relationship between workpiece and tool tip. By controlling tool tip vibration and eliminating the adverse effects of heat transfer, we have ensured stable precision in continuous machining while dramatically improving the turning power, the foundation of any lathe.

One of the biggest factors behind the high praise for the NL Series is the turret with a built-in milling motor. By incorporating the rotary tool drive motor inside the turret, we have improved transmission efficiency and cut down on heat transfer by using cooling oil. These improvements have made milling power virtually indistinguishable from that of a No. 40 taper machining center.

Besides that, the overall high quality of the machines, including performance, ease of use, and physical construction has been highly praised, thanks to the rapid loader with a 200 m/min (656.2 fpm) travel axis, the advanced MAPPS II operating system, the cubic-type construction and more. The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun even went so far as to mention that “ the machines represents the true stance of a leading company.” This award reflects not just the hard work put in by the NL Department but the teamwork of the whole company.

NL2000SMC/500

“ Driven at the Center of Gravity ” Machining Centers Receive the 24th Japan Society for Precision Engineering Technology Development Award

The Japan Society for Precision Engineering’s “ Precision Engineering Technology Development Award ” is given to three different R&D projects each year developed by engineers who have demonstrated creativity in the field of precision engineering. The award was given for the “ development of a high-precision machining center that uses the Driven at the Center of Gravity technology.” It would be no exaggeration to say that the Driven at the Center of Gravity technology is a core technology that will affect all of Mori Seiki’s future products. The recognition of this fact by the award committee is of great significance to us.

The awards ceremony for the 24th Japan Society for Precision Engineering Technology Development Award was held at Shimane University on September 16, during the Fall Meeting of the Society for Precision Engineering. Managing Director Hiramoto was in attendance along with four other members of the development team. Other recipients of awards include Mitsubishi Electric Corporation for its development of a compact optical range sensor using micro machining technology and Sharp Corporation for its development of radial tracking servo technology for use in optical discs using the phase-shift DPP (Differential Push-Pull) system.

The Driven at the Center of Gravity technology (DCG™) has been added to all our new machining centers as a unique Mori Seiki technology ever since its introduction in 2003 in the NV4000 DCG and NH4000 DCG models. This mechanism is characterized by two ball screws that push an object at its center of gravity. This controls vibration (which could be called a machine tool’s biggest enemy), shortens machining time, improves roundness and surface quality, and extends tool life, among other benefits. Before the development of this technology, all engineers were familiar with the principle of pushing an object at its center of gravity, but couldn’t apply it to machine tools because the spindles and tables prevent ball screws from being placed at the center of gravity. All attempts in the past have failed to overcome this obstacle. Mori Seiki’s success in this area is due to everyone in our company, not least of all the developers, who overcame technical and cost-related challenges posed by this problem.

At JIMTOF 2004, held in November of this year, we unveiled the NH8000 DCG, NV1500 DCG (reference display model), and NX2000 DCG Series (reference display model) to visitors, showing our new DCG™ machines. The award became a great morale-booster at the show.

Construction of the NV4000 DCG (left) and NH4000 DCG (right).

The manufacturing industry sees a larger share of new products each year than other industries, and we believe it is also due to the strong support we receive from our customers that Mori Seiki machines were singled out for these honors. We will not stop striving for further improvement because of this award, however, but rather use it to continue creating high investment value machines for our customers.