Taiwan machine tools on the way towards smartification

With the rising demand from China for midrange products and automated manufacturing cells, Taiwan's annual output value reached USD4.29 billion, ranked 7th in the world, and annual export value reached USD3.35 billion, once again ranked the 4th largest exporter in the world. The consumption of machine tool in Taiwan reached USD1.78 billion in 2017 ranked 9th in the world, while annual import value was USD840 million.

Due to the strong growth in the North American and Chinese markets, the output value of Taiwan’s machine tool industry in Q1 2018 was USD1.05 billion and the export value was USD 0.83 billion, up 7.6% and 20.3% year over year, respectively. The machine tool industry in Taiwan is export-oriented, with exports accounting for 80% of the output. The main export countries are China (accounting for 33.2% of total exports), the US (accounting for 11%), emerging countries in Asia, and some parts in Europe.

The imports account for more than 44% of total machine tool consumption in Taiwan, and the major import country is Japan. The top 3 import models are machine tools of non-traditional processing methods, such as electrical discharge, laser, and ultrasound; lathes; machine tools for forging, hammering, or die-stamping. 

90% of Taiwan's machine tool industry are small and medium-sized enterprises, which are capable of flexible production and quick delivery. Under the specialized network among machine, module and accessory, a flexible and rapid supply chain is established to create industrial characteristics of low transaction cost and short delivery time. There are 1,801 machine tool and accessory builders in Taiwan with 40,405 employees, investing USD85 million in R&D and USD3 million on technology purchase. 

Up to 90% of Taiwan machine tool and accessory industry is located in the central Taiwan, especially at Taichung. The tight connection from accessory production to machine tool assembly offers the best solution for global equipment end-users, allowing central Taiwan to become a unique cluster of machine tool industry in the world. Meanwhile, central Taiwan is also the largest community of automation and machinery users in the manufacturing sector. A complete machine tool and accessory community and a rich experience in metal processing and manufacturing provide the competitive edge for Taiwan machine tool industry to fulfill global demands.

Taiwan's machine tool industry has been developing for over 60 years. It began by accumulating technical knowledge from advanced foreign equipment. Then, as manufacturers develop, design, and improve products on their own, they are able to dominate the market in developing countries such as those in South East Asia. After the 1980s, under the support of research institutions, the domestic machine tool industry gradually moved toward numerical control and made a significant increase in production.

Nowadays, Taiwan owns excellent competitiveness on quality and price. The development can be divided into the following categories:

1. Intelligent technology

Using intelligent technology, the functionality and efficiency of machine tools can be improved, e.g. flutter suppression, thermal compensation, anti-collision, 3D machining simulation, energy conservation, user-friendly interface, real-time remote monitoring and production process management.

2. Spatial design of machine tools

To optimize usage of space, many machine tools have added automated pallet changer (APC) function.

3. Popularization of automation 

In response to the demand for smart manufacturing, the first step is to increase the degree of automation of the production process. The use of robotic arms has increased the proportion of unmanned production. Thus the design of the communication interface between the machines themselves and between the machine and peripheral automation facilities have become the current focus of automation development.

4. Industrial design concepts applying to machine tool design.

(1) The machine must be designed with general ergonomics and user-friendly operation in mind, with consideration for safety in the working environment.

(2) The overall external design must be in line with the brand's visual identity to improve the overall value of the machine.

(3) User interface design methods must be applied to make operations more convenient and safer by optimizing control systems and integrating factory management and monitoring into the cloud.

(4) Demonstrate the core values of industrial aesthetics as applied to machine design: from improving the appearance and the color management of the internal components to optimizing the texture of the outer surface.

The biennial Taiwan International Machine Tool Show (TMTS) is organized by the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association (TMBA) and will take place from November 7th to 11th, 2018 in the Taichung HSR Special Zone, with 750 exhibitors occupying 4,300 booths. Themed with “Manufacture Linking • Activate the Future”, TMTS is the largest machine tool show in Taiwan this year. The comprehensive and diverse features of the industry supply chain will be on display, such as metal cutting machines, metal forming machines, machine tool accessories, parts, fluid power components, control and drive system & auxiliary equipment, cutting tools, toolholding & workholding devices, measurement instruments, etc, as well as the machines with smart functions (such as temperature rise compensation, collision avoidance, and process optimization), and automated production cells and production line applied for "Integrated machine tools and automation facility (such as robotic arm)". All exhibits displayed will allow the participants to experience the diversity of the supply chain of Taiwan machine tool industry and the state-of-the-art technology in metal processing.