KINGS

KINGS has been building metal-cutting equipment for more than 25 years. Founded in 1998 in Ningbo, the company now ships about 1 500 CNC machines per year, judging by figures in its 2023 audited statement. European buyers first noticed the brand when CE-marked models reached the market in 2010, and since then the family-owned firm has opened service hubs in Germany and Poland. The guiding idea is simple — offer a solid mechanical base, recognizable Fanuc-compatible controls, and transparent pricing.

Since 2019 KINGS has published a short sustainability report. Cast-iron beds are poured in the company’s own foundry, allowing tight control of metallurgical composition. The last report indicates that 78 % of castings are stress-relieved in-house, limiting the risk of warpage once the machines reach full thermal load.

Production scale

Today the manufacturer runs two production plants totalling 65 000 m². Plant A handles heavy milling frames up to 4 t, while Plant B assembles turning centres and organises final run-in. Around 480 employees are on the payroll, including 46 design engineers. The current catalogue features 27 models split into three families.

Core machine lines

KINGS does not try to cover every niche. Instead the firm concentrates on three segments that matter most to subcontractors and OEM tool rooms. Before diving into individual lines, keep in mind that every spindle is balanced to ISO 1940 grade G2.5 at 6 000 rpm, a figure quoted in the 2023 service manual.

Below is a quick overview, followed by practical discussion.

• V-Series vertical machining centres (VMC) with travels from 600 mm to 1 100 mm
• T-Series horizontal and slant-bed CNC lathes handling bars up to 80 mm
• U-Series universal 5-axis gantries for part envelopes up to 800×500×500 mm

The line-up deliberately omits ultra-large portal mills, leaving that space to specialised builders. For the average European job shop this focus translates to shorter lead times, because castings move from cure pits to final paint in under 18 days.

V-Series machining centres

A vertical machining centre remains the workhorse of many subcontractors. KINGS equips the V-Series with a double-anchored ball-screw and 40 mm roller guides on X/Y and 45 mm on Z. A hydraulic counterbalance is avoided, instead the Z-axis uses twin nitrogen cylinders mounted inside the column, cutting air consumption by 60 % compared with traditional pneumatic schemes.

Two spindle options exist: 12 000 rpm direct drive for aluminium and general steel, and 15 000 rpm built-in motor spindle for mould applications. Tool magazine capacity stays at 24 for the base version, expandable to 30. Magazine change time is quoted at 1.9 s tool-to-tool, verified by a customer video uploaded on PracticalMachinist in June 2023.

Before looking at lathes, it is worth noting that every V-Series machine ships with a three-point levelling pad arrangement. This makes relocation inside an overcrowded shop floor far less stressful, because the geometric chain does not depend on perfect floor flatness.

T-Series turning centres

Turning centres account for roughly 55 % of KINGS annual sales. The T-Series follows a predictable slant-bed layout, yet several mechanical details differ from budget imports seen on classified websites. The 35° bed angle permits gravity-driven chip flow without forcing the operator to lift heavy chip bins above waist level.

• Pre-tensioned box guideways are still used on Z to absorb interrupted cuts on forgings
• C-axis accuracy is stated as ±0.005°, demonstrated during a live cut at the 2022 Stuttgart AMB when the demo part measured ±4 µm true position on a Zeiss Contura
• Tailstock quill comes with an MT5 taper and 120 mm travel, suiting shaft work up to 600 mm between centres

After adding those details the lathe still lists below the price of certain South-Korean brands, mainly because KINGS keeps sheet-metal fabrication inside the Ningbo complex instead of outsourcing.

Control and software

Most European buyers specify Fanuc 0i-TF Plus. Heidenhain TNC 640 and Siemens 828D are available on V-Series but not on T-Series. KINGS also offers its own KF-32 touchscreen panel written on an Ubuntu LTS stack. Although the in-house panel looks attractive, experienced operators often pick standard controls in order to reuse proven post-processors.

An interesting detail surfaced in the 2023 service bulletin — all machines ship with a lifetime licence for the cloud-less version of Renishaw Inspection Plus. Probing macros therefore remain on the machine even if internet access is blocked by corporate IT rules.

Offline programming

The brand does not supply proprietary CAM, yet publishes certified post-processors for Fusion 360, Mastercam, and SprutCAM. In practical terms it means that a nested drilling cycle written for a Haas VF-2 will usually run on a V-Series with minimal editing, provided the coolant codes are adjusted.

Quality assurance

Every frame is aged 30 days in a climate-controlled chamber at 60 °C before machining. Dimensional verification follows ISO 8636-2 Class P. For context, Class P represents positioning error below 10 µm over the full axis stroke, whereas standard showroom demonstrations often quote a shorter travel distance.

Ballbar data released by KINGS shows a circularity error of 6 µm on a 300 mm radius, tested at 6 000 mm/min feed. Independent tests by the Czech Technical University in 2022 recorded 7 µm, which confirms that factory numbers are realistic.

A final inspection report travels with the machine and includes:

• Laser interferometer chart for each linear axis
• Spindle vibration signature in the 50 Hz-5 kHz band
• Ballbar plot at 100 % rapid override

These documents help European dealers issue local conformity declarations without additional measurement runs, saving a day of field service.

Comparison with peers

Users often ask how KINGS stacks up against other mainstream brands. The table below summarises tangible factors. Data comes from public brochures dated 2023.

The figures show that KINGS undercuts Korean and US alternatives while matching core specifications. Buyers focusing on tool change speed may still prefer the Doosan carousel, yet the price gap often tips the decision in favour of KINGS when the project budget is tight.

After studying the numbers some production managers worry about resale value. Used-machine listings on machineseeker.com demonstrate that a five-year-old V-Series keeps about 58 % of its invoice value, roughly equal to Haas and only slightly below Mazak.

User feedback

Field reports collected from CNCzone and German forum Zerspanungsbude point to strong mechanical rigidity for the price bracket. One user machining 17-4 PH stainless at 180 m/min cutting speed observed no chatter on a 10 mm overhang end mill. Another shop running 15 000 rpm spindles on aluminium mould inserts mentioned that the stock coolant pump was too small, so they upgraded to 40 bar Grundfos. KINGS reacted by offering a high-flow pump option in the 2024 price list.

Negative comments mainly target documentation clarity. Earlier English manuals contained literal translations from Chinese, making some alarm descriptions hard to follow. The 2022 revision solved most issues, yet occasional awkward phrasing still appears.

Maintenance and support

Routine tasks mirror other Japanese-control machines. A daily spindle warm-up macro is preloaded, and automatic grease lubrication covers linear guides every 15 min during motion. Spare parts warehouse in Hamburg keeps over 4 000 line items, focusing on boards and sensors with MTBF below 8 000 h. Lead time for larger castings is quoted at 4–6 weeks because replacement beds must pass the same ageing cycle as new builds.

KINGS publishes torque charts and bearing preload values on its public FTP server, so in-house service teams can replace spindle cartridges without waiting for a factory technician. That openness has won praise from several tier-two automotive suppliers that maintain their own maintenance crews to reduce downtime.

Key takeaways

KINGS occupies a pragmatic slot in the CNC landscape. By restricting its catalogue to three focused lines, the firm simplifies both production and after-sales logistics. Mechanical designs rely on time-proven layouts, yet incorporate small but meaningful refinements such as nitrogen counterbalance and high-pressure coolant as standard. For European metal-cutting businesses that balance capital cost against process capability, the brand provides a modern and dependable option. That is why subcontractors in aerospace tooling, hydraulic components, and general mechanical parts increasingly add KINGS machines to mixed fleets containing Japanese and German equipment.

In short, the main advantages are competitive pricing, straightforward Fanuc-style operation, and measurable factory quality control. Enterprises that need to scale capacity quickly without long learning curves often find KINGS an attractive addition to their production arsenal.