The energy industry requires high-quality parts, manufactured to the highest standards of precision and repeatability. Continuous development of the whole industry increases the need for the development of the electrical grid and providing a stable electric supply for goods production. Or such basic commodities as energy for the air conditioning or to run electronic devices in offices.Such development and load make maintaining the electrical grid a challenge – one of its parts is the right construction of the said structure.
CNC for the energy industry: first of all – the precision of the manufacturing
The energy industry is one of the strategic areas for every country – providing continuous power supply for offices or production plants is crucial, especially for a wide range of production plants, that rely on fossil fuel-driven power plants.
Although in that area precision of manufacturing machine parts is not the priority, repeatability has great importance for the compatibility of newly produced parts.
That leads to ease of replacing used parts in the electrical grid – quality of manufacture also impacts the longevity of these elements.
Such features are provided by CNC machining processes.
Ease of manufacturing, scalability, production on demand, or speed – these are other important features offered by numerically controlled devices.
That is why CNC-based manufacturing is the backbone of almost every area of production focused on the energy industry.
Precisely machined elements of transformer components, chassis, or turbine rotors – in almost all of these areas, numerically controlled devices can provide precision and true-to-documentation manufacturing.
Such a level of quality provides ease of maintenance and assembly of bigger systems (eg. transformer stations or systems dedicated to the power grid).
On the other hand – allows the ease of exchanging worn parts – mainly due to the precision provided by CNC manufacturing processes.
Currently in production parts and components for the energy industry are used mainly following processes:
- CNC milling – provides high precision and repeatability of machining in many axes. Such technology allows the fast manufacturing of a vast variety of construction profiles, chassis, gears, and bigger components of rotors – for a vast variety of power plants, from hydroelectric and wind to coal and atomic,
- CNC turning – the most often used method of manufacturing cylindrical parts, such as drive/crankshafts or mounting pins,
- electric discharge machining (EDM) – is very important in manufacturing parts for transformers, and power generators, especially with complex internal structures. That technology allows for precise forming and often manufacturing of very complex parts out of one block of material,
- other CNC devices – eg. specialized devices for manufacturing and assembly of solar panels,
- other processes of bettering the surface, the most often – galvanic – such as aluminum anodization. That process is often used in manufacturing parts for the energy industry. An additional layer of oxide on the surface of the part has isolating properties (especially: the mentioned anodization) – thanks to that, aluminum parts can be safely used in electric devices.
CNC manufacturing for wind power plants and the whole removal energy industry
Contrary to popular opinion, renewable energy renewable energy sources are not something new – hydroelectric power plants delivered electrical energy in the second half of the 19th century.
On the other hand, wind moved burrs grinding grain for centuries.
The main change in that area is a more efficient way of changing kinetic energy for the electrical.
Such change requires new solutions that should be more effective and accessible – scale the whole industry up by decreasing the cost of devices and increasing the amount of energy generated by every device.
CNC machining is one of the important factors that has changed that industry and allowed it to produce more energy.
One of the main reasons is the possibility of manufacturing complicated parts whose shape helps to optimize energy production.
Such 'new but more efficient' components for the electric industry are mainly:
- turbines mounted in the hydroelectric power plant, often with complicated blade structure and geometry that improves the efficiency of energy production,
- chassis and rotors of generators mounted on the wind power plants,
- profiles used to fabricate frames for light and rigid propellers of a wind power plant that are later covered with specialized polymers, composites, and resins,
- chassis of transformers and other equipment of complicated internal and external structures, used often in the renewable energy industry.
CNC manufacturing for the photovoltaic farms
Photovoltaic farms are very often visible in the landscape – all over the world.
Its efficiency makes it a real alternative for the production of electrical energy.
Increasing popularity and interest translated to higher demand for chassis, frames, and other construction elements for the photovoltaic.
In addition, technology focused on manufacturing panels themself also based on the CNC technology – these modules are in fact 'printed' by numerically controlled devices.
That helps to decrease the possibility of human error and provide the best possible energy production for the optimal price of manufacturing.
Each of these small elements impacts the energy output of a particular photovoltaic farm that is sent to the power grid.
More 'typical' CNC machining for the photovoltaic industry focuses mainly on:
- CNC milling frames for individual panels and whole units. Due to additional processing such parts (eg. aluminum anodization) such parts can remain light and rigid, and the whole construction – is resistant for the longtime explosions in the environment,
- CNC lathes are used to manufacture high quantities of bolts or pins used in assembly – often out of very rigid materials, to provide the best possible performance in time,
- CNC grinders are used to improve the surface quality and provide the best possible fitment. Such precision can help in assembly and overall rigidity of the construction due to minimal tolerances and stiffness of the construction.
One order, many benefits – this is how you collaborate with RADMOT
At RADMOT, we offer CNC milling services, CNC turning services, as well as a variety of additional services including washing, aluminum anodizing, laser marking, and assembly. We have over 80 modern machines at your disposal in our machine park, all from reputable manufacturers. Download the presentation and check on which machines we produce parts.
Contact us and tell us what you need. We have been providing CNC services for almost 40 years. Our quote is completely free. And if you have doubts about which technology will work best for you, our expert knowledge is at your service.
