The FOG series isn’t just used in toolmaking now though is it?

Ulrich Wiehagen: Soon afterwards we also began supplying to the aviation sector, where machines with 40 kW spindles for highly dynamic and high-precision milling of the outer cylinders of aircraft landing gears are tried and tested. Thanks to these machines we have now captured a global market share of over 80 %.

But machining heavy workpieces quickly and precisely on a machine also requires a highly rigid base. Why do you rely on a U-shaped foundation?

Ulrich Wiehagen: It’s something we introduced about 15 years ago as it offers a very high degree of rigidity and also lowers the necessary foundation depth by about a third, thus reducing the construction effort. In addition, the dynamic load capacity increases. Another important cost-saving effect is the way in which the geometry of the machine remains constant for a very long time, so the effort required for re-calibration during the life of the machine is much less.

After all, the calibration of a large portal milling machine can take between five and ten days, during which it is not earning any money. The U-foundation is the most rigid–and therefore the best – variant for setting up a high-gantry machine.

What would you say is your unique selling point?

Ulrich Wiehagen: We are the only manufacturer to date to offer a standard machine with integrated tool for surface hammering or machine hammer peening (MHP). During machining, a pulsed impact ball hammers rapidly at a defined power and frequency. This process, known as peening, compresses the boundary surface layers to a depth of 10 μm. So in principle, the peening tool behaves like any normal tool that can be inserted into the machine and then controlled by the CNC. MHP technology has been so well received that a major German automobile manufacturer is already using it at three toolmaking locations. It is the only MHP application in industrial-series production anywhere in the world.

A regular customer inspired you to build the FOG: Has it happened again?

Ulrich Wiehagen: Indeed, and more than once. The latest innovation is the new Droop+Rein FOGS HD (heavy duty), which was inspired by CONCAD GmbH in Walldürn (in Germany’s Neckar- Odenwald district). This particular company was looking for a machine for the high-precision complete machining of large, heavy tools, especially for outer skin parts in vehicle body construction and machine components in a single clamping operation.However, because there were no machine types that combined all of the ideal features, we crossed the two machine types FOGS and the portal machine Droop+Rein TF to form a new machine concept in which we placed the modules of the portal machine on top of the foundation: A high-gantry machine for heavy and precise machining with hydrostatic guides in all linear axes.

How was the new product received by customers?

Ulrich Wiehagen: It was met with an unusually positive response from many interested parties. Our FOGS NEO N40 is the first choice for tool and mould makers who need to produce first-class surfaces with high dynamics and high precision and who require the additional benefit of 40-kW roughing performance. If customers primarily need milling power of between 50 and 100 kW for heavy-duty machining tasks and require dynamic finishing capability without compromising surface quality as an additional benefit, then our new FOGS HD is the first port of call. The HD is also ideal for use in mechanical engineering for workpieces that are difficult to machine and have high precision requirements. In general, we have noticed that more and more FOG machines are replacing table-top portal machines with fixed crossbeams. The high-gantry version requires approximately 40% less installation space for the same working area. The workpieces do not enter the dynamic mass, multiple clamping is possible during machining time, and the guideways are optimally protected above the clamping surface.