Meet the Machine

Used DMG MORI NHX 4000: Four Generations, One 400 mm Pallet

Every DMG MORI NHX 4000 runs on the same 400 mm pallet with the same 22 x 22 x 26 inch travels. Under that envelope sit four generations of spindle, bed and control, and around it sit anywhere from two pallets to a pool of them. A used NHX 4000 is priced by both.

Older plates and listings read Mori Seiki NHX4000. Newer ones read DMG MORI NHX 4000. It is the same model line, renamed as the two companies came together. Our DMG MORI brand profile covers that story.

Where the NHX 4000 Came From

Mori Seiki already had a 400 mm horizontal before the NHX. In 2003 it announced the Mori Seiki NH4000 DCG, built on the same 400 x 400 mm pallet with the same 560 mm of X and Y. DCG stood for Driven at the Center of Gravity.

On September 13, 2010, Mori Seiki opened orders for the Mori Seiki NHX4000 and NHX5000/40. Its release compared the NHX with the conventional model rather than naming one, and claimed about 40 percent lower total power consumption, from a hydraulic pump that can stop in standby and fewer motors. The release does not describe the NHX as a DCG machine, so do not assume the DCG drive carried over.

Four Generations, One 400 mm Pallet

The DMG MORI NHX 4000 has kept its pallet and travels through four generations. Here is what changed, from the company's own releases.

The second generation is the one that changed the most iron. DMG MORI said it raised maximum tool length from 400 to 450 mm and maximum tool diameter from 140 to 170 mm, moved the spindle nose 30 mm closer to the pallet center and went to three-point leveling. The third generation is the one that answered the spindle. Its release lists a labyrinth that better blocks coolant intrusion and longer-life disk springs to hold tool clamping force. If you are looking at an earlier machine, those are the two places to inspect.

Two Pallets or a Pool

Every NHX 4000 generation comes with a 2-pallet changer standard. One pallet is in the machine cutting while the other is unloaded and reloaded outside. That alone keeps the spindle from waiting on a setup.

The pallet pools are what turn the machine into an unattended cell. DMG MORI's 2014 and 2018 releases list a round pallet pool, a carrier pallet pool and a linear pallet pool. On the third generation, DMG MORI lists up to 21 pallet stations on a standalone machine and linear pallet pools of up to 99 pallets across several machines. The fourth generation adds RPS systems of 5, 14 or 21 pallets.

A pool changes what you are buying. Two NHX 4000s with the same year and spindle can differ by a full automation cell. A machine pulled from a pool may or may not come with its pallets, its stocker and its pallet management software, so ask exactly what is included. For how pallet automation changed what a machining center can produce, see our Next Shift on multi-pallet machining.

The Numbers Underneath

Figures come from Mori Seiki and DMG MORI release documents for each generation. Weight, footprint and pallet change time vary by generation and automation, so confirm them for the specific machine before you plan rigging.

Which Control You Are Getting

The control generation decides your post processor, your parts path and how the machine talks to a pallet pool. Read the control on the machine, not the year in the listing, and confirm with DMG MORI what support is available for that control before you buy.

On Our Floor

We have several NHX 4000s listed, which makes this one easy to compare in person:

2017 DMG MORI NHX4000 with 2-pallet changer. View listing. Full continuous 4th-Axis, CAT 40 at 15,000 rpm, 60 tools, 1,000 psi through-spindle coolant and an automatic tool setter.
2017 DMG MORI NHX4000 with 5 pallets. View listing. Full continuous 4th-Axis, CAT 40 dual contact, 180 tools.
2015 Mori Seiki NHX4000 with 6-pallet pool. View listing. A 5 plus 1 pallet pool configuration, 1 degree indexing, CAT 40, 180-tool chain magazine and a tool setter.

We also have 2012 and 2013 Mori Seiki NHX4000s, plus NHX5000 and NHX6300 machines. Inventory changes, so check the DMG MORI brand page for what is available today.

Used-Market Value

We are not going to put a price on a used NHX 4000. Asking prices are not market values, and the automation around these machines varies too much for one number. These are the factors that move it:

1. Generation. First, second or third, read from the spindle, scales and control.
2. Pallet system. A 2-pallet changer or a pool, and how many pallets come with it.
3. Spindle. Speed, torque option and rebuild history.
4. Tool storage. 40, 60, 120 or 180 tools.
5. Coolant and probing. High-pressure through-spindle coolant, tool setting and probing.

What to Check on a Used NHX 4000

Identify the generation. Check the spindle speed, the scales, the bed and the control against the generation table above.

Inspect the spindle. DMG MORI's third-generation release addressed coolant intrusion and tool clamping force. On earlier machines, check for coolant in the spindle and test drawbar force.

Confirm the scales. Magnescale scales on all axes became standard on the second generation. Find out what a first-generation machine has.

Run every pallet. Cycle the changer or the full pool and confirm each pallet seats and clamps.

Cycle the whole magazine. Run every pocket, including chain and rack magazines.

Back up the control and CELOS. Programs, parameters and the pallet management data.

Cut a part on more than one pallet. Measure it against the print from each pallet.

Who Runs One

The NHX 4000 suits production shops running parts that fit a 400 mm pallet and need several faces machined in one setup, with the 2-pallet changer keeping the spindle cutting during load and unload. With a pallet pool behind it, the same machine moves into unattended work. Our lights-out production guide covers what that takes.

U.S. Parts and Service

DMG MORI's U.S. technical center is in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and Mori Seiki opened a plant in Davis, California, in July 2012 to build NHX machines. DMG MORI says the third-generation NHX 4000 is built there. For an older Mori Seiki NHX4000, ask DMG MORI what is supported for that serial number and control before you buy.

Resell CNC Take

On an NHX 4000, the pallet tells you nothing. It is 400 mm on every one. Read the generation first, because the spindle, scales and control changed under the same name. Then count the pallets and price the automation separately, because a pool can be worth as much to your shop as the machine in front of it.

Frequently Asked Questions