Free equipment for manufacturing composite blades

The manufacturer of large-scale and mobile fabric impregnators is looking for a turbine blade-manufacturing company interested in using, at no obligation, a fabric impregnator engineered to manufacture the blades. The equipment, from Magnum Venus Plastech, Kent, Wash., has been used to make large composite structures such as boat hulls, many for navies. “We believe with minor modifications to our MineSweeper system, we can easily accommodate the manufacturing needs for wind turbine blades,” says MVP President Tom Hedger.

“We would be willing to meet with a blade manufacturer, review their needs, and then design and put in place a pilot system at our cost in return for documentation and studies of the potential benefits of using a turnkey impregnator system. Preferably it would be for medium size blades,” he says. At the end of the test period, MVP would remove the equipment unless other arrangements are agreed upon.

The machines are highly mobile and can operate on a multi-axis basis. In numerous applications they process several thousands pounds of laminate per minute at a high glass-to-resin ratio. Capital costs are relatively low, says Hedger, and would allow for a far more rapid manufacturing of the composite with less risk and fewer consumables usually associated with vacuum infusion. Contact him at (253) 854-2660 or tomhedger@mvpind.com.

Lay-up equipment cuts 85% off time to manufacturer big blades

A manufacturer of equipment that places composite material quickly and a quick-cure-molding system for wind blades says the combination reduces labor content by two-thirds, doubles throughput, and produces a consistently high-quality blade. Manufacturing firm MAG Industrial Automation Systems, Sterling Hts, Mich.,

says its Rapid Material Placement System (RMPS) combines automation and repeatable process control for what has largely been a manual or piecemeal automation. RMPS, an automated blade molding facility, is capable of spraying in-mold coatings, dispensing and lay-up of glass and carbon-fiber materials, and applying adhesive. It places material at 3 m/sec (lay-up speed) on blade skins, spar caps, and sheer-web molds, with laser and vision-based wrinkle detection in cross or longitudinal directions. Depending on a laminate schedule, MAG says the system can cut up to 85% off the lay-up time of a 45-m blade.

The CNC-controlled system consists of a gantry with multi-axis end effectors that manipulates spray heads and adhesive applicators, along with tooling for spooling and placing materials. After spraying on a gel-coat, a ply-generator with a ten-roll magazine of material cuts and dispenses plies to the lay-up end effector on the gantry. The lay-up end effector spools out material supplied by the ply generator.

Two such gantries adjacent one another can each produce a 45-m blade-shell half in less than two hours, with half the manual labor of conventional methods. The gantry rides on rails flush with the floor. It also carries bulk supply systems for gel-coat and adhesive. Off-line programming software developed by the company creates the CNC code from imported CAD data.

The company has also developed a quick-cure mold system using tooling it supplies. Molds are produced from client CAD data. The system yields a finished blade to spec with each cycle. It can be infused with resin in an hour followed by a two-hour cure, about half the normal time. One sample part represents a 100 mm-thick root section and root spar-cap system. The latter has three zones of material and three thicknesses, demonstrating the system can infuse and quickly cure all three zones at the same time. Like the lay-up system, the company says the infusion and curing system includes process control metrics for resin metering, temperatures, and blocked channels with alarm limits.

On the finishing side of blade automation, MAG says it is introducing a five-axis machining system for root drilling, milling, and sawing. For metalworking production of wind-power parts, the company is introducing a line of horizontal turning centers in the U.S. that combines unusual capabilities for finishing a large part in one setup. Well suited for rotor shafts, pinions and similar shaft parts, these machines perform operations unusual for typical turning centers, such as deep-hole drilling, serrating, grinding, hard turning, notch milling, hobbing, as well as cut-to-length and centering, rough and finish turning. European wind industry manufacturers are using these machines to produce parts up to 1,500-mm diameter and 2,800-mm long.

Blade manufacturing gets smart

England based Solent Composite Systems says its value proposition for the U.S. wind industry spans from turbine blade design, to molds, prototype development, and manufacturing technology transfer, along with training for new start-up blade plants. The company offers wind-turbine manufacturers with what it says are “Smart” engineering features such as its SmartMould, an approach to manufacturing blades with higher output and at lower cost. Key to the cost reductions, says SCS, lies in engineering techniques that significantly improve quality and productivity in blade manufacturing. This largely relates to after finishing costs, which continue as a major bottleneck in rotor blade manufacturing plants around the world.

SmartMould concepts rely on advanced composite materials, design equipment, and well controlled processes. The company says its molding method can drive down turbine blade costs significantly in process and capital investment especially in high output blade plants, with a reduction in waste and downtime.

In addition, the company’s SmartHinge and SmartLift equipment provide simple, single-point lifting and turning techniques for fast, safe mold opening and closing. The company adds that when combined with SmartJoint, accurate edges for precision mold joining are readily achievable.

Lastly, SmartShell and SmartHeat equipment combine to deliver a uniform surface finish and optimal curing cycle for whatever the combination of laminate structures. SCS says it has developed an FEA simulation to cross reference blade-laminate structure with that of the mold, thereby eliminating fatigue in the entire system, resulting in less downtime and lower maintenance.

Laser inspection boosts blade production

Fiberglass and epoxy-based composites have replaced aluminum and steel as primary materials in the large blades of recent wind turbines. Production of large blades, some of which reach over 50m, also requires increased precision. To improve accuracy and production rates, Carter Products, Grand Rapids, Mich., has introduced its CPS 3D laser alignment equipment. “Hand measuring materials and composite layups have historically been extraordinarily time-intensive,” says Carter Products President Peter Perez. “But we have documented reductions of 50% in labor hours using our alignment systems. With turbine blades backordered for up to two years, this additional automation will help eliminate that bottleneck.”

Carter’s latest laser alignment system, the LP-HFD, boasts of improvements that include capabilities and software for more sophisticated projections. The laser is also available with a green-light output which is more visible in many manufacturing environments. What’s more, the unit is smaller and lighter than previous models.

For blade production, the alignment system provides an interface to industry-standard CAD software. The system extracts layout and production information from the CAD program and projects it onto the work area. The system combines contour templating and computer control to increase accuracy, thereby reducing cycle times, labor costs, and rework. For large components, such as turbine blades, several laser units are linked to project across the entire production area and then tied to a single control. Such a system can provide sequential layup guidelines for the placement of longitudinal and latitudinal sheet material as well as alignment of reinforcements and bracing if required.

Laser Projection Manager (LPM) software can process the graphical data exported from the laser interface. The software visualizes relationships between position, projection height, and object rotation to ensure the greatest projection accuracy at any point in the working field. And for special production requirements not contained in the original CAD program, the company says “teaching” the system is fast and easy. Finally, Carter laser alignment systems also work with CNC machining centers to guide final milling and trimming of the finished blade and other components.