Producing CNC machine tools indigenously

Signing of a number of economic and technical co-operation agreements between the two sides during the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is a manifestation of the underlying principle of close Pak-China relationship, which has opened up new opportunities for enhancing industrial synergy.
Indeed, China has helped Pakistan generously to establish a solid foundation for its engineering industry and remains responsive to its current needs for technological advancement and up-gradation of facilities. Pakistan has invited China for investment in the various engineering industrial units under the administrative control of the Ministry of Industries and Production, most of which were established under the Chinese technical and economic assistance, such as Heavy Mechanical Complex, Heavy Foundry & Forge and Heavy Electrical Complex. The diversified proposals offering partnership to the Chinese public and private investors under equity basis were presented at the meeting of the Pak-China Co-operation Business Forum held at Islamabad on December 18.
The proposed investment, aiming primarily at achieving import substitution, covers indigenous development and manufacturing of wind turbines, small tractors & agricultural implements, power transformers, electronics, CNC machine tools and other products, along technology transfer, besides undertaking modernisation and expansion of a few of these enterprises.
Concluding the discussions at the meeting, two sides have developed a roadmap as China has agreed to invest and help Pakistan acquiring modern technology in key areas of the economy.
Machine Tools Factory is widely regarded as strategic by virtue of its contribution to the technological development of manufacturing sector of the economy. Computerised Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machine Tools are highly automated machines that uses programme to automatically execute a series of machining operations widely used for lathe, drill press, milling machine, grinding machine and laser & plasma sheet-metal press-working machines etc. The CNC machine tools have application in manufacturing of transport equipment, industrial machinery, engineering & electrical/electronics goods and strategic industries.
The advantages of employing CNC machine tools are high accuracy in manufacturing, short production time, greater manufacturing flexibility, accuracy & precision, simpler fixtures & tooling, and reduced human error. These features result in improved productivity and overall higher quality of end-products.
Modern production system, therefore, demands switching over to CNC machine tools for the reasons of high value addition and economy of scale. All future establishments of industries in Pakistan now induct CNC machine tools, which are a vital component for technology-based industrialisation. There are replacements of inefficient and quality-inconsistent conventional machine tools by the industry, on a large scale, with the CNC machine tools.
Current demand of CNC machine tools in Pakistan is estimated to 30 units a year, with stable 2% annual growth. As the government plans technological transformation to speed up, the demand of CNC machine tools is projected to increase manifold. At present, all demands are met through imports. To revitalise domestic machine tools industry, it is planned to manufacture CNC machine tools, basically CNC Turning Centres, CNC Machining Centres, CNC Lathes and CNC Milling Machines, at the Pakistan Machine Tools Factory (PMTF), Karachi, with progressive deletion. This essentially requires acquisition of cutting-edge technology, under technical collaboration or joint venture arrangements with a reputed foreign manufacturer and, at the same time, undertaking BMRE of existing facilities at PMTF that was established in 1968.
Manufacturing of high-tech machine tools has been a cherished dream of the PMTF since long as the country continues to import large number of machine tools. A number of schemes were conceived by the PMTF, the only machine tools manufacturer in the organised sector, with focus on reducing reliance on expensive imported CNC machines. A prototype was developed in 1997, but commercial production could not commence. Collaboration agreements with the European manufacturers could not be firmed up as cost of technology transfer was exorbitant and commercial terms stingy. Meanwhile, the PMTF was, however, successful in developing a few CNC machine tools for training purposes.
China is logically the most suitable partner to launch manufacturing of CNC machine tools at the PMTF. China's machine tools industry has made remarkable progress in recent years. Catching up fast the world's advanced level in the production of machine tools, through acquisition of latest Western technology and its own R&D, the industry has played an increasing crucial role in the global machine tools industry. Its total output has been about 800,000 units in 2009 valuing $40 billion with significant exports, which accounted for one-quarter of the world's machine tools. The share of CNC machine tools has been to the level of around twenty percent of total Chinese output of machine tools.
The indigenous manufacturing of CNC machine tools, envisaging annual capacity to produce 200 units on full production at a capital cost of about Rs 800 million, will generate employment for highly skilled manpower and help establish auxiliary and vendor industries. On the other hand, implementation of project that will take 24 months will develop skills in electronics, system integration and computer programming, in addition to mechanical engineering and high precision mechanics. The export potential in regional and international markets can also be exploited by PMTF in due course of time.
(The writer is former Chairman of Pakistan Machine Tools Factory, Karachi, is currently on the Board of Directors of Heavy Mechanical Complex Taxila)