Blade Technology

Wind Energy

Designcraft has worked on the design and manufacture of blades, ranging from 17m to 80m, including patterns and moulds for blade shells and components. We have been involved in the development of blades for the wind energy industry since the early 80's and have built up a great body of knowledge and expertise. Designcraft has also worked on the development of composite blades for small vertical and horizontal axis machines up to 400KW.  Recent projects include the replacement of blade tips for a customer in Japan.  Designcraft designed and built the new tips and supervised the installation in Northern Japan.

aline

Prototype Blade Technology

Designcraft has many years of experience in developing composite construction methods which include the use of infusion in glass and carbon fibre.  We are expert in developing new and innovative techniques for composite manufacture in the area of alternative energy. We work closely with our customers to develop simple and robust manufacturing processes which meet the requirements of the design.

 Our original composite construction methods include the development of electrically heated moulds - a system still in use today and adopted across the industry with several variants. Other unique blade technology concepts include the infusion of timber blade structures and the development of infused blade root connections. 

Tidal Energy

Designcraft has worked on prototype rotor builds in the emerging Tidal Energy Industry for companies including Scotrenewables, Tidal Energy Ltd, Ocean Flow, Pulse and Tidal Stream.

We work with customers on the blade design to achieve buildable rotors. Production tooling is typically epoxy infused glass fibre with steel support frames and built-in heating for fast curing of parts.  The blades themselves are built using the infusion process, combining uni-directional and multi-axial glass and carbon fibre with special epoxy resins, chosen for their mechanical properties and resistance to moisture ingression. 

For the attachment of blades to the hub, we have investigated a number of systems from imbedded inserts and T bolts to clamps and collars.  These proven methods used for Wind Energy have been optimised further by us for tidal applications.