Adjustable Sidewall Mold Assembly for Wind Turbine Spar Cap Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of spar caps using pultruded plates is hindered by alignment issues and the need for extensive manual labor, leading to increased costs and reduced production throughput, as well as complex post-processing requirements due to resin infusion imperfections.
Innovation Solution
A mold assembly with adjustable sidewalls that allows for precise alignment and positioning of pultruded plates during resin infusion, reducing manual supervision and enabling the use of the same mold for plates of different dimensions, thereby simplifying the unmolding process and minimizing resin excess.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If pultruded plates are placed in a mold using known approaches, then the manufacturing process can proceed, but the plates are difficult to align with respect to each other and to the mold, leading to imperfections in the final product
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is prepared in advance with guide elements, positioning features, and alignment markers built into its structure. These pre-configured features automatically guide the pultruded plates into correct positions during placement, eliminating the need for complex real-time alignment operations and ensuring consistent manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Guide elements and positioning fixtures act as intermediaries between the pultruded plates and the mold. These intermediary components facilitate precise alignment by providing physical references and constraints, allowing the plates to be easily positioned without requiring direct complex alignment operations between the plates and mold.
2Manufacturing precision
If a considerable amount of manual labor is used to mitigate misalignments, then alignment quality improves, but the average cost of the composite part increases and the overall composite manufacture throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mold's built-in guide elements and positioning features enable the system to self-align the pultruded plates during placement. The alignment function is embedded in the mold structure itself, allowing automatic guidance without requiring external manual intervention, thereby maintaining high alignment quality while preserving manufacturing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
Alignment features are pre-configured into the mold structure before production begins. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for continuous manual alignment operations during manufacturing, reducing labor requirements and maintaining steady production throughput while ensuring consistent alignment quality.
3Manufacturing precision
If supports are located in the mold to guide the pultruded plates, then alignment is improved, but after resin infusion and unmolding, the resin infused stack needs time-consuming treatment by qualified operators to improve quality and remove excess resin
Solution Approach 1:
The mold design incorporates features that not only guide alignment but also control resin flow and distribution during infusion. By converting the potential harm of excess resin into a controlled process, the design minimizes resin buildup in critical areas, reducing the need for post-processing operations to remove excess resin while maintaining alignment quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold structure includes pre-configured resin distribution channels and release features that prevent excessive resin accumulation during infusion. These preliminary design features ensure that when unmolding occurs, the resin-infused stack requires minimal post-processing treatment, saving time while maintaining the alignment quality achieved during placement.
4Ease of operation
If draft angle is employed for placement of pultruded plates and unmolding, then plates can be easily positioned and removed, but there is more excess resin on the side of the components, requiring more labor afterwards
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying a draft angle to the entire mold surface, the design applies localized guiding features and release mechanisms only where needed for plate placement and unmolding. This localized approach maintains ease of operation for positioning and removal while controlling resin flow in critical areas to minimize excess resin buildup, reducing post-processing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a spar cap for a wind turbine blade, the spar cap comprising a stack of pultruded plates. The method comprising laying the stack of pultruded plates between a first and a second sidewall on a mold, infusing the stack of pultruded plates with resin, and unmolding the infused stack of pultruded plates from the mold. Further, at least one of the sidewalls is adjusted along the transverse direction relative to the stack of pultruded plates at least after the laying or prior to unmolding of the stack of pultruded plates. The present disclosure also relates to infused pultrusion stacks.