Wind Turbine
Workshops  

Carving the Rotor

In the workshop we are making 3 rotor blades with a twisted aerodynamic profile from solid pieces of timber, connect & and balance them.
The aerodynamic principles and physics of the rotor will be discussed during the process.

Working techniques: measuring & marking, cutting & shaping of wood with handsaw, chisel, draw-knife & planer. Drilling, screwing & painting the finished set of blades.

Building the Generator & Electrics

In the workshop, we are manufacturing  all the components for the disc-alternator (magnet rotor discs, stator, main bearing) from scratch and assemble those parts with the steel frame construction.

The function of the generator and the underlying principles of electric machine design will be explained.

Working techniques: coil winding, soldering, placing and glueing magnets, manufacturing of cast parts from epoxy resin (preparing and greasing casting moulds, cutting fibreglass sheets), grinding & drilling steel, preparation and assembly of the wind turbine’s main hub.

Steel frame, load control system & tail

We will manufacture the frame (turbine body), including the tower top yaw bearing from simple steel parts, as well as the tail, which is an important part of the automatic mechanic load control system that protects the turbine in strong winds.

The function of the overload control system and underlying physics will be demonstrated and discussed.

Working techniques: measuring & and marking, cutting, grinding, drilling, positioning & welding of steel parts. For the tail vane: Designing and cutting the tail vane sheet from birch plywood. Painting wood and steel parts.

Testing the Turbine

At the end of the workshop we will normally test the wind turbine. Depending on the resources, this can be done on a temporary mast or at the final installation site.

Tasks during test or installation:

Final assembly of all the turbine components including exact adjustment of stator and air gap in the generator, greasing moving parts & securing bolts. Connecting the wind turbine to the rest of the electric system.

Sometimes there are additional things happening at the workshop, such as building or preparing the turbine tower, building electronic components or other parts of the turbine’s electric system. This depends  on the exact circumstances of the individual workshop.