A renowned global manufacturer of wind turbine blades. In this specific case, the French company addressed the challenge of needing to handle the world’s longest wind turbine blade! The blade was 108 meters long – the length of a soccer field, to put it into perspective – and weighed 80 tons. Successfully providing the right custom motorized carts was a source of genuine satisfaction for Morello.
THE CHALLENGE
Apart from the length and weight of the blade, the biggest challenge resided in the fact that the blade had a flexible rather than rigid structure. To move it, two heavy-duty industrial carts would clearly be needed, which had to be synchronized to support both ends of the blade. No-one had ever handled a wind turbine blade with two synchronized modular transfer carts before, without using a rigid structure to support the blade. It was an unprecedented challenge. What’s more, the custom motorized carts needed to move both inside and outside the plant, and the client had also requested a lifting mechanism on the carts. The carts needed to have enough power to travel to the port and then along the dock, where the blades would be loaded onto a ship.
THE SOLUTION
To address this challenge, MORELLO proposed and built two synchronized SPMTs (custom modular motorized carts) with several unique characteristics. The carts communicated with each other via their own Wi-Fi network to synchronize each wheel’s speed, acceleration, braking and steering. A new software program had to be developed to synchronize the movements given the absence of a rigid structure between the two carts, which operated 80 meters apart! This was a development unique to its kind. The industrial heavy-duty carts supplied by MORELLO were therefore fitted with hydraulic suspensions for each shafting. Battery-powered vehicles with electric drive and steering ensured an entirely green and eco-friendly operating solution. This technology also ensures less power usage and very low maintenance for an extremely cost-effective end result.