A product catalog for those who work waaay up

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Excerpt: Spider, a division of SafeWorks, LLC, announced the release of the 4th edition of its Spider Solutions Catalog, a comprehensive product catalog for the suspended-access industry. Celebrating the company’s 65th anniversary this year, the company says it has updated in-depth product information …

Lift assists improve tech moral, productivity, and safety

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Excerpt: Power Climber Wind has completed installation of 66 IBEX 1000P climb assist systems at Erie Shore Wind Farm near Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada. The wind farm is one of the largest wind power facilities in Canada, owned by Capstone Infrastructure, representing about 2.2% of installed wind capacit …

Superconducting cables closer to commercialization

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Excerpt: A developer of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies says General Cable Superconductors Ltd. (GCS) has completed testing of STI's second generation (2G) HTS wire. General Cable Superconductors, a HTS continuously transposed cable provider in New Zealand, develo …

Report: O&M costs headed up

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Excerpt: A trend line suggests O&M costs actually go up over the time period of consideration, especially when considering new data as a result of this survey. This is also supported from anecdotal data suggesting an increasing trend in wind O&M costs. Scatter is also observed with the Lawrence B …

A better way to let a turbine “talk”

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Excerpt: Ethernet interfaces to wind turbines were previously operated mostly by Scada and control stations. A connection to a controller is implemented mainly using discrete data signals. Bachmann’s Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) Client now accesses the Ethernet interface and acts in a similar way …

Tools 101

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Excerpt: One of the great efforts of wind-turbine OEMs is to take cost out their products without lowering quality. One way to do so is in manufacturing with special tools. For instance, a particular profile on a turbine hub often required several tools and machining techniques to impart required features. I …

Operations & Maintenance 101

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Excerpt: Maintenance crews acknowledge that frequent lubrications with small amounts of grease extend the working life of bearings and seals. But long hours of hub crawling is physically and mentally demanding work. To minimize that work, centralized and automated lubrication systems are useful. One version …

New access solutions for wind

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Excerpt: Spider, a division of SafeWorks and manufacturer of access solutions, has released the 4th edition of its catalog. The company's in-depth guide of product information includes key features, specifications, drawings, photographs, codes & regulations, and accessory lists. New features in this 3 …

Report: Fighting corrosion, friction, and fouling

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Excerpt: Coatings to combat corrosion, friction, and fouling can offer big efficiency benefits, but need to offer strong balance between performance and cost, says Lux Research. The protective coatings market continues to be driven by extreme cost sensitivities and increasing environmental and regulatory …

Glove provides back-of-the-hand protection

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Excerpt: Ergodyne announced the expansion of its Dorsal Impact-Reducing Glove Series to include the ProFlex 924LD Light Dorsal Impact-Reducing Gloves. This new lighter duty glove provides back-of-hand impact protection combined with breathable Air-Mesh construction for outstanding breathability and dexte …