In order to reduce the production time of 24 hours with current methods for manufacturing rotor blades, BladeFactory is testing a completely new approach. Instead of having individual, successive manufacturing steps, the researchers are seeking to significantly reduce the production time by allowing them to run in parallel.
The production of components in successive steps in the main moulding tool is to be replaced by a process whereby the steps are distributed among various other devices. Apart from reducing the production time, this working in parallel and therefore more efficient production method would also reduce the amount of reworking and the material surcharges resulting from faulty end products.
Furthermore, the integration of mechanical tests and in-process measurement technologies in the research project will increase the quality of the rotor blade manufacturing. This is also the reason for drawing on the results of the previous project BladeMaker: the manufacturing methods for moulding tools developed in this project will be used for manufacturing moulding tools with a cooling function. The possibility of controlling the curing process, which this facilitates, will allow higher-quality components to be manufactured faster.
Finally, as a further contribution to quality assurance, a new laser measuring system is being tested which can capture the geometry of the finished components three-dimensionally.
The project BladeFactory is receiving seven million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) from October 2018 until March 2022.
Latest reports 12/10/2018 - Wind energy
Research into the industrialisation process of rotor blade production
Introduction
In the project BladeFactory, a team of 15 project partners from science and industry is conducting research into the future of rotor blade production for wind turbines: the aim is to increase both the speed and quality of production.