The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will support a project for the additive manufacturing of tools for wind power rotor blades with 2.8 million U.S. dollars. Participants include Purdue University and several companies. The goal is to use 3D printing to speed up the manufacture of such tools and make them more cost-effective.
According to project leader Eduardo Barocio from Purdue University, the tools for rotor blades with a length of over 80 meters will consist of modularly assembled 3D-printed elements. The printing process to be used is that developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
It is hoped that the modular design will reduce manufacturing and assembly times by over 40 percent. In addition, the tools should be lighter and their manufacture at least 35 percent cheaper than with conventional methods. The technology is also expected to make it easier to adapt to changing rotor blade designs.
According to Purdue University’s Composites Manufacturing Simulation Center, which is involved in the project, the approaches developed in the project could also be applied to the manufacture of other wind power components. This could strengthen the competitiveness of wind energy in the USA.
In total, the DOE is investing $30 million in 13 projects to further develop rotor blades using state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies. The focus is on the scalability and sustainability of blade production.
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