The Applications from VEC are endless.
Wind Techology Applications
Precision Blades - Dramatically Improved Reliability
Blade reliability is perhaps the most major economic concern in the Wind Industry as the high cost of blade repair, blade replacement and tower downtime have considerable impact on potential profitability.
Additionally, blades routinely arrive on site with significant issues that demand that repairs be made to them before they can be installed. Inconsistencies in blade manufacturing result in blades with dramatically different weights and dimensions which then need to be addressed on-site by the addition of ballast to one or more of the blades. These inconsistencies are caused mainly by a combination of the size and complex shape or blades, which is compounded by the imprecise methods of the traditional blade manufacturing process.
Some of the many deficiencies that VEC resolves are:
- Bad bonding between sections
- Delamination
- Voids
- Trailing edge splits
- Variations in blade stiffness for one blade to the next
Because all aspects of the VEC manufacturing process are monitored and controlled to ensure unqualified consistency, accuracy and dimensional precision, VEC is able to avoid all the quality issues caused by:
- Inability to control the rate and quality of infusion
- Inconstancies in the bonding caused by inability to the control bonding process
- Multiple manufacturing and assembly locations
- Variations in thermal bonding temperature
- Need for manual sanding and finishing
Perhaps VEC's greatest significance is that it is so environmentally friendly. VEC Technology computers control a myriad of complex variables that reduce styrene emissions by over 90%. In fact, the VEC process is so environmentally friendly that it was awarded the prestigious and highly coveted "Clean Air Excellence Award" from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recognizing VEC for its outstanding achievements.
