Lift assist ‘shortens’ long ladders

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Excerpt: Climbing 80 m to go to work may be routine for maintenance crews but three times in a day is a lot of climbing. By one account, only about 25% of turbine towers have service lifts. That leaves long ladders in the rest of them. Lugging up 20 lbs or more of equipment makes a climb more demanding. What …

The next generation in wind power asset management

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Excerpt: Wind operators must squeeze out every watt they can when the wind is blowing. To do so, wind projects must be reliable and maintained with minimum cost. With variable winds, high costs, and slim margins, everything has to work right to make sure that wind is attractive alternative power and a sound …

Compact pneumatic power clamps

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Excerpt: A supplier of standard industrial machine components says it now offering an additional type of pneumatic power clamps, the MN 140 series, is a new version of the smaller profile, high clamping force, super-efficient clamps. The two arms on this style of clamp exert an outward force from the center. …

Laser alignment sets generators straight

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Excerpt: A laser aligning device lets maintenance crews align main shafts with generators for low vibration, thereby improving equipment reliability. Manufacturer Ludeca , Doral, Fla., says its Optalign Smart Wind comes with firmware features that ensure high measurement accuracy, and mounting hardwa …

Scanning Spot Laser Sensor Speeds Welding of Wind Towers

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Excerpt: A new, scanning-spot laser sensor designed to automate and speed the manufacture of wind towers and other structures containing metal of different thickness has been launched by Meta Vision Systems. Designated DLS200, the sensor is produced at the company's factory in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. The th …

Simple and Smart FAA Lighting

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Excerpt: The L350-864G is the result of thousands of installations worldwide in the wind-energy market, says its developer. The company adds that the 33- lb warning light is the best in class, first in reliability, easiest to install, and provides the lowest cost of ownership. Some highlights of the L350-864 …

Non-Halogen Flame Retardant Material Adds More

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Excerpt: Estane X-1425 thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) delivers lower smoke generation. The material is intended for wire and cable jacketing in nonhalogen flame retardant applications. The industry is placing greater emphasis on the development of new compounds that produce lower smoke and higher Limited O …

Tools for Torque, Tools for Tension

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Excerpt: Wind turbine OEMs provide plenty of guidelines and instructions for tightening the bolts on their equipment. Each bolt gets a prescribed torque or tension. Bolts that fasten tower flanges, for instance, are often tightened to 2065 ft-lb. while foundation bolts are assigned a particular tension. Tens …

Synthetics Get More Work Out of Wind Turbines

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Excerpt: Wind turbine nacelles are challenging environments for drivetrains. Input forces (wind captured by blades) can vary ±20% in the span of just three seconds. Unstable drivetrain foundations generate misalignments and additional stress. And the moisture levels and temperatures extremes outdoors are ge …

A Better Way to Protect Generator Bearings

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Excerpt: Although many wind farms in the U.S. are generating electricity and well beyond a testing stage, their debugging continues. Many of these turbines suffer design-related failures within their first few years of operation. Damaged bearings, for instance, can cause generator failures, which lead to …