Fooke Endura 904
Key Specifications
Max Spindle
Spindle Power
Accuracy
Repeatability
x axis travel
y axis travel
Overview
The Fooke Endura 904 is a large-format 5-axis gantry machining center from Fooke GmbH, an Isselburg, Germany-based specialist in portal and gantry machining technology for aerospace, energy, rail, and large-scale industrial applications. The Endura 904 represents the mid-range of Fooke's Endura gantry line, with a nominal 9,000 mm cross-rail length providing a working width that accommodates major aerospace structural components — wing skins, fuselage panels, large frames, and structural ribs — as well as large energy components, mold tooling, and rail vehicle body shells. The machine is configured as a moving-column or moving-gantry portal depending on customer specification and floor layout requirements.
The Endura 904's 5-axis capability is delivered through a proprietary Fooke fork-type or articulated milling head mounted on the Z-axis ram. The fork milling head provides ±100° A-axis and full 360° C-axis rotation, enabling undercut machining, angled surface finishing, and complex contour machining on large aerospace structural parts without workpiece repositioning. The spindle — typically 28 kW to 52 kW depending on head selection — accepts HSK-A63 or HSK-A100 tooling. Multiple spindle head options are available: high-torque heads for titanium and steel machining, high-speed heads for aluminum aircraft structure, and right-angle heads for accessing features in restricted angular orientations.
Fooke's Endura portal machines are built around a polymer concrete (epoxy granite) or welded steel structure depending on configuration. The polymer concrete base option provides excellent vibration damping — a critical property when machining thin-wall aerospace aluminum panels where cutter deflection and chatter cause surface quality problems. The gantry crossrail is a precision-ground steel structure with hydrostatic or linear roller guidance on the Z-axis ram in high-specification configurations. Temperature compensation systems manage thermal expansion of the large structure through the machining day, maintaining positioning accuracy despite the inevitable thermal gradients in a large workshop environment.
Fooke's target markets include Airbus and Boeing supply chain manufacturers, railway vehicle manufacturers (Bombardier, Alstom, Siemens Mobility), wind energy component producers, and large mold/die shops. The Endura 904 occupies the critical capability tier where aerospace structural components — typically 4,000–8,000 mm in their longest dimension — require both the machine's physical working envelope and its 5-axis contouring capability. Competing machines in this class include Fives Liné Machines (France), Brötje Automation (Germany), and Dörries Scharmann (now part of MAG IAS) — all specialized large-format 5-axis portal machine manufacturers.
Full Specifications
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| X Axis Travel | Up to 40,000 mm (table length, model dependent) |
| Y Axis Travel | 9,000 mm (crossrail width — the '904' designation) |
| Z Axis Travel | 1,500 mm (ram stroke) |
| A Axis | ±100° (fork milling head) |
| C Axis | ±200° or 360° continuous (configuration dependent) |
| Spindle Motor Power | 39 kW |
| Spindle Speed Range | 0 – 24,000 RPM (high-speed head); 0 – 8,000 RPM (high-torque head) |
| Spindle Interface | HSK-A63 or HSK-A100 (head dependent) |
| Positioning Accuracy | ±0.02 mm |
| Repeatability | ±0.01 mm |
| Feed Rate | Up to 30,000 mm/min (rapid) |
| CNC Control | Siemens 840D sl with Fooke-specific 5-axis cycles |
| Structure | Polymer concrete base or welded steel (configuration dependent) |
| Table Load | Distributed load up to 3,000 kg/m² |
| Condition | used |
| Year | 2012 |
| Work Area | X-axis: approx. 7,500 mm Y-axis: approx. 3,500 mm Z-axis: approx. 2,500 mm A-axis: ± 110 ° C-axis: ± 275 ° |
| Cnc Control | Heidenhain iTNC 530 incl. handwheel |
| Clamping | approx. 7,500 x 3,000 x 300 mm |
| Max Spindle Speed | max. 24,000 min-1 |
| Torque | 32 Nm |
| Tool Holder | HSK 63A |
| Tool Guying | hydraulic |
| Feed Speed X Y Axis | up to 65 m/min |
| Feed Rate Z Axis | up to 65 m/min |
| Connection Power | 130 kW |
| Space Requirement Machine With Peripherals | approx. 15,500 x 8,500 x 7,550 mm |
| Total Weight | approx. 120,000 kg |
| Category | Gantry/Planer/Portal Mills in Germany |
| Subcategory | Cnc milling |
| Subcategory 2 | Portal milling machine |
| Listing Id | 103164181 |
| Manufacturer | Fooke |
| Model | Endura |
| Location | 🇩🇪Baienfurt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
Specifications sourced from machinio.com — verified 2026-03-28
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- 9,000 mm crossrail width covers the full span of major aerospace structural panels — wing skins, large fuselage sections, and structural ribs — without workpiece repositioning, preserving geometric accuracy of large assemblies
- Multiple interchangeable spindle head options (high-speed aluminum heads, high-torque titanium/steel heads, right-angle heads) on the same machine platform eliminate the need for separate machines for different material classes
- Polymer concrete base option provides superior vibration damping for thin-wall aerospace aluminum machining where chatter suppression is essential for achieving required surface quality on structural panels
- Fooke's German engineering heritage and in-house portal machine specialization provides deep application knowledge for aerospace, rail, and energy large-part machining — critical for turnkey project success
- Siemens 840D sl control with Fooke-specific 5-axis cycles provides full simultaneous 5-axis contouring with thermal compensation — appropriate for the tight tolerances required on aerospace structural and mold/die applications
Limitations
- Capital investment of $3M–$8M requires major business case justification — the Endura 904 is a factory-defining investment appropriate only for operations with confirmed large-format 5-axis workload
- Installation complexity is high — portal machines of this size require specialized foundations, precision installation by Fooke engineers, thermal environment management, and dedicated infrastructure planning
- Fooke's smaller global service organization versus larger German machine tool builders (DMG Mori, Heckert) means service response outside major European aerospace manufacturing centers may require advance planning
Best For
Frequently Asked Questions
01
The '904' designation refers to the crossrail length of 9,000 mm (9 meters) — the Y-axis working width of the machine. This is Fooke's naming convention for the Endura gantry series: the number indicates the crossrail width in hundreds of millimeters. The Endura 704 has a 7,000 mm crossrail, the Endura 904 has 9,000 mm, and the Endura 1204 has a 12,000 mm crossrail. Crossrail width is the critical dimension for determining whether large aerospace panels or energy components fit within the machine's working envelope.
02
The Endura 904 serves primarily the aerospace structural component manufacturing sector (Airbus, Boeing supply chains, defense prime contractors), railway vehicle manufacturing (carbody shells, large structural weldments), energy (wind turbine components, large mold tooling for composite manufacture), and heavy industrial mold/die shops. Any application requiring 5-axis machining of workpieces in the 5,000–9,000 mm width range is a potential Endura 904 application.
03
Yes. The Endura 904 supports multiple interchangeable spindle head options to match different material requirements. High-speed heads (up to 24,000 RPM, HSK-A63) are configured for aluminum aerospace structure machining. High-torque heads (up to 8,000 RPM, HSK-A100, higher power) are specified for titanium and structural steel. Composite trimming heads with appropriate spindle speed and dust extraction provision are also available for CFRP and GFRP applications. Multi-head setups can be configured with automatic head change systems for mixed-material production environments.
04
The Endura series designations indicate crossrail width: 704 (7,000 mm), 904 (9,000 mm), and 1204 (12,000 mm). The 704 is the entry-level gantry configuration appropriate for large automotive tooling, smaller aerospace components, and rail applications. The 904 is the mid-range targeting major aerospace structural panels and railway carbodies. The 1204 is Fooke's widest standard configuration, addressing the very largest aerospace and naval structures. All three use the same technology platform with scaling in structural size, column/gantry width, and load capacity.
05
Installation of a portal machine of the Endura 904's scale is a major project, typically requiring 3–6 months from foundation completion to machine acceptance. The process includes precision foundation curing and inspection, machine structural installation (column, crossrail, ram, table sections), alignment to the required precision specification, control and electrical integration, spindle head installation and calibration, and final acceptance testing to Fooke's accuracy standards. Foundation design must be completed and poured well in advance — Fooke provides foundation drawings as part of the purchase process. Total project timeline from order to production is typically 18–30 months.
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