The National Computer Integrated Manufacturing System (CIMS) Engineering Technology Research Center (referred to as the National CIMS Center) was the first batch of national engineering centers approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1992. The center relies on Tsinghua University and is jointly established by departments such as Automation, Precision Instruments and Mechanics, and Mechanical Engineering. It is a multidisciplinary research consortium that spans multiple departments and was officially established in 1995. The research institutions under the center include two research institutes, namely Industrial Intelligence and Systems Research Institute (formerly known as "System Integration Research Institute", whose administrative relationship belongs to the Department of Automation), Manufacturing Engineering Research Institute (whose administrative relationship originally belongs to the Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanics, and now belongs to the Department of Mechanical Engineering), and a sub center, namely Laser Rapid prototyping Sub center (whose administrative relationship belongs to the Department of Mechanical Engineering). The center currently has 25 professors, 30 associate professors, 10 lecturers, and more than 20 postdoctoral researchers, as well as over 100 doctoral and master's students. Among the research team of the center, 15 people have been awarded national level talent titles, including 4 from the National Outstanding Youth Fund, 1 from the Ten Thousand Talents Program, 4 from the Yangtze River Scholars, and 4 from the National Excellent Youth Fund. The director of the center is Professor Wu Cheng, an academician of the CAE Member.

The National CIMS Center adheres to the development mode of "close integration of industry, education and research, and equal emphasis on basic research and application research". The research and development work is centered on "deep integration of informatization and industrialization", "promoting the deep integration of the Internet, Big data, artificial intelligence and the real economy". The two first-class disciplines supported by "control science and engineering" and "mechanical engineering" were both rated as A+in the discipline evaluation of the Ministry of Education; The main focus is on the following 7 research directions: ① Intelligent modeling, scheduling, control, and optimization of complex systems; ② Enterprise Integration and Service Science; ③ Intelligent manufacturing and system simulation; ④ E-commerce and Wisdom Science; ⑤ Advanced manufacturing equipment and control; ⑥ Green design and manufacturing; ⑦ Additive manufacturing equipment and processes.

The National CIMS Center is the birthplace of enterprise informatization in China, fully playing the role of a research and development center, promotion and application center, and talent training center for enterprise informatization technology. Since its establishment, the Center has undertaken more than 300 research topics such as the National 863 Program, the Program 973, the IC equipment project, the CNC machine tool project, the National Science and Technology Support Plan, the National Key Research and Development Plan, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and more than 200 engineering application projects. It has guided and helped more than 60 enterprises across more than 20 provinces and cities to implement CIMS and informatization projects, and has played an important exemplary role in the informatization of the national manufacturing industry. Since its establishment, the center has won the National Science and Technology Progress Second Prize 8 times, the National Natural Science Second Prize 1 time, the Provincial and Ministerial First Prize 23 times, and the Second Prize 28 times. The "CIMS Experimental Engineering" project won the international award "University Leadership Award" issued by the Made in USA in 1994.

In 2019, the National Science and Technology Innovation 2030- "New Generation Artificial Intelligence" major project "Collaborative Control and Decision Theory Method in Complex Manufacturing Environment" was successfully approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology, marking the center's important position in the field of "New Generation Intelligent Manufacturing" in China