A pilot project focusing on improving wind blade finishing has reached a successful conclusion, according to partners GE Renewable Energy, LM Wind Power, GE Research and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The Automated Blade Finishing program, begun in 2020, aimed to improve throughput, environmental health and safety (EHS) and quality in wind turbine blade manufacturing. Blade finishing in this case included trimming excess material after molding, and grinding blade surface to meet quality requirements.
‘Automated wind turbine blade finishing program has been a critical catalyst for advancing 'automation led design' principles into LM Wind Power,’ said James Martin, director at LM Wind Power. ‘The team has delivered an innovative solution to a problem that is common across many aspects of high throughput composite manufacturing, paving the way for safer, higher quality component trimming.
‘We are currently progressing the next steps of factory trials and industrialization, with the target of implementing in our North American manufacturing facilities in the next product and factory cycle.’
This story uses material from GE, with editorial changes made by Materials Today.
