Fritz Stepper: Complex Post Processors for Milling and Coordinate Grinding

The Client

Fritz Stepper GmbH, based in Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg, has been manufacturing high-performance stamping tools since 1965, setting international standards in precision, automation and quality. Its high-precision stamped parts are used wherever the highest accuracy is required – in the automotive industry as well as in plastics, electrical and medical technology. With the development of the modular tool design, now an international standard, this family-owned company has helped shape modern tool making. In 2019, Fritz Stepper was the overall winner of the "Excellence in Production" competition run by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, and the FAZ has repeatedly named the company an innovation leader.

The Challenge

In production, Fritz Stepper relies on Autodesk FeatureCAM for automated CNC programming in soft machining, and on Autodesk PowerMill for 4- and 5-axis programming in hard machining. To further increase quality and the degree of automation, the company invested in several new machines in 2020 – including a KERN MicroHD, which combines two technologies in a single machine: milling and coordinate grinding.

This presented Fritz Stepper with a demanding challenge: the right post processors, which act as the translator between the CAM system and the machine, were missing.

"Programming this with a CAM system so that both technologies are served equally well, and so the product can be simulated and calculated accordingly, is extremely complex."

Marcel Heisler, Head of High-Precision Machining, Fritz Stepper GmbH

The Solution

Fritz Stepper turned to AURON – a partner the company had already been working with since 2019, including on software renewals for FeatureCAM and PowerMill. For the new post processors, there was no existing template to draw on. AURON's experts therefore contacted the machine manufacturer directly to obtain the necessary documentation, and on that basis developed the complex post processors in close collaboration with Fritz Stepper. Fine-tuning took place on-site, together with the application engineer and the machine supplier.

The Result

The new KERN MicroHD was able to produce reliably right after commissioning – without Fritz Stepper having to do without the machine for long. Beyond the post processor project, AURON supports the company with software licensing and consulting, macro programming and post processors. Marcel Heisler describes the collaboration as "fast, competent and comprehensive: Whenever there are questions or difficulties with programming, we want to try a different strategy, or we need software support – AURON is there."

The collaboration continues: staff training on using the software and the post processors is planned. Fritz Stepper also aims to further reduce lead times while maintaining consistently high quality – through a higher degree of automation.