Machine Tools
The machine tool industry and its related manufacturing technologies are the backbone of modern manufacturing.
Machine tools enable the production of other industrial equipment and machinery as well as a myriad of sophisticated components for a variety of sectors: they are the starting point of almost every metal manufacturing activity. Without a high-precision machine tool, we couldn’t find on the market products like bicycles, planes, watches, cars or computers, as each of them needs a part shaped by a machine tool.
So, what is a machine tool?
According to ISO standards, a “machine tool is a mechanical device, which is fixed and powered, typically used to process workpieces by selective removal/addition of material or mechanical deformation (…). Machine tools operation can be mechanical, controlled by humans or by computers (…)”. There is a great variety of metalworking machine tools: milling machines, lathes, sheet metal forming machines, EDM machines and additive manufacturing machines are just some examples. Stainless steel, aluminum, titanium and copper are some of the main metals processed by these machine tools. In addition, to manufacture components for key industries like automotive, aerospace, energy and medical technology, machine tools enable the production of all the other machines, including themselves. This is why we call them the mother machines.
What do we aim to when producing a Machine Tool?
The European Machine Tool Industry is continuously innovating and exploiting new technologies to create products that: