Sheet Winding Assembly for Controlled Wind Turbine Blade Layup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing wind turbine blades are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to mistakes due to the manual handling and cutting of fibre materials, requiring multiple bobbins and tedious processes.
Innovation Solution
A sheet winding assembly with a first magazine, cutting device, conveying assembly, and edge engagement device that automates the unwinding, cutting, and winding of fibre sheets onto receiving bobbins, allowing for controlled overlap and efficient production of bobbins for blade manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual handling and cutting of fibre materials is used, then flexibility and simplicity are maintained, but the process becomes time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the fibre material supply into multiple separate bobbins (first supply bobbin, second supply bobbin) that can be independently loaded and managed. This segmentation allows continuous production while maintaining organizational simplicity, as each bobbin can be prepared separately and loaded into the magazine without complex coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nesting by placing multiple bobbins within a magazine structure, and further nesting the fibre sheets within the bobbins. The conveying assembly then extracts and processes the sheets in sequence. This nested arrangement maximizes space utilization and enables automated processing without requiring excessive external equipment.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple pre-shaped fibre mats are used on separate bobbins, then material quality is improved, but the number of bobbins and transfer operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple fibre material sources (first supply bobbin with first fibre sheet, second supply bobbin with second fibre sheet) into a single integrated magazine and conveying system. This merging allows precise control of sheet transitions and overlaps while reducing the number of separate handling operations compared to using completely independent bobbin systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveying assembly acts as an intermediary device between the bobbins and the final layup position. It extracts sheets from different bobbins, controls their transport, manages the cutting process, and ensures precise overlap positioning. This intermediary function eliminates the need for direct manual transfer between multiple bobbins while maintaining high precision.
3Reliability
If manual cutting and rolling of fibre mats is performed, then equipment simplicity is maintained, but errors in sheet length and sequence occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms through the control device that monitors and coordinates the operation of multiple bobbins, the conveying assembly, and the cutting device. This feedback control ensures that sheets are extracted in the correct sequence, cut to precise lengths, and positioned with accurate overlap, eliminating the errors associated with manual operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated system performs self-service functions by automatically extracting sheets from bobbins, transporting them through the conveying assembly, cutting them to required lengths, and positioning them with precise overlap. The cutting device and conveying assembly work autonomously under control device coordination, eliminating manual intervention and its associated errors in sheet length and sequence.
4Manufacturing precision
If fibre sheets are cut to fit blade mould shape, then manufacturing precision is improved, but additional cutting operations and time are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cutting actions by equipping the conveying assembly with a cutting device that trims fibre sheets to their final required lengths before layup. This preliminary cutting ensures precise shape accuracy while integrating the cutting operation into the automated flow, eliminating the need for separate post-arrival cutting operations at the blade mould location.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to sheet winding assembly for loading a plurality of cut sheet parts onto one or more receiving bobbins, for subsequent layup of these sheet parts in a wind turbine blade mould. The sheet wind assembly comprises a first magazine (66) holding a plurality of supply bobbins (68), and a second magazine (74) holding one or more receiving bobbins (78). A cutting device (72) configured to cut the sheet of material unwound from one or more of the supply bobbins (68) to form cut sheet parts (76). A conveying assembly (80) is configured for successively conveying the cut sheet parts along a path extending from the first magazine (66) to the second magazine (74), and an edge engagement device (82) is configured to engage an edge (71) of the sheet or of the cut sheet part and to pull said edge towards the second magazine (74) such that an overlap (84) is provided between successive sheet parts.