Sustainable energy is one of the key challenges of today´s society. Wind Power plays a major role as key source for sustainable energy. Nevertheless today´s production of wind power plants is still highly manual. In order to reach the sustainability goals, increasing the industrial production of Wind Energy power plants is inevitable.
Automation can support the industrial ramp up of wind power plants. Nevertheless, short product cycles, price pressure and high complexity in the production process did not allow higher levels of automation in the past.
Broetje-Automation has more than four decades of experience with automated assembly of large structures. We provide the automated solutions to successfully ramp-up the production of wind power plants to meet the demand arising from the energy transition.
We offer various solutions for automated manufacturing processes. For the wind power industry, the layup of materials for the composite blades is a core process with a high amount of manual labor. With our automated solutions, industrial ramp-up can be uncoupled from workforce constraints and simultaneously can improve process quality dramatically.
We provide profound experience with the handling of industrial textiles as well as process integration for manufacturing. Our systems are highly flexible and designed to be adaptable to future programme and product developments.
Today’s wind turbines require a large number of high-strength screw connections. Accuracy is of utmost importance here. Every fastener needs to be bolted with the right torque and tightening angle. Ergonomics and safety for the workers also represent a challenge.
The Fastening Systems developed by Broetje-Automation solve this task. They can be applied as new or retrofit solution to fit seamlessly into existing production environments. Using our software environment they are able to run automatically pre-programmed screw connection processes without further manual work and include the necessary quality and process documentation.
The deep knowledge of automated assembly of large structures at Broetje-Automation is applied to the challenges for the assembly of wind power plants. The individual turbines are getting bigger and bigger, which is creating new challenges in logistics, transport, and assembly. The requirements for accuracy, quality and documentation are also increasing. Broetje-Automation already incorporates sensor systems (e.g. laser, camera or radar guided) in numerous systems as well as the digital integration for simulation based on the Digital Twin, offline programming as well as inline quality assurance and documentation in order to be able to offer its customers a holistic solution to their production challenges.
The larger and heavier the components to be assembled, the more sensible it is to bring the machine to the component instead of providing fixed machine workstations. Broetje-Automation has specifically built capabilities for mobilizing machines and systems. The existing positioning technology – both globally in the factory and locally for the recognition of the components – promises further potential in the future.
Depending on the customer’s requirements, the existing technologies for digital factory integration at Broetje-Automation can be used. This starts with the planning of the processes and the layout and continues with simulation and offline programming based on digital twins.
The Rotary Torque System is an automated simultaneous bolt tightening system for a fast and efficient assembly of wind power plants. The bolting process requires highest quality and accuracy to make sure, all parameters are well covered. A multi-step bolting process and the variable force application range offer more flexibility for a variety of wind power structures and applications.
The sensor referenced system guarantees a precise and accurate process to ensure the safety and quality of the end product. With the simultaneous bolt tightening on two parallel positions of the circular module, we are able to complete the process two times faster than in a regular standard application.
The torque is absorbed by means of a torque support on the high-precision, electric screwdriving tools. The opposite arrangement ensures the tightening process (similar to a car tire) and the cycle time.
Broetje-Automation GmbH
Am Autobahnkreuz 14
26180 Rastede
Germany
Phone: +49 4402 966-0
E-Mail: info@broetje-automation.de
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