Dutch company HGG specializes in steel profile cutting. It manufactures bevel-cutting machines particularly suited for processing large components. EEW, a German manufacturer of wind turbine components, placed an order with HGG. It needed to manufacture foundation structures (also known as “tripods”) using high-quality steel for an offshore wind farm. The task was to produce cylindrical members cut precisely from 400-ton steel tubes that were 196.9 ft (60 m) long × 19.7 ft (6 m) in diameter.

HGG recognized from the beginning that adopting the correct measuring technique would be the key to the success of the project. “We like challenges,” says Peter Tool, HGG research and development manager. “Our greatest strength is that we design our systems and software from the bottom up, so we retain flexibility. Short channels of communication allow us to come up with completely new processes in very little time.”

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