Early last year, Openex Large Metal Fabrication significantly upgraded its heavy manufacturing wing with the introduction of an extraordinarily capable 22-Meter Vertical Turning & Milling Center (VTL). Built to process the largest mechanical blueprints in global industry, this colossal CNC platform features unmatched operational envelopes:

• Max Turning Diameter: 22 Meters (72+ feet)
• Working Height Clearance: 7 Meters
• Rotary Table Diameter: 10 Meters
• Maximum Table Load: 650 Metric Tons

However, its massive volumetric footprint isn’t the primary reason OEMs from the offshore marine, energy, and engineering sectors have been filling our production calendar. The true breakthrough lies in how tightly this giant CNC center can hold precision geometric tolerances across multi-stage, continuous machining cycles.

The Size vs. Precision Myth: The 10-Meter Ring Forging

When massive components hit the machine bed, many engineering teams harbor an understandable hesitation: “A machine this size is probably only viable for rough turning—surely you’ll need secondary machine centers for the tight final dimensions, right?”

A recent contract manufacturing client, who engaged Openex to process a massive, irregularly shaped 10-meter custom ring forging, admitted he shared the same initial apprehension. The execution of the custom specialty flange swiftly disproved the myth.

Because shifting heavy geometries from table to table invites crippling re-clamping inaccuracies (stack-up tolerance errors), the 22-meter center was deployed to operate in a continuous deep cycle. The 50-ton raw forged steel billet stayed planted firmly as it was ushered seamlessly through dozens of coordinated procedural stages spanning multiple weeks. Operations sequentially toggled through heavy rough turning, continuous deep-axis milling, off-load stress relief cycles (PWHT), weldment preparations, back into finish CNC milling, and finally hand bench fitting.

When the custom flange left the platform, the rough billet had elegantly transformed into a flawlessly toleranced 15-ton precision finished part, possessing zero sign of table-rotation variance or tool chatter despite a 70% material weight-loss during machining.

“Seeing the level of micron detail retained across this giant footprint, even through uninterrupted continuous shift cycles, was beyond what we had assumed physically possible,” noted the lead inspecting OEM customer upon reviewing final runout reports.

Digging Deeper: The TBM Earth Pressure Shield Core

This stability has paved the way for successful penetration deeply into hyper-stress OEM assembly domains, particularly large Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) engineering tools and pressure vessels.

An active supply partnership concerning global underground infrastructural equipment relied critically upon the extreme limits of the 22M setup to machine the “Front Shield” geometry of a mammoth 6.7-Meter Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The Front Shield acts essentially as the invincible external primary jacket (outer coat), transferring devastating rotational earth load-bearing forces and vibration to safely anchor the cutterhead mechanics underneath. It serves directly on the front-line threshold of geological failure constraints, enforcing aggressive surface contact positioning measurements before full integration can ever commence down inside dark cavern shafts.

Providing flawlessly mated geometry out the door fundamentally streamlined our client’s delivery.

“Our end customers establish excruciating precision restrictions exactly due to the sheer logistical catastrophe of finding microscopic integration problems post-factory shipment on shielding pieces this vast,” discussed our project representative during their deployment phase exit evaluation. “Aligning precisely through Openex’s 22M unit essentially secured this component build-up process successfully for us… and actually developed into an entirely new sustained, robust volume contract pipeline for our global network moving forward.”

Whether you are tackling custom massive petrochemical manifolds or seeking dependable sub-contracting structural platforms allowing you to say “Yes” to multi-meter tunneling machine OEM bidding, this installation stands primed inside our China factories handling absolute heavy machining demands precisely out to 22000 millimeters.

Frequently Asked Equipment Questions (FAQ)