To achieve high-precision and high-strength manufacturing, automated assembly and inspection production lines have been established-such as those for shield machine cutter rollers-capable of automatically assembling multiple component parts into a complete cutter roller. The manufacturing process imposes extremely rigorous requirements regarding material dimensions, temperature control, and microscopic metallurgical structure.
Through industry-academia-research collaboration-including joint R&D initiatives with leading institutions such as Tsinghua University and Northeastern University-Chinese enterprises have successfully overcome critical deficiencies in fundamental components, such as cutter ring materials (specifically, high-purity, wear-resistant steel). This has enabled the independent manufacturing and export of key components, such as cutter rollers. Notably, Chinese-manufactured shield tunneling machines themselves are now being exported.
Furthermore, technical specifications for the remanufacturing of cutterheads for full-face tunnel boring machines have been established (e.g., T/DGGC 006-2020), with the aim of extending equipment service life and conserving resources.
