Bonfiglioli Wind Power Solutions

Greg Schulte, President of Bonfiglioli, talks about some of their gearboxes used in the latest state-of-the-art wind turbines to control such significant functions like yaw and pitch drives. Bonfiglioli's know-how in the power transmission industry has focused on special applications offering 100% reliability and in particular, on the manufacture of gear motors for mobile machinery translation, slew and wheel drive applications, and gearboxes for wind turbine nacelle and blade rotation. For more information, go to: Bonfiglioli.

Megawatt Generating Windmills

Capturing the power of the wind is something Vestas is doing with windmill technology that ties together several engineering disciplines to create a modern windmill that can generate 3.0 megawatts of power from a self contained cell that is positioned high above the ground.

Wind Turbine Blade Pitch Control

Moog provides solutions for both hydraulic and electric blade pitch control. Blade pitch control is the system which monitors and adjusts the inclination angle of the blades and thus controls the rotation speed of the blades. At lower wind speeds, the pitching system leads to an acceleration of the hub rotation speed, while at higher speeds, blade pitch control reduces the wind load on the blades and structure of the turbine. For more information, go to: Moog.

Slip Rings for Wind Power

Modern wind turbines require delivery of power and signals to and from the rotating blades by a reliable rotary union assembly. Moog Components Group, a sister operating group of the Moog Industrial Group, provides a line of wind power (WP) products that are designed for this application. Slip Rings, utilizing fiber brush sliding contact technology are “no maintenance” rotary devices for transferring electrical power and signals. This fiber brush contact system eliminates the need for common slip ring maintenance procedures such as vacuuming of brush debris, lubrication, regular inspection for wear, and brush replacement. For more information, go to: Moog.

Wind Farm Collector System Optimization

Eugene Knabe from Cooper Power Systems discusses wind farm collector system optimization, and designing those systems for energy efficiency, with Machine Design’s Leland Teschler. Cooper Power Systems engineers and manufactures medium- and high-voltage electrical equipment, components, and systems that deliver reliable electric power to homes, industries, businesses, and institutions worldwide. For more information, visit Cooper Power Systems and Cooper Power Energy Automation Solutions.

Clipper Windpower Permanent Magnet Generator

Clipper Windpower’s advanced electrical system for their Liberty wind turbines is based on the permanent magnet MegaFlux generator. Unlike the industry's most commonly used, doubly fed generators, permanent magnet is simpler, nearly maintenance free, and operates at higher efficiency over a wider range of power output. For more information, visit Clipper Windpower. Also read Leland Teschler's Machine Design article, Green technology: Inside an advanced wind turbine.

Quantum Drive Distributed Generation Powertrain

The Liberty wind turbine's patented distributed generation powertrain, "Quantum Drive," a compact two-stage helical distributed configuration, moves gearbox technology well beyond the vulnerabilities found in standard three-stage planetary gearboxes typically used in today's multi-megawatt wind turbines. For more information, visit Clipper Windpower. Also read Leland Teschler's Machine Design article, Green technology: Inside an advanced wind turbine.

Protection for Wind Farm Collector Systems

Electrical outages. Faults. Harmonics. Harsh environments. There are lots of threats to wind farms. Cooper Power Systems creates integrated solutions to protect critical equipment. Eugene Knabe discusses how they accomplish overcurrent protection to avoid additional damage to equipment downstream. For more information, visit Cooper Power Systems and Cooper Power Energy Automation Solutions.

Power Wave AC/DC 1000

The Power Wave AC/DC 1000 inverter power source from The Lincoln Electric Company enabled T Bailey (a Washington-based construction and fabrication company) to significantly increase productivity and reach the higher deposition rates on its wind turbine towers. The machine’s patented Waveform Control Technology and variable AC/DC frequency allows for higher deposition rates at lower amperages compared to other available machines. It also provides a more stable arc for a consistent penetration pattern along the length of the weld, which is necessary in order for the welds to pass ultrasonic testing. Also watch this episode: Wind Tower Fabrication. For more information, go to: Lincoln Electric.

Wind Tower Fabrication

Essential to wind power generation is fabrication of wind towers capable of enduring the extreme conditions in which they are placed. Environmental exposure and high quality material requirements are two of the many challenges presented in wind tower fabrication. Patrick Wahlen details how Lincoln Electric is tackling the challenge of tower construction using submerged arc welding to fabricate and connect the sections, or steel "cans", to provide for quick and efficient assembly in the field. All these steps require quality welds able to meet exacting test standards. Also watch this episode: Power Wave AC/DC 1000. For more information, go to: Lincoln Electric.

Assembling Wind-Turbine Blades

In Part 2 of our interview with MAG's John Hawthorne, John takes us through the steps to assembling wind-turbine blades. The new Rapid Material Placement System (RMPS) brings integrated manufacturing – with automation and repeatable process control – to what has largely been a manual or piecemeal-automated process. MAG has also developed a new, patent-pending quick-cure mold system. The molds are produced using the customer's CAD data. The system can be infused with resin in an hour, followed by a two-hour cure, about half the normal time. Also watch this episode: Automating Wind-Turbine Blade Fabrication. For more information, go to: MAG Industrial Automation Systems.

Automating Wind-Turbine Blade Fabrication

In Part 1 of this interview with John Hawthorne, Application Engineer at MAG Industrial Automation Systems, John discusses new systems that automate composite wind-turbine blade fabrication. The company's new Rapid Material Placement System (RMPS) and quick-cure molding system for wind blades combine to reduce labor content by two-thirds, double throughput, and produce a consistently high-quality blade from the start of a shift to the end. Also watch this episode: Assembling Wind-Turbine Blades. For more information, go to: MAG Industrial Automation Systems.