We recently completed the installation and commissioning of the NC-LW10CH vertical-horizontal machining center, and it is now in full operation. The introduction of this machine has significantly enhanced our overall machining capabilities—improving our machining range, precision control, and batch production consistency. This makes the manufacturing of complex structures and high-precision parts more reliable and controllable. The following sections will detail the machine’s capabilities and practical applications.
What Can This Machine Do? What Does It Mean for Your Parts?
If your parts meet any of the following criteria, this machine is directly relevant to you:
– Parts requiring machining on multiple surfaces, with strict positional or coaxial requirements between different surfaces.
– Frequent part flipping, making batch consistency difficult to guarantee and leading to out-of-tolerance issues or rework.
– Large, heavy parts that place demands on the machine’s travel range and load-bearing capacity.
The NC-LW10CH is a vertical/horizontal dual-purpose machining center equipped with a 600×600mm rotary table, with a maximum swing diameter of 1500mm. Its vertical and horizontal travels are 1100×650×720mm and 1100×700×595mm respectively, covering the machining requirements of most medium and large structural parts.
It is well suited for typical workpieces including engine cylinder blocks, gearbox housings, hydraulic manifold blocks and large structural parts, which generally impose high demands on multi-surface machining capability, spatial travel and load-bearing capacity. The machine provides sufficient capacity in these aspects to reliably support such machining applications.
During horizontal spindle machining, chips fall off naturally by gravity and do not accumulate on the workpiece, delivering cleaner surfaces, less re-cutting and longer tool life. For your production, this translates to consistent surface quality across batch-produced parts.
The spindle uses a BT40 tool holder with a maximum speed of 12,000 rpm, compatible with steel, cast iron, aluminum alloy and most engineering materials. The 24-tool servo tool magazine features fast tool changes and stable cycle times, which directly reduces unit machining time for batch production.
Key Feature: Five-Side Machining Capability
What is five-side machining?
Five-side machining refers to the process of completing all machining operations on five sides of a workpiece in a single setup. The top, front, back, left, and right sides—all five sides—are machined sequentially within the same coordinate system. The part is ready upon removal from the machine, with no need to flip it or re-align it during the process.
Why can’t conventional machines do this?
Conventional vertical machining centers can only machine one side per setup. To machine other surfaces, the workpiece must be flipped and repositioned. Each flip introduces cumulative errors—including fixture repeatability errors, alignment errors, and workpiece deformation—all of which add up. For parts with complex hole patterns and multi-surface fit requirements, after 4–5 flips, positional errors between surfaces commonly accumulate to 0.02–0.05 mm, leading to out-of-tolerance results and rework.
How does the NC-LW10CH solve this?
Equipped with dual BT40 spindles (vertical and horizontal) and a high-precision rotary table (with indexing accuracy of 0.1 degrees), the NC-LW10CH can complete machining on all five sides in a single setup.
During the machining process, the vertical spindle completes the top surface machining. After the rotary table is indexed, the horizontal spindle sequentially completes the machining of the four side surfaces. All hole positions and mating surfaces are established within the same coordinate system, preventing error accumulation and ensuring positional accuracy and batch consistency from the source.
For certain high-precision structural components, this is not merely an efficiency improvement but a necessary process path for meeting tolerance requirements.
Which parts absolutely require this approach?
The following four categories represent typical applications, each with specific reasons why machining via repeated part flipping fails to deliver stable results.
| Part Type | Risks of Machining with Multiple Setups | Value of 5-Sided Machining |
|---|---|---|
Gearbox / Reducer Housing |
High coaxial requirements for multi-sided shaft holes and mating surfaces; accumulated errors from repeated setups compromise assembly accuracy. |
All hole relationships established in a single setup, ensuring assembly precision. |
Hydraulic Manifold Block |
Multi-directional oil passages intersect inside the block; axis misalignment impairs sealing and flow performance. |
Unified coordinate system ensures precision of oil passages. |
Communication / RF Cavity |
Precision multi-sided cavities, slots, and threaded holes; repositioning causes flatness and squareness errors out of tolerance. |
All surfaces machined in one setup, with positional tolerance stably controlled within 0.03 mm. |
New Energy Battery / Motor Housing |
Large size and heavy weight (some over 20 kg); repeated handling during repositioning increases labor intensity and risk of clamping deformation. |
Single setup on rotary table eliminates intermediate handling steps, removing accuracy errors caused by handling-induced deformation. |
Other Machining Advantages
- Chip Management: The horizontal design allows chips to fall naturally, preventing them from accumulating on the workpiece. This ensures consistent surface quality during prolonged continuous machining and predictable tool life.
- Accuracy Stability: With a positioning accuracy of 0.005 mm, combined with the Mitsubishi M80B control system and a proven thermal compensation mechanism, dimensional stability is maintained over extended machining periods. HIWIN C3-grade ball screws and PMI/HIWIN roller linear guides provide a reliable foundation for long-term precision retention.
- Spindle and Tool Magazine: Two BT40 direct-drive spindles (one vertical, one horizontal), 12,000 rpm, 11 kW, suitable for mainstream engineering materials such as steel, cast iron, and aluminum alloy. The 24-tool servo tool magazine ensures fast tool changes and stable cycle times for batch production.
Technical Specifications
The following parameters are sourced from the official configuration documentation, with details listed for both vertical and horizontal configurations:
| Parameter Item | Specification Value |
|---|---|
Machine Type |
ContentVertical-Horizontal Machining Center (5-Sided Machining Capable) |
X-axis Travel |
1100 mm (Unified for Vertical/Horizontal Mode) |
Y-axis Travel |
650mm |
Z-axis Travel |
720 mm (Vertical) / 595 mm (Horizontal) |
Maximum Swing Diameter |
1500 mm |
Rotary Table |
600×600 mm, 0.001° Indexing Accuracy |
Positioning Accuracy |
0.005mm |
Repeat Positioning Accuracy |
0.003mm |
Maximum Load Capacity |
1200kg |
With this machine, what projects can we now undertake?
Thanks to its five-sided machining capabilities, long stroke, and highly rigid structure, we can provide greater assurance of machining stability and consistency for the following types of parts:
- Automotive / Construction Machinery: Transmission housings, engine blocks, pump bodies, gearbox housings, bearing housings
- Industrial Hydraulics: Hydraulic manifold blocks, precision multi-hole valve bodies
- Telecommunications / Electronics: RF cavities, filter housings, aluminum alloy structural components for power amplifier modules
- New Energy: Battery enclosures, motor housings, structural frame components
- Molds / General Machinery: Large mold base plates, multi-surface machining of housing-type parts
The machine tool is particularly well-suited for machining cast iron and aluminum alloy housing-type parts, while also efficiently processing a variety of common metal materials, such as 6061/7075 aluminum alloys, carbon steel, alloy steel, and stainless steel. If you have specific material or dimensional requirements, please provide drawings or relevant parameters, and we will assist in evaluating machining feasibility.
Capacity & Lead Times
The introduction of new equipment allows us to handle large-sized and high-volume orders without disrupting the scheduling of existing projects, thereby enhancing overall delivery reliability.
We currently support the following collaboration options:
– First-piece prototyping: Standard lead time is typically 10–15 business days (depending on structural complexity)
– Mass Production: Process evaluation and lead time confirmation based on specific requirements
If your parts have high requirements regarding dimensions, multi-surface machining, or dimensional stability, we can provide tailored machining solutions and quotes based on your drawings.
Interested? Share the Details
- 2D Drawings or 3D Files (STEP, IGES, DWG formats accepted)
- Target Quantity and Required Delivery Time
- Key Tolerance Requirements or Surface Roughness Specifications
- Any Requirements for 5-Sided Machining, Special-Angle Hole Systems, or Other Process Needs
