According to the product life cycle theory proposed by Harvard University professor Raymond Vernon, products, like human life, go through cycles of formation, growth, maturity, and decline. As for machine tool products, they also need to go through a process of introduction, growth, maturity and decline.
1. Introductory period
New products are brought to market. At this stage, production batches are small, manufacturing costs are high, sales prices are high, sales volume is very low, and the company’s profit margin is limited. Such as five-axis linkage machining center, complete equipment automatic line, special machine and other series of products;
–The concept of five-axis linkage machining centers originated in Europe, and Japanese composite machining machines emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although my country started Lately, domestic users have used a large number of imported five-axis linkage machining centers for processing complex parts. According to incomplete statistics, by the end of 2015, more than 20 domestic enterprises had started to develop and manufacture five-axis machining centers, launching a series of five-axis products, breaking foreign technology blockades, serving domestic strategic industries and occupying the highest point of strategic industries.
–Automatic lines have become a new trend in the development of the industry. On the one hand, automatic lines can significantly improve production efficiency. On the other hand, humans do not participate in the production process. All part captures and inspections are carried out by robots. , which avoids manual installation errors and ensures consistent processing dimensions. Good, the scrap rate is low, thirdly, it can reduce the workload of workers and greatly reduce labor costs. In recent years, large domestic machine tool enterprises such as Shenyang, Dalian, Anyang and Pleasant have launched various types of flexible manufacturing units, production lines and automatic production lines, which has led to improvements rapid changes in product quality and application levels.
–Although the market for special machine tool products is small, they have a high technical level, complex manufacturing, are less subject to market fluctuations, and have high profits. These are the special skills of companies in the current market decline. Taking the special pipe thread processing machine in the oil industry as an example, this type of machine tool is suitable for processing various oil pipes, casings, pipe fittings, drill pipe joints, cones, claws and other oil industry parts. It can turn straight lines, oblique lines, arcs, metric threads and straight taper threads, and has multiple functions such as tool nose radius compensation. Currently, leading companies in the industry are developing special machine tools.
2. Growth period
The demand and sales of machine tool products increased rapidly, production costs decreased significantly, and profits increased rapidly. Such as gantry machining center, horizontal machining center and other series of products;
–International mainstream machine tools of gantry machining centers can be divided according to structure into: movable fixed beam and fixed column worktable, movable beam fixed column worktable with lifting beam, fixed movable beam and fixed column working table, bridge type gantry structure, etc. . According to relevant data from the Machine Tool Association, the annual domestic market demand is about 2,000 units. The specifications of domestic machine tools are mainly concentrated in workbench widths of 1.25-3m. The products are mainly fixed beams, fixed columns and. types of mobile workbenches. Foreign machine tools use movable beams as the main body, and the fixed beam structure is gradually replaced by passive beams due to restrictions on the height of processed parts and processing precision.
–Horizontal machining centers are divided into fixed column types and movable column types depending on whether the column moves. According to relevant data from the Machine Tool Association, the annual domestic market demand is around 2,500 units. The series product workbench is concentrated in specifications from 500 × 500mm to 1600 × 1600mm, among which the three specifications of workbench size 500 × 500mm, 630 × 630mm and 800 × 800mm are the most requested series.
3. Maturity period
After the growth period, as production and sales of machine tools continue to increase, market demand tends to be saturated. During this stage, sales growth slowed and product profits declined due to increased competition. Such as popular CNC lathes, vertical machining centers and other series of products;
At present, domestic machine tool enterprises have fundamentally mastered the manufacturing technology of popular CNC lathes and vertical machining centers. Popular CNC lathes and vertical machines are increasing year by year and are the focus of the future development of the industry. The main parameters and structural performance of popular CNC lathes and vertical machining machines are basically similar to those of domestic enterprises, and the competition in homogenization is fierce. The single spindle, single tool holder and single workbench structure affects the processing efficiency. This type of machine tools abroad is only used for teaching and small batch single-part production.
–Popular CNC lathes. Domestic companies generally use an integrated bench and 45° (30°/60°) inclined guide rail arrangement. According to relevant data from the Machine Tool Association, the annual domestic market demand is about 35,000 units. . The maximum cutting diameter φ200-300mm is the most demanded.
–Vertical machining centers can be divided into pyramid structure, C type and gantry type according to the vertical structure of the machine bed. According to relevant data from the Machine Tool Association, the annual demand for Lika in the domestic market is around 40,000 units; through preliminary market analysis, Lijia economic products such as culture, education, scientific research and general mechanical processing will become the focus. competition, with economic models accounting for 30% of the total demand for Lika % market share, while the VMC850 specification is the largest in terms of market demand.
4. Recession period
The life cycle of machine tool products gradually ends and they are eventually completely withdrawn from the market. Such as ordinary machine tools (ordinary lathes, radial drills, ordinary boring machines, grinders, planers, etc.), economical CNC machine tools (economical CNC lathes, drilling machines, milling machines, etc.) are mass produced.
–Western developed countries completed the upgrade of their ordinary machine tools to CNC machine tools between the late 1970s and early 1980s, while China basically completed this process after 2013. technical transformation of users and bulk purchase of ordinary equipment are already minimal. The application of ordinary machine tools has gradually transformed from large-scale industrial production to a workshop supporting auxiliary equipment and spare parts maintenance tools. Market demand for regular towers has fallen from a peak of 125,000 units in 2011 to around 30,000 units. Affected by national conditions, the demand for ordinary machine tools will exist for a long time.
–The economical CNC machine tool is unique in China. It is an improved product of ordinary machine tools and the starting product for the development of domestic CNC machine tools. It has a long development time and rich varieties although its functional level is low; , its price is low and it is popular among users of rough machining and general processing. According to data from the Machine Tool Association, the sales volume of economic CNC lathes accounts for 60% of the total CNC lathes, and the value accounts for 30% of CNC lathes. Its market demand has fallen from a peak of 120,000 units in. 2011 at around 40,000 units. The demand will exist for a long time due to the impact of national conditions.
Product life cycle theory analysis helps companies clarify their positioning and plays an important guiding role in formulating product competition strategies. It can identify gaps and deficiencies in existing products, deeply analyze root causes, and propose effective countermeasures for product development. Provide ideas for deepening the market and planning development.
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