Wind Turbine Workshops

About our practical courses

We build a small wind turbine based on the Hugh Piggott design during the course. The Design is known for it’s simplicity and reliability. We use common materials and parts to build all components of the turbine by ourselves. You should be able to build your own turbine at home after your participation in our course. You will also learn how the wind turbine is efficiently used as a source of energy in a stand alone (off-grid) or in a grid connected system.

We offer public courses for everyone who is interested in learning about Do-It-Yourself wind energy. Additionally we have developed course concepts for universities, schools and other organizations to meet specific needs.

In the course we learn from each other, next to each other. Typical group size is between 5 and 15 people. Languages: German or English

Typical course content

What you will learn while building a Piggott wind turbine

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.

The Piggott Wind Turbine Design

In the workshop we use the wind turbine design of our good friend Hugh Piggott. It’s a reliable, simple and solid wind turbine concept that has been developed by Hugh Piggott for locally built wind turbines. The beauty of the design is the fact that it can be built using basic tools even with little handcrafting experience.

Therefore, it is perfect for the purpose of education.

It can easily compete with commercial small wind turbines in terms of performance and reliability, which is proved by many successful installations worldwide.

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