DMG/Mori Seiki USA Marks Grand Opening of Mori Seiki Manufacturing

The new $50 million state-of-the-art factory and R&D center covers a 291,000 sq ft campus that builds Mori Seiki NHX4000, NHX5000 and NHX5500 machine tools and collaborates as a partner for general manufacturing concerns, such as factory automation.

Dr. Masahiko Mori, the president of Mori Seiki Co., Ltd. (Nagoya, Japan) and a member of the Supervisory Board of Gildemeister AG (Bielefeld, Germany), addressed key members of the local government, manufacturing community and press at the ribbon cutting on November 7 of the newly‐built Mori Seiki Manufacturing facility in Davis, CA.

His message for the audience was one of projected continuing prosperity and support for the U.S. manufacturing sector.

Dr. Mori referenced the new factory, a first for the company in America, as a resource not only for manufacturers seeking horizontal machining centers, but, as a collaborative partner for general manufacturing concerns, such as factory automation.

The ribbon cutting ceremony’s audience also included the staff of both Mori Seiki Manufacturing and the adjacent Digital Technology Laboratory (DTL).

Over 80 staff members are employed at DTL – an R&D center that collaborates with Mori Seiki Japan on a 24‐hour work cycle to support global manufacturing solutions.

The factory and R&D center comprise a combined 291,000 sq ft campus that is spread over 19.2 acres in Davis, with eight additional acres reserved for future expansion.

In addition to the ceremonial ribbon cutting, behind‐the‐scenes tours of the factory gave a glimpse inside the $50 million state‐of‐the‐art facility.

Mori Seiki NHX4000, NHX5000 and NHX5500 machine tools are being built at the Davis plant, with column and medium part machining on three NHX10000 machines installed with a linear pallet pool (LPP) system with 60 pallets.

The highly automated factory also boasts two NH6300 machines with 40 pallets that machines pallets and small castings.

The large machining area is equipped with two Toshiba MPC‐B Series 5‐face, high‐performance machines.

With capacity for up to 180 tools and up to 44,092 lb, this Toshiba cell – controlled by DTL’s own LPS III software – is able to efficiently produce large NHX Series castings, which are then cleaned by air blow robots.

The castings used in NHX production at the Davis campus come from the same foundry as the NHX machines produced at factories in Japan.

Over forty percent of the machine components are produced domestically, with spindles and ball screws being imported from Mori Seiki Japan. Domestic content will continue to be increased in the future, as additional suppliers are secured.

To maintain economic and environmental standards, the factory performs dry and minimum quantity lubricant (MQL) machining only, with chip evacuation by vacuum, in a temperature controlled facility.

Production started in July of 2012 and current capacity is now 80 units per month.

The NHX4000 horizontal machining center is ideal for the machining of workpieces of up to 24.8 in by 35.4 inches, with a loading capacity of up to 880 lb.

Through an in‐depth analysis of current market needs, Mori Seiki has improved the already high level of performance of the NH Series.

The NHX4000 offers cutting capacity equivalent to the previous NH model, with improved features for greater productivity and efficiency.

DMG/Mori Seiki offers extremely reliable machine tools that are distributed worldwide. The company’s American headquarters is in Chicago, with offices in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Seattle and San Francisco. www.dmgmoriseikiusa.com