In recent years, driven by China’s dual carbon goals and the ongoing transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector, the CNC precision machining industry has quietly entered a new phase marked by “smart manufacturing + green production.”
According to data released by the China Machinery Industry Federation, in the first half of 2025, more than 38% of small and medium-sized CNC machining enterprises nationwide had introduced intelligent systems such as MES (Manufacturing Execution System), automated loading and unloading robotic arms, and AI-based path optimization. These upgrades have enabled partial automation of the entire production process — from blueprints to final delivery — effectively reducing labor costs and significantly improving yield rates.
“In the past, we had to rely on experienced technicians to manually adjust tool paths. Now, the software can directly recommend optimal paths, tools, and cutting parameters, eliminating a lot of unnecessary trial cuts,” said a factory manager from Suzhou, Jiangsu. Since implementing their new system, their monthly tool consumption has decreased by 22%, and manual programming time has been reduced by more than 50%.
Beyond smart manufacturing upgrades, green practices have also become a rising focus within the industry. Many machining enterprises are experimenting with water-soluble cutting fluids, energy-efficient spindle motors, and even solar panels to power some equipment, all in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. A machining park in Shandong has gone a step further, using AI systems to coordinate plant-wide energy usage schedules, avoiding simultaneous startup of heavy-load equipment during peak hours, resulting in significant energy savings.
Industry experts point out that within the next five years, green energy efficiency and intelligent systems will become core metrics in evaluating a CNC factory’s competitiveness. For small and medium-sized enterprises looking to escape the “red ocean” of price-based competition, the path forward lies in improving across multiple dimensions — from machining efficiency and process stability to environmental performance — rather than relying solely on cost advantages.
