Shackle-Lok Shackle-Style Hoist Rings can be equipped with Lift ID, Jergens’ automated inspection and compliance system.

A manufacturer of lifting, work holding, and fastening equipment, announces the addition of Shackle-Lok, a shackle-style hoist ring. 100% domestically manufactured, the device combines the strength and safety of a hoist ring with the versatility of a shackle.

Available in a variety of inch and metric sizes, the shackle has internal ball bearings within a tamper-resistant design that provides smooth 180° pivot and 360° swivel action under load. The shackle is well suited for lifting tasks when conventional swivel or stationary hardware may be impractical. With a three-piece design, Shackle-Lok works well in low-clearance applications, general rigging, and permanent mounting on dies, molds, fixtures, and other heavy equipment.

The easy-to-remove anchor shackles are interchangeable, and the bolt can accommodate a wide variety of alternate styles. Magnetic-particle inspected, Shackle-Lok is CE-certified and conforms to ASME B30.26 and RR-C-271F standards, and it works with numerous thread sizes. The company can manufacture straight thread size, pitch, or length to meet particular lifting requirements.

Jergens Inc.
www.jergensinc.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

The SynchroTeq is a modular system used to synchronously activate high-voltage circuit breakers.

The SynchroTeq is a modular system used to synchronously activate high-voltage circuit breakers. It can control a brand of breakers on the market. When using a SynchroTeq system, there is no requirement for switching resistor banks, therefore reducing expenses related to auxiliary chambers. It also improves the quality of the wave delivered on the network and protects the breaker contacts.
The SynchroTeq Plus system adds to the Point On Wave switching capability of the SynchroTeq but also manages the residual Flux for improved performance and added grid control flexibility. A few features include:

• Point On Wave switching platforms are suitable for all high-voltage circuit breakers, regardless of manufacturer

• Reduced stress on electric networks and high-voltage-power equipment. Therefore, they lower maintenance costs and increase the lifespan of expensive power equipment

• Capabilities such as residual-flux management for power transformer energization and integrated C/B monitoring

• A single platform accommodates rackmount installation in substation control house or integration within high-voltage circuit breaker’s control cabinet. Compatibility with major substation protocols including IEC 61850 / DNP3 / IEC 60870-5-10x.

Downloadable documents regarding SynchroTeq platforms come from the company’s Registration link.

Vizimax
www.vizimax.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

Unigear Industries in Montreal is capable of large custom gears.

David Brown, a manufacturer of industrial gearing and support services, says it has acquired Montreal based industrial gear manufacturer Unigear Industries Inc. Unigear is a privately held business known for its high quality gears. With its flexibility, innovation, quality, and performance it has an excellent reputation for customer responsiveness and a high standard of customer service in the North American gearing market.

David Brown (DB) already has a presence in key markets in North America, such as mining, and oil and gas, as well as through its premier double-enveloping worm gearing business Cone Drive, based in Traverse City, Michigan. The acquisition of Unigear and its industrial gear manufacturing and service capability is a key part of DB’s global and North American growth strategy. The business will be brought under the DB umbrella and will trade under the name: Unigear – a David Brown Company. The Unigear team, including President Ron Mehra and VP Peter Zurcher, will remain with the company and play key leadership roles going forward.

The parent company says it has a vision for the future and a defined growth strategy developed around expanding in key global markets including mining, oil and gas, conventional power, rail, and renewable energy such as solar, wind, and hydro. The acquisition of Unigear provides DB with wider access to many of these strategic industry segments coupled with local capability to manufacture and service industrial gear products for the North American market.

DB says expanding its aftermarket service offering is integral to its strategy to provide customers with locally employed specialist teams delivering world-class service. As well as becoming a North American manufacturing center of excellence, the company will also establish a service center at its Montreal facility to support customers in Canada. Additionally, the business is planning further expansion through the opening of a service center in the mining region of Kentucky, with near term plans for the establishment of additional service centers in strategic locations across North America.

David Brown
www.Davidbrown.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

The 2000 series SoDARs measure vertical and horizontal wind speed, and wind direction with 10-m resolution up to 700m.

The 2000 series SoDARs are intended as high-altitude sensors. These use three parabolic dishes in three separate enclosures. The 2000 series can operate in lower power consumption mode, pulsing each antenna at different time intervals. Or, they can be configured to sample all three beams simultaneously, increasing the number of complete samples during the averaging intervals. This unit captures data in real-time. The 2000 products measure vertical and horizontal wind speed, and wind direction with 10-m resolution up to 700m. The digital facsimile offers a look at the atmospheric structure exposing inversions and other critical information. The equipment can work remotely or in a network.

Atmospheric Systems Corp.
www.minisodar.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

Clifford Spring Co. developed an energy absorbing spring for the oil and gas industry that is non corrosive, chemical resistant, with high and low temperature resistance. The company selected a Vitrex Peek to develop the spring.

Victrex Peek (polyaryletherketone) polymers is said to be a good choice when replacing metal wind-turbine components. The high performance and light-weight material allows up to a 70% weight reduction. This can lower stress on the components and reduce energy needed to power the turbine. The tribological characteristics of this thermoplastic compared to metals also helps reduce downtime due to the inherent ability to perform with or without lubrication.

The polymers are useful in wind turbine applications such as bearing separators, connectors, braking systems, and pitches and yaw drive components. The material can be applied to wind equipment to create products that are more corrosion and high temperature resistant, light-weight, durable and stable. Most notably, wind turbine products benefit from PEEK’s strength and wear properties. Victrex polymers also prevent galvanic corrosion, and are an exceptional insulator for generators, motors or transformers. The polymers help extend equipment life, reduce product failures, improve thermal performance and material strength.

Victrex Corp.
Victrex.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

Power Conversion forsees the electrification trend doublling over the next 20 years. The oil and gas industry will lead the trend and use electrical systems to extract and transport natural gas more efficiently.

A supplier of power generation and energy-deli equipment says the first step in the integration of its acquisition of Converteam is to rename it Power Conversion. The company’s skill in process controls, automation, and high-efficiency power electronics, motors, and generators will let the company better meet the needs of customers looking to improve operational efficiency and productivity.

Large industrial companies are replacing mechanical processes with high-efficiency, customized electric alternatives that deliver better reliability, require less maintenance and create lower emissions in industrial processes. This electrification trend is expected to double over the next 20 years. One of the trend’s leading drivers is the oil and gas industry, which is using electrical systems to extract and transport natural gas more efficiently.

About 25% of electricity produced globally is used to power electric motors in a wide range of industrial applications. Power Conversion’s solutions could help improve their energy efficiency by 30%, helping reduce electricity consumption and energy intensity. Power Conversion, with GE’s Industrial Solutions business will address all steps in the energy conversion chain with a portfolio built around rotating machines, power electronics, wind converters, solar inverters, and process control technologies.

The fastest growth in the industrial automation sector is expected to be in Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and the Middle East. The expansion will be driven by a demand in energy efficiency, and integrated electrical and mechanical equipment critical to customers competing in highly competitive industries.

GE
www.ge-energy.com/

Windpower Engineering & Development

Zero-Max CD couplings are easy to keep clean and handle a temperatures from -22 to 180°F. They come in a range of inch and metric sizes and in stainless steel metric sizes.

Heavy duty models of the popular ETP Express keyless shaft bushings are now available in 20, 40 and 60-mm sizes. ETP Express shaft locking bushings provide fast and frequent mounting/dismounting capabilities with only one radial screw. This saves space in a system and provides accurate mounting without axial movement of the ETP bushing along the shaft.
Providing up to four times the radial load capacity of the standard ETP Express models, the new heavy duty models provide a tight connection between shaft and mounted components. When tightened, ETP’s radial screw compresses a pressure medium with the double-walled sleeve that expands and creates a solid connection between shaft and the mounting member. ETP’s uniform surface pressure prevents damage to surfaces and enables the use of shafts without problem-causing keyways. The single adjusting screw design makes the ETP Express superior to conventional mechanical locking bushings where numerous adjusting screws are required and axial movement of the mechanical bushing occurs when the screws are tightened.
Providing concentricity to 0.001 inch T.I.R., these ETP Express Bushings handle torque ranges from 40 to 6,400 lbs. They are ideal for use in tight areas. An Allen wrench is the only tool required to torque, mount, and lock these bushings into place. They position in seconds and can be readjusted many times just as quickly and without axial movement of the bushing or component along the keyless shaft.
ETP Express bushings require no lubrication. They are easy to keep clean and handle a temperature range from -22° to 180°F. They are available in a full range of inch and metric sizes and in stainless steel metric sizes.

Zero Max Inc
www.zero-max.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

A Davi four-roll plate rolling shapes wind-tower sections called cans. The latest versions can bend plate up to 145-mm thick.

The largest manufacturer of offshore wind towers in Northern Europe has ordered a new DAVI heavy four-roll machine with the capability rolling steel 4.0-m wide by 145-mm thick. “It’s the largest four-roll machine in the world completely dedicated to building foundations for offshore wind towers,” says Davi President Orazio

“The Davi High Productivity Package convinced that top player to buy our Wind Tower system for its benefits in building giant parts with only one operator, all the while requiring less production time than competitive machines,” adds Orazio.

The Davi Productivity Package for wind towers has been updated with the Davi iRoll CNC. The software, based on Apple iPad, lets an operator draw a part to roll and then starts production by sending the program by iPad Wi-Fi to the machine.

The iRoll puts all the information about the machine at a user’s fingertips. Then it connects to the Davi Service Center to dialog directly with a technician, dedicated to supply the required support.

Orazio adds that the European company had purchased several four-roll rolling machines in 1999 and 2001, and that let it work its way into the heavy duty offshore wind market with a machine capable of rolling steel 3.600-m wide by 125-mm thick (12 ft x 5 in.).

Davi
www.davi.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

-NSK

Machines that manufacture advanced wind turbines and towers depend a lot on conventional yet also advanced manufacturing methods, such as welding. One welding-machine manufacturer recently called on a linear motion and assembly-technology company to help improve custom welding machines for the wind industry. Such welding equipment is used to build turbine towers up to 100-m high.

Typically, a machine rolls a metal plate, often 709 grade 50 carbon steel. into a cylinder called a “can” that measures about 9-ft long by 8 to 15-ft dia. Another machine then welds along longitudinal seams to complete the can and then circumferentially to join them with multi-pass butt welds made by submerged arc welding.

The weld head is suspended from a cantilevered guide rail for outside welding. Most of the machine is stationary while the weld head moves short distances on two and three axes, both along and across a seam. A linear control actuator at the end of a horizontal arm determines the motion of the weld head. Smaller can sections are welded on a large assembly line, called a growing line.

Welding procedures and consumables can vary based on tower requirements for height, design, and location.

After assembling the sections and adding internal tower equipment, such as ladders, they are transported to the installation site, lifted into place, and bolted together.

Welding requirements for offshore tower construction are impacted by the tower’s large size and associated nacelles, as well as the thicker steel required for strength and fatigue resistance. Joining thicker steel sections with larger weld joints requires using a greater volume of welding consumables, thus requiring additional welding passes. This adds time and cost to the job.

Fabricating towers capable of resisting extreme environmental conditions requires thicker plate, or higher-strength steel, or both along with higherstrength weld deposits. Welding such material requires welding procedures and filler metal with a chemical composition that delivers the same mechanical properties in the weld deposit.

Using consumables intended for offshore towers minimizes the associated welding problems, such as cracking. Submerged arc-welding flux and electrodes have been developed to provide the strength and impact properties required for onshore and offshore towers, including the more rigorous requirements of coldclimate towers.

A recent welder is said to give operators the flexibility to control every aspect of the welding output to provide the best results for an application. Enhanced control over the welding waveform let operators weld at significantly higher deposition rates than comparable conventional power sources, thereby improving weld productivity and reducing costs. In addition, multiple power sources can be used to weld with multiple arcs to increase deposition rates and reduce the number of passes required to fill the joint. This decreases production time and consumables, contributing to lower overall wind project costs.

Windpower Engineering & Development

Portable circular mill. -Climax Portable Machine Tools

The portable circular milling machine is said to expedite on-site machining of large flanges from 73.5 to 199-in. diameter. The manufacturer says the mill is capable of extremely tight flatness tolerances required for wind-tower flanges as well as a surface finish of 63Ra (1.6Rm). The circular mill can be configured for milling or single-point machining as well as grinding operations.

Circular mills also are used on assembly lines in wind-tower fabrications and in-field services to machine flanges to spec that may have warped in welding. Multiple mounting options are another feature. It includes ID/ OD or face-mounted configurations, and a tubular rigid chucking system with adjustable feet. These allow leveling the machine quickly and precisely in the flange for simple and speedy setup.

A special compact gear hobber may let shops generate splines, spur, or helical gears in one operation. An adjustable tool holder eliminates having to transfer rough gears on one machine to another for gear hobbing. To compensate for different types of grooves or pitches in splines and gears, users simply set a vernier dial to ± 20°. The machine’s a compact design lets it operate in most instances without interrupting neighboring tool stations.

The gear-driven gear hobber is built for heavy machining loads and delivers 45 Nm torque and speeds to 3,000 rpm for hobs or slotting saws up to 2.480-in. dia (63 mm).

Arbor diameters are available for all standard sizes for use of slotting saws and gear hobs. Changing tools takes just seconds by removing the yoke plate and sliding out the arbor. The base of the tool holder remains in its station.

Abrasive water jets, the third item in this short list, can cut a wide variety of materials, including composites (turbine blades) and metals such as aluminum, stainless and mild steel, and titanium with an accuracy of motion up to ± 0.003 inches (0.076 mm). A cutting head that tilts on one waterjet cutting machine is said to make a cost-efficient, productive jet-cutting center with a multi-axis accessory and a direct-drive pump.

Manufacturers say abrasives waterjets are well suited for precision machining of larger or multiple parts. One manufacturer says it product is equipped with a drive system, developed for abrasive waterjet machining to ensure high accuracy. The drive is enclosed inside coated steel covers, making it well suited for harsh environments and requiring little maintenance. A recent design allows faster traverse speeds than traditional drive systems that reduce processing times when machining multiple or nested parts.

Windpower Engineering & Development