China - November 13, 2024 China's first rapid-testing equipment for mother machines up and running (Voice_over) Chinese researchers have unveiled the country’s first rapid-testing equipment for mother machines, or lathes, in the eastern city of Changzhou. Lathes or industrial mother machines refer to machine tools that are used to manufacture other machines or machine parts. They’re widely used in the aerospace and auto industries which both require critical components built to extreme accuracy. Developed by researchers from Longcheng laboratory in Changzhou, the testing equipment is about two-stories high and can carry machines weighing up to 20 tons. Researchers say the testing equipment will alter the vibrations, temperatures and other external factors that could affect a mother machine’s performance, effectively providing years worth of testing in about a week. Engineers will closely monitor the machine tool testing processes and advise on how to optimize their designs. Many computer numerical control, or CNC, machine tools manufacturers in China have already contacted the lab about future collaborations. Earlier this year, the China Association for Science and Technology included machine tool testing on a list of engineering and scientific issues that the country was going to focus on in the near term. [Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]