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Making wind energy a breeze
Dow Corning says that its silicones are helping wind energy
become one of the world’s fastest growing sources of
renewable power with technologies that help improve
turbine reliability, increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Converting wind energy to electricity is relatively simple: blades
on a turbine shaft turn a generator to produce electricity. However,
effectively producing a significant amount of clean, renewable
power can strain components such as hydraulic circuits, brakes,
blades and bearings.
“The cost of alternative energy sources must be weighed
against existing technologies, so factors such as reliability, remote
monitoring and ease of maintenance are critical factors for
operators of wind turbines,” said Suzanne Fuson, global market
director of Dow Corning. “High-efficiency lubrication is critical to
ensure reduced maintenance and long-term reliability of wind
power technologies.”
Friction between wind turbine components can drastically
reduce efficiency, making proper lubrication and maintenance
essential to maximise energy output. Specially formulated silicone
lubricants, such as Molykote® brand lubricants from Dow Corning,
are designed to meet these extreme demands.
“From industrial plants to wind powered turbines, new
advances in silicone lubricants and proper lubrication programs have helped manufacturers and consumers reduce their carbon footprint,” adds
Suzanne. “As the need for more wind farms and renewable sources of energy increases, silicones will continue to play a vital role in growing wind
energy as a critical part of a balanced energy future.”
Bringing manufacturing
Tolerance rings
back to UK
make for quieter
3M’s 950 Adhesive Transfer Tape has helped enable a manufacturer of
electric motors
automotive privacy shades to accelerate lead times and migrate its production
back to the UK from the Far East. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Rencol has
A cheaper alternative to window tinting the shades cover the entire surface area of announced the successful completion of a research
the window while still allowing it to be wound down. Production was undertaken in programme confirming that tolerance ring bearing
the Far East, but OE Sunshades soon realised that the overly long lead times and the mounts decrease vibration compared to the more
cost of airfreight were wiping out many of the savings. Thanks to the performance of traditional press fit and glue alternatives.
3M’s 950 Adhesive Transfer Tape, it engineered out as much of the labour as it could By fine-tuning the characteristics of the joint between
and brought production back to Nottinghamshire. the bearing and the housing, the tolerance ring helps
A primary issue faced during development was the ability to keep the shade reduce the vibration within the bearing and reduces the
material taught on the metal frame prior to the application of a woven-edge binding. amount of vibration energy being transferred to noise.
“We tried everything,” explains Stephen Giles, operations director of OE Sunshades. Rencol engineers believe that this cost effective mounting
“Other tapes, sprays, heat-applied adhesives and nothing seemed to be able to hold solution has a positive effect on the electric motor and
the fabric firmly, with it often detaching or rucking prior to the final sewing operation. bearing life enabling it to run much quieter and smoother,
After a series of trial runs, we finally found our candidate – 3M 950 Tape delivered for longer.
exactly what we wanted. Another plus was the ease at which it comes off its backing Initial results from the research suggest that as the
paper – you will not believe the mess we created with tapes from other suppliers.” stiffness of a joint using a tolerance ring is lower than
OE Sunshades is now adding two new car models a week and can receive a that of a press fit or glue bearing mount, the transmitted
car at 08:30 and have it out of the door by 16:30; having measured the apertures, force through the bearing into the housing is reduced. In
developed the CNC programme for the wire frame, created manufacturing procedures addition, with a tolerance ring mount, the dampening
and fabricated initial quality-control samples. “With just six people working a single effects observed effectively absorb more of the vibration
shift pattern, we are able to produce more than 500 sets of shades per week.” energy.
3M 950 Tape is ideal for attaching a wide variety of similar and dissimilar materials “Glue and press fit bearing mounts could become a
where an aggressive adhesive with high initial adhesion is required. This pressure- thing of the past,” commentsvvww Stuart Kelly, appliance
sensitive, medium-firm acrylic adhesive also features good shear holding power product manager at Rencol. “Tolerance rings offer better
and, at just 0.13mm thick, the clear adhesive does not impact on the aesthetics of repeatability, lower RMS (root-mean-square) noise level,
the substrates being bonded. The tapes can be used on a huge variety of substrates lower RMS vibration level at high speeds and the ability
and variants, catering for simple paper/card bonding to high-pressure, high-strength to control the frequency band in which the resonance
versions. occurs.”
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