What is the difference between CNC milling machines and machining centers?

What is the difference between CNC milling machines and machining centers? In fact, this issue is not only confusing for laypeople, but also for many industry insiders who are foolish and unable to distinguish.
Simply put, the machining center is an upgraded version of the CNC milling machine. In fact, there are three main differences between these two types of machining equipment:
The biggest difference is whether it comes with a tool magazine or not
Ordinary CNC milling machines also have CNC operating systems (such as Fanuc, Germany Siemens, China Huazhong or Guangzhou, etc.), as well as three feed axes and one rotary spindle. Their processing mode geometry is identical, and they can basically achieve the same processing capability.
The biggest difference between them is whether the equipment is equipped with a tool library. The machining center is actually a CNC milling machine with a tool library. The machining center can achieve one-time clamping and complete multiple machining processes, such as milling, drilling, tapping, etc., because it can achieve automatic tool replacement. Moreover, in the continuous machining process of multiple machining processes, the operator does not need to intervene manually, as long as the program is programmed, Just configure the tools and corresponding parameters. On the other hand, CNC milling machines are not the same. CNC milling machines can also achieve multiple processes with one clamping process. However, in the process of process conversion, manual tool replacement is required, so the machining process is discontinuous and intermittent to multiple degrees. This type of machining, whether in terms of machining quality or efficiency, is slightly inferior to machining centers.
So when you see a device in the future, you can straightforwardly determine whether it is a CNC milling machine or a machining center by whether it has a tool library, which is a golden standard.
Is it fully protected
In fact, this is not absolute for many devices, and many CNC milling machines are gradually becoming fully protected processing modes. Of course, there are also many old-fashioned CNC milling machines that still use open or semi protected processing methods, which is somewhat different from current machining centers. Of course, this difference is not absolute (to be reiterated).

In fact, this is closely related to the development process of equipment. In the early stage of CNC machining equipment, many manufacturers do not pay much attention to appearance design and safety protection, and basically remain focused on functional requirements. Therefore, many CNC milling machines have been made in an open form, or a good point is the semi open form. Although these CNC milling machines do not have significant functional defects, they still have significant shortcomings in terms of processing safety and environment. For example, high-temperature iron filings generated during machining can splash onto people, causing harm to the human body, and the coolant used to cool the cutting tools during the machining process can also splash onto the operator's body, dirtying the operator's clothes, and so on. Therefore, despite the progress in the research and development of production equipment, especially the invasion of high-end foreign equipment, the design and manufacturing of processing equipment in China are also moving towards a more humane, aesthetically pleasing, and artistic path.

This is a process, and any progress requires a process. Product technology and product artistry are the unified requirements for industrial products in the future, and they are also the necessary path for the future development of industrial products.
Is it equipped with an automatic chip conveyor
This judgment standard, like the previous one, is not an absolute judgment standard, but also a flexible standard based on the development process of processing equipment. The reason for this is also due to the trade-off between some backward functions in the research and development of previous equipment. Many new CNC milling machines, fully protective and automatic chip conveyors are basically standard equipment, and there is not much difference from machining centers.

But for those old-fashioned CNC milling machines, this evaluation standard is still valid. After all, a device that has not even been properly protected dare not be extravagant about automatic chip removal. In fact, practitioners in the mechanical industry today should be grateful to this era. It is this era that has provided us with the technology and ability to free our hands, allowing us to engage in our job more easily and efficiently, And with the comprehensive development of Industry 4.0, the liberation of labor force is also accelerating crazily, and even leading to the elimination of many labor forces or labor methods. We must always be prepared.
last
Based on the above reasons, if you want to choose a device, of course, it is better to choose a machining center, at least in terms of machining efficiency, which is much higher, and the machining range is also much larger, especially when used with a fourth axis rotary workbench, it is simply a miracle!