Energy Generation
Energy Generation - Wind Power
When considering the world's expanding need for new energy resources, and the desire to lessen the impact of such additional consumption upon the ecosystem, wind energy is presented as the one with the greatest potential to fulfill such needs, and perhaps the most underutilized at the present. It's estimated that wind power might produce about 5 times the level of commercially viable electricity needed, as that presently consumed worldwide, 72 terawatts as compared with 15 terawatts: source "Mapping the global wind power resource". At the present time, worldwide production of electrical energy derived from wind represents about 2% of the total output, that of the USA being about 2.4%, with a number of European countries obtaining substantially more output from wind, ranging from between 8 - 20%.
CMS provides CNC machining center technology for the following components of the typical HAWT power generation unit (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine):
- Mold and model manufacturing: molds are used for the production of the components made in composite materials, which is principally GRP, reinforced glass fiber and carbon fiber, with the components being blades, hubs, nacelle covers, and cones, and the materials used to manufacturer the mold being polystyrene foam, EPS, epoxy and polyurethane pastes, modeling block and tooling board, and fiberglass
- Molds for the rotor components: blades, reaching up to 60 meters in length (~197') with a root diameter of up to 4 meters (~160"); hub, to which the blades attach; and cone, which covers the hub and blade connections
- Molds for the nacelle, the housing in which the main hardware components are located - gearbox, generator, brakes, yaw motor, etc. - and which is divided in 2 sections, lower and upper housing
- Component machining and trimming:
- Machining of the blade root: to trim, flatten, and drill the horizontal and vertical fastening holes required to attach the blade to the hub Trimming of fiberglass, GRP, components: routing of edges and openings, along with the use of a saw blade, as required, to trim flashing from edges
Additional Images
Shown to the left is the traditional HAWT (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine), with its 3 large composite wind blades, attached to the hub, which drives the turbine shaft to convert the wind power into commercially usable electricity. The use of such power generation systems has increased exponentially in the last 10 years, as techniques, designs and technology for efficiency in power production, along with improved methodology and machinery, have lowered the cost per kilowatt hour on these units.
Shown to the right is the newest generation of technology, being that of Maglev, with its patented system for converting wind energy into electricity, using a vertical axis design, in which the entire system is mounted at ground level, the base of which is a solid heavy structure on which the fan mounted. The entire structure is magnetically levitated from beneath and the sides so that mechanical resistance is reduced to essentially zero, and to the outside an additional wind power boost is achieved with a large directional wind scoop, which funnels air to the fan.
CMS is proud to supply its know-how and technology to the broad wind generation market, as well as to the Maglev Corporation, pioneering its new technology for wind energy generation.
More information can be found on Maglev at its website: http://www.maglevwindturbine.com
Aside from the tower, CMS provides CNC technology for the basic wind turbine structures shown in this photo, both for producing the required molds, as well as the specific CNC machining processes associated with them: blades, hub, cone and nacelle.
In this photo a closer view is seen of the basic HAWT, wind energy generating system. To the top left is shown the hub, to which the blades attach. In the top center the upper and lower nacelle housing can be seen, which is a very large structure compared to the men working on it. To the bottom left is shown the cone, which covers the blade roots and hub. To the bottom center several blade sections have their root portion showing, which attach to the hub. To the right can be seen the assembled halves of a wind blade after being joined together with the blade ready to move to the next production process, the root work still needing to be done.
Products Used
Poseidon - machining components for wind energy generation
Poseidon, CMS' moving bridge class CNC machining center, provides a range of large working envelop sizes for the molds required for wind turbine components, tuned with high speed acceleration/deceleration machining characteristics for the substantial amount, and lengthy time involved, of surfacing programs, including CMS' heavy duty 5-axis working unit, all important factors for machining model and molds parts for HAWT (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine) units, as well as the GRP machining work involved on the blade roots, hubs, cones and nacelles.
Example of the time to produce the molds for a complete wind blade:
Blade size: 45850 x 4400 x 1395 mm (150.4' x 14.4' x 4.6')
- The blade is split in three section longitudinally: left, right, and central
- The cycle time is divided between roughing the EPS foam (Expanded Polystyrene) and finish milling the putty of the three sections
- Roughing on the EPS foam is done in one step, with a 40 mm Ø roughing tool, and a step over of 30 mm
- Finishing on the paste is done with a toroidal tool of 25 mm Ø r3mm at tips, step over of 5 mm for a good surface finishing, milled in 5 axis fashion
Completed part (composed of left, right, and central): Area: 209 m2 (2250 sq') Roughing : 6 hours 56 minutes Finishing : 28 hours 26 minutes Productivity: 5.89 m2/h (63.4 sq'/hr)
Poseidon's basic working envelop and working head characteristics are: Strokes: - From X axis 2.5 m to 41.0 m (8.2' to 134.5')
- From Y axis 2.6 m to 8.5 m (8.5' to 27.9')
- From Z axis 1.3 m to 4.0 m (4.3' to 13.1'), non-telescopic version standard and telescopic versions available where reduced height limitations exist
Working units: - From PX5 working unit with 12 kW power (16.1 hp) at 12,000 rpm, maximum 24,000, liquid cooled, S1 rating, A axis +/- 120°, C axis +/- 270°
- To KX5 working unit with 15 kW power (20.1 hp) at 12,000 rpm, maximum 24,000, liquid cooled, S1 rating, A axis +/- 120°, C axis +/- 270°
- To KX5 working unit with 28 kW power (37.5 hp) at 4,300 rpm, maximum 24,000, liquid cooled, S1 rating, A axis +/- 120°, C axis +/- 270° 16 place tool changing magazine standard, with additional expansion possible
Poseidon - large working envelop and special fixtures for wind blade machining
This Poseidon, with large work envelop, is also specially equipped with a unique fixture for holding wind blade components for machining processes, while leaving a lot of additional space in its work envelop for placement of molds and other projects to be worked.
Poseidon - large format with APC tables for machining blade components
This large Poseidon is equipped with CMS' special APC tables, Automatic Pallet Changing. The tables provide for a nonstop, protected, pendular work cycle, or can be slaved together to work as one large table when needed, and are equipped with CMS' gridded hole table surface for easy location of fixtures, or projects, and compressed air and vacuum connections for fixtures requiring them. Since the time to load and unload, as well as to set up for different large components, can be long, providing for a nonstop work cycle greatly impacts and benefits the overall production time.