What is a machining center? What is a CNC machining center?

The "machining center" almost covers all CNC milling machines and drilling machines, including an automatic tool changer and a worktable for clamping workpieces. On a machining center, the tool rotates but the workpiece does not (which is also one of the most significant differences from a lathe).

The direction of the spindle is the most fundamental and decisive feature of a CNC machining center. Vertical machining centers (VMC) generally lean towards precision, while horizontal machining centers (HMC) generally lean towards production - but these are loose generalizations, and many machining centers have broken through these generalizations. Another common type of machining center is a 5-axis machining center, which can rotate tools and/or parts for milling and drilling in various directions.

Most of the time, "CNC machining center" refers to a CNC milling machine. In Guangzhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, there are people who call it "CNC machining center", which is an automated machine tool with a program control system. This control system is programmed with control codes or other symbolic instructions through the control console, enabling the machine tool to operate and process parts. CNC index controlled machine tools have programming languages for control, usually G code.