Machining Growth [Aug 2012]

August 23, 2012 11:10 am

The manufacturing sector contributes immensely towards the economy of the country and CNC machines play an important role in providing efficiency to this sector. Relin Hedly reports.
Machine Tools Sector Becomes Competitive The machine tools segment is considered to be a primary segment of the manufacturing sector. It forms the crucial building blocks for machine and components manufacturing. This is evident from the fact that the growth of the manufacturing sector reflects itself in the growth of the machine tools industry in India. According to Hiren Jadeja, Executive Director, Jyoti CNC Automation Pvt. Ltd., “The Indian machine tools industry is now recognised as a provider of low cost, high quality lean manufacturing solutions. This industry is seen as a partner in the user industries’ efforts to enhance productivity as well as improve competitiveness. Subsequently, the demand from the user segments for accuracy coupled with the growing complexity of applications provided a motivating drive for development and changing trends in the indigenous industry. The industry resiliently supports all its users to enhance productivity as well as improve competitiveness for the benefit of the final customer.”
As an integral sector, growth of the machine tools industry has an immense bearing on the entire economy especially the manufacturing industry. This industry is even more crucial for development of the country’s strategic segments such as defence, railways, space, and atomic energy. Even globally, industrialised-advanced countries have created market niches on the back of a well-developed and supportive machine tools sector.
CNC Machines Make Job EasierThe machine tool industry is broadly divided into metal cutting and metal forming machines which is further divided into CNC and non-CNC machines. A CNC (computer numerical control) machine makes it possible to create thousands of similar products in a lesser period. The concept of CNC machine involves a design to be drawn using software which is then processed by the computer and manufactured using the CNC machine.       Today, from small job shops in rural communications to bigger companies in large urban areas, CNC machines are found everywhere. There is no facet of manufacturing that does not make use of CNC machines in recent times. The manufacturing environment is aware of the possibilities of these CNC machines. Needless to say, the introduction of CNC machine tools helped to improve value added features, such as higher productivity, higher precision, increased reliability, better finishing and improved aesthetics and design. However, production of CNC machines is confined to only a few categories. Thus, the features of CNC machines need substantial improvement. Much more R&D efforts are needed for product innovation, design and quality improvement, greater value addition through CNC technology and producing customer friendly products.
Growth Drivers for CNC Machines Market End User Industry GrowthGrowth in the end-user industries like automotive, auto components, capital goods, consumer durables and aerospace has been key to the success of machine tools sector. “While the present slowdown has impacted end-user industries, we believe that the strong underlying fundamentals of these industries will continue to fuel the need for CNC machines,” added Mr. Jadeja. At present, Jyoti CNC Automation Pvt. Ltd. is having a market share of around 5 per cent.
Outsourcing Opportunity At present India does not export many machines. However, the significant cost differences resulting from both labour and component cost poses a huge opportunity for global companies to outsource their requirements to Indian companies to be more competitive in the global market.
Import Substitution With the Indian companies recovering much faster than their European counterparts, Jyoti CNC believes this is the key opportunity for domestic players to gain market share from the import market. Indian manufacturers have an opportunity to supply machines at a cheaper rate, which is preferred by companies in the current environment.
ConclusionThe major contribution of revenues, nearly 66 per cent, for the Indian machine tools industry comes from metal cutting CNC machines. Within these, the major categories are numerically controlled (NC) machines and flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). In the metal cutting conventional segment, there are general purpose machines (GPMs) and special purpose machines (SPMs). The industry’s prospect mainly depends on the growth of the engineering sector. The user sectors of machine tools are automotive, auto ancillaries, railways, defence, agriculture, steel, fertilisers, electrical, electronics, telecommunication, textile machinery, ball & roller bearings, industrial valves, etc.
Even in the face of growing demand, India’s manufacturing sector continues to be over dependent on import of machine tools, including CNC (computer numerical control) and non-CNC machines, lathes, forgings and dyes due to capacity constraints and lack of investments. According to Mr. Jadeja, “The machine tools manufacturers in India lack in adapting higher technology leading the end-user industries to go for imported machines. “As the Indian players improve the technology of machines, there will be a huge market for them to cater which is currently served by foreign players.
 
 Technological Innovation of Jyoti CNC
 
 Year: 2010-2011
 Year: 2011-2012
• Double-column vertical machining centre (NX series)

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