The robotic help promises to alleviate challenging working conditions for creating turbine blades.
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has employed robotic technology to assist in the production of wind turbine blades, aiming to alleviate challenging working conditions and enhance product uniformity. Robots Offer Helping Hand in Creating Wind Turbine Blades Robots have been utilized in the wind energy sector for tasks like painting and polishing blades, but automation has not seen widespread adoption. Recent research at NREL demonstrates a robot's capability to perform essential tasks like trimming, grinding, and sanding wind turbine blades after the fabrication process, which involves molding and bonding the blade sides together. Hunter Huth, an NREL robotics engineer and the study's lead author, described the project as successful despite the operational challenges encountered. The researchers note that wind turbine blade manufacturing involves labor-intensive post-molding operations that often require workers to perch on scaffolding and wear protective gear. Automating these tasks is expected to enhance worker safety and retention by streamlining operations. Daniel Laird, director of the National Wind Technology Center at NREL,…