[Editor's note] CCMT2026 (14th China CNC Machine Tool Exhibition) was successfully held in Shanghai from April 21-25. The organizer, China Machine Tool Industry Association, organized relevant branches to provide professional reviews of various exhibits. Some of them are now compiled and distributed for industry reference. The viewpoint of the article only represents the author himself.
Currently, the cutting tool industry is facing multiple factors such as high fluctuations in raw material prices, complex international trade environment, rapid changes in hot industries in mechanical processing, and periodic pressure on downstream demand. In this context, how tool companies can shift from "price competition" to "value competition" and find new growth paths in the face of cost pressure and changing scenarios has become one of the most noteworthy topics at this exhibition.
From the exhibition site, domestic and foreign tool companies not only showcased new products, technologies, and solutions, but also demonstrated the trend of upgrading the cutting tool industry from single product supply to comprehensive process solutions through structural design, material substitution, system optimization, and application scenario expansion. This article combines some exhibits in the field of cutting tools at this exhibition to summarize technological innovation and scene innovation.
1、 Technological Innovation: From Single Tool Cost Reduction to Systematic Cost Reduction
Focusing on the rising prices of raw materials and the overall cost of cutting tools, the solutions at this exhibition mainly focus on three directions: first, reducing the consumption of hard alloys through structural optimization; second, improving resource utilization efficiency through material optimization; and third, reducing the unit processing cost of parts through cutting system optimization.
1. Tool structure optimization: Small diameter rotatable tools and modular tools have become important paths
Faced with the cost pressure of hard alloy caused by the rise in tungsten resource prices, tool manufacturing enterprises generally regard structural optimization as an important lever for cost reduction and efficiency improvement. On the one hand, reversible cutting tools are further developing towards smaller diameters and higher rigidity, replacing integral hard alloy cutting tools to reduce the amount of hard alloy used. Zhuzhou Diamond Cutting Tools Co., Ltd., Zhuzhou Ouke Yi CNC Precision Cutting Tools Co., Ltd., Kyocera Corporation of Japan, and South Korea's Tegute Corporation exhibited small diameter indexing milling cutters with diameters of up to 12 mm or smaller. Especially with the successful release of the EMP11 series small diameter indexing milling cutter from Zhuzhou Diamond, the indexing tool has broken through the limit of small diameter and achieved the market-oriented application of 8mm diameter multi tooth indexing milling cutters, proving the leap in precision manufacturing technology and structural design capabilities. It can be widely used in fields such as molds, medical care, aerospace, etc., and can effectively replace solid hard alloy cutting tools in some scenarios. By adopting a "blade replacement instead of tool replacement" mode, the full life cycle cost of cutting tools is greatly reduced, providing users with a choice that balances efficiency and cost.
On the other hand, through the modular interface combination design of the blade body and blade head, the maintainability and reusability of the cutting tool can be improved. By using steel or hard alloy handles, hard alloy working parts, and high-performance modular interfaces, the connection rigidity, repeated positioning accuracy, and processing stability are ensured while reducing the consumption of hard alloy materials by the handle. The modular cutting tools showcased by companies such as Zhuzhou Huarui Precision Tools Co., Ltd., Nanjing Duote Tools Co., Ltd., Israel Iska Corporation, and Germany Paul Horn Co., Ltd. reflect the trend of tool transformation from "disposable consumables" to "modular cutting tools that can be combined, reused, and maintained".
2. Tool material optimization: attention is paid to recycled alloys, welding structures, and tungsten free alternatives
The rapid rise in prices of hard alloys has led the industry to re recognize the scarcity and cost sensitivity of strategic metal resources such as tungsten and cobalt. Compared to the earlier established tungsten recycling and regeneration systems, standardized modular structure designs, and high-performance welding processes abroad, there is still room for improvement in the attention paid by domestic cutting tool companies to modular cutting tools, welding tools, and recycled materials in the past. At this exhibition, more and more companies are seeking breakthroughs from three aspects: "using less tungsten, recycling tungsten, and replacing tungsten". Zhengzhou Diamond Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has launched steel based PCD cutting tools with welded hard alloy shank; Shenzhen Zhongtian Superhard Co., Ltd. showcases drill bits made of recycled hard alloy shank welding materials; Suzhou Xinrui Alloy Tools Co., Ltd. has launched gradient alloy bars with recycled materials for the handle.
In terms of tool materials, metal ceramics have shown a strong trend of replacing hard alloys. Sumitomo showcased the coated metal ceramic material T2100Z for precision machining of steel parts at this exhibition. In response to the current processing situation where the surface quality is good but the toughness is insufficient and prone to breakage, it can balance high stability and long life. Kyocera also exhibited the old model TN620/PV720, which is suitable for full working condition cutting of steel parts from low speed to high speed. Huarui exhibited the Qingfeng series metal ceramic blades and launched a new upgraded grade HRC10, which has good wear resistance and anti fracture performance. The coating grade HR115C further enhances wear resistance and high temperature resistance through nano gradient composite coating. Jiaxing Lingrui New Material Technology Co., Ltd. showcases its metal ceramic cutting tool products.
These exhibits demonstrate that material innovation is no longer limited to coating and grade upgrades, but extends to resource recycling, composite structures, and material system reconstruction.
3. Cutting system optimization: shifting from procurement costs to full lifecycle costs
In the context of rising raw material prices, simply lowering the purchase price of cutting tools cannot truly reduce processing costs. In actual production, the cutting system is composed of machine tools, cutting tools, tool holders, fixtures, cooling, software, and process parameters. If high-end CNC machine tools and high-value hard alloy cutting tools are used, but are matched with low precision and low rigidity tool systems and fixtures, it may reduce procurement costs on the surface, but in reality, it may cause efficiency decline, quality fluctuations, spindle accuracy damage, and abnormal tool wear, ultimately pushing up unit part costs. The active control chip breaking drill tool holder launched by Sichuan Baijiang Precision Tools Co., Ltd., the overall turning solution of "PSC turning system+precision power chuck" launched by Sentai Inge, the Huarui "Zhijia" industrial software showcased by Zhuzhou Huarui Precision Tools Co., Ltd., and the Diamond Intelligent Blade solution launched by Zhuzhou Diamond all improve machining efficiency, tool life, and process stability from the perspective of cutting system and process management, reflecting the industry's transformation from "buying tools" to "buying ability, efficiency, and stability".
2、 Scenario Innovation: Searching for Specialization Opportunities around Emerging Incremental Industries
Against the backdrop of a complex international trade environment, weak demand in traditional manufacturing industries, and relatively abundant production capacity for general cutting tools, it has become increasingly difficult for cutting tool companies to expand solely through general supplies. At the same time, emerging or high prosperity fields such as AI computing power, semiconductors, industrial automation, robots, and energy equipment are forming new processing demands. The ability to identify these incremental scenarios and provide specialized tools, fixtures, and process solutions around key components is becoming an important watershed for enterprise competitiveness. This shift from "single product tackling" to "systematic solutions" indicates that tool companies are elevating industry solutions from technical issues to strategic business segments, establishing technological barriers and market moats at a higher level.
At this exhibition, multiple companies showcased targeted tool products, technical routes, and processing solutions in the areas of AI liquid cooling systems, semiconductors, precision reducers for robots, and energy equipment.
1. AI liquid cooling system
The rapid increase in AI computing power makes it difficult for traditional air cooling methods to meet the heat dissipation needs of high heat flux density chips and server clusters, making liquid cooling systems an important infrastructure for high computing scenarios. Liquid cooled plates, joints, flow channels, sealing surfaces, and other components have higher requirements for machining accuracy, surface quality, burr control, and batch stability. Dongguan Gaoye Cutting Tools Co., Ltd. and Kyocera Corporation of Japan showcased liquid cooling system related components and processing solutions, which attracted the attention of users and professional audiences on site. It also showed that tool companies are actively entering the data center and AI infrastructure supporting industry chain.
2. Semiconductor industry
The AI PCB board has multiple layers, large thickness, and hard material. During the processing, the tool wear is fast and the hole wall quality requirements are high, which puts forward a strong and urgent demand for high-end ultra long diameter precision micro cutting tools. The ultra long diameter PCD micro drill exhibited by Beijing Wald Diamond Tools Co., Ltd. and Zhengzhou Diamond Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. can be used for drilling and processing components such as PCB boards, spray plates, heating plates, probe cards, high-frequency boards, HDI boards, thick copper plates, and packaging substrates. The value of such cutting tools lies not only in material hardness and wear resistance, but also in microscale blade consistency, chip removal ability, hole accuracy, and batch life stability.
3. Robot precision reducer
The industrial automation and embodied robot industry have entered a stage of rapid development, and precision reducers, as one of the core functional components, account for a relatively high proportion of the overall cost, with strict requirements for tooth profile accuracy, transmission efficiency, noise control, and assembly consistency. Chengdu Tool Research Institute Co., Ltd. and Sentai Inge (Chengdu) CNC Tool Co., Ltd. showcased gear cutting tools and precision fixtures used for precision reducer machining and assembly, providing process support for high-precision and high consistency machining of key components. With the continuous improvement of the robot industry chain, the demand for specialized cutting tools around components such as reducers, joint modules, screws, and bearing seats will continue to be released.
4. Energy equipment
The construction of AI computing power clusters directly drives the demand for supporting power supply and backup power. Diesel generators are still an important choice for backup power sources in data centers due to their high reliability; Gas turbines have advantages in efficiency, emissions, and full lifecycle costs, and have also received attention in some scenarios. Taicang Ruiding Precision Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. and Sentai Inge (Chengdu) CNC Tool Co., Ltd. showcased a combination tool and multi-point support high rigidity angle head for diesel generator machining, providing a solution for efficient machining of key components such as diesel engine cylinder blocks. Energy equipment components usually have the characteristics of large size, high rigidity requirements, and high process concentration, which highlights the demand for combination cutting tools, special machine cutting tools, and complex process solutions.
3、 Exhibition inspiration: The cutting tool industry is restructuring its competitive logic
Looking back at CCMT2026, against the backdrop of high fluctuations in raw material prices, complex international trade environment, hot industry changes in mechanical processing, and downstream user demand pressure, domestic and foreign tool exhibitors and professional visitors still maintain a high level of enthusiasm. What the exhibition presents is not a single product upgrade, but a change in the competitive logic of the cutting tool industry: from resource consuming competition to resource-saving competition, from low price competition to performance competition, from general product competition to scenario solution competition.
1. Resource conservation: promote tungsten reduction, re generation, and reusability
The increase in raw material prices has made tool manufacturing companies and end users pay more attention to resource conservation. The technological directions of high-performance modular cutting tools, welding tools, tool grinding, alloy regeneration, and tungsten free or low tungsten materials will accelerate their application under the joint promotion of cost pressure and green manufacturing requirements. In the future, tool companies not only need to provide cutting edges, but also need to provide a product system with higher material utilization efficiency, longer life cycle, and clearer recycling paths.
2. Regression performance: Measuring true value based on processing efficiency and stability
The rise in raw material prices has increased the pressure on enterprises in the short term, but it has also forced the industry to eliminate low-end repetitive production capacity, prompting enterprises to re emphasize tool performance, process capability, and system stability. For users, the price of cutting tools should not only be based on the cost of purchasing a single unit, but should also return to comprehensive indicators such as unit part processing cost, cycle time, yield rate, equipment protection, and tool life. Shifting from "price priority" to "performance priority" will help promote the tool industry to enter a healthier development track.
3. Focus on applications: Form differentiated capabilities around new scenarios
The uncertainty of the market environment and the overcapacity of general cutting tools have made the competition in the traditional application market more intense. Tool companies must be closer to the end use scenario, understand the material characteristics, structural features, and process difficulties of emerging industry components, and develop specialized products and complete processes around AI liquid cooling, semiconductors, robots, energy equipment, and other directions. Whoever can enter the customer's process chain earlier is more likely to transform from a simple supplier to a process partner.
Overall, in the face of high fluctuations in tungsten prices and upgraded trade barriers, the cutting tool industry has found it difficult to return to the past model of relying on general supplies, low prices, and extensive resource consumption competition. The truly growth oriented direction is shifting towards high-performance cutting tools, specialized products, tool systems, clamping and measuring systems, digital process software, and more complete machining solutions. The signal released by CCMT2026 is very clear: the next round of growth in the cutting tool industry will belong to enterprises that understand both materials and structures, as well as scenarios and systems.
Author: Tool Branch of the Association (CCMT2026 Cutting Tool Review Group Written by Zhao Qingjun and Wang Yuzhong)
