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Wind Turbines

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-03-18

CNC Onsite Extends Up-Tower Yaw Ring Repair for Wind Turbine Platforms

CNC Onsite, a Danish mobile machining expert, has extended its in-situ yaw ring repair service, which can now handle a range of common wind turbine platforms. Since nacelle layouts and working space around the yaw ring differ, each turbine type requires a custom machine setup. With the expanded service, CNC Onsite meets the growing demand for its cost-effective repair over replacements.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-03-10

Atlantic Bearing Services Sponsors U.S. Caribbean Business Conference 2025

Atlantic Bearing Services will take part in the U.S. Caribbean Business Conference 2025 as a bronze sponsor, reinforcing its growth and commitment to strengthening business relationships in the Caribbean. As one of the leading engineering companies participating, ABS joins top companies from various industries in a key event to explore new opportunities in the region.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2025-02-12

The Reliability Game

Call it destiny, divine intervention or good ole-fashioned fate, speaking with Alejandro Pardiñas, CEO of Atlantic Bearing Services (ABS) and ABS Wind, one gets the impression he had no choice other than to become a mechanical engineer. This was evident way back when his great-grandfather became a mining engineer for Rio Tinto.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-11-21

A Sneak Peek at Quality Control at Atlantic Bearing Services (ABS)

Antonio Martin Hernandez, Marco Partidas, Dayan Leng Armenteros, and Laura Vazquez diligently working on various components that require special attention. They are focused on inner rings (IRs) for cylindrical roller bearings, which play a crucial role in reducing friction and supporting radial loads. Additionally, they handle bevel gears, essential components in gearboxes that change the direction of torque transmission across various industrial applications.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-11-06

Iberdrola-Avangrid and Alejandro Pardiñas to Receive the Ponce de Leon Awards from the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce

The Spain-US Chamber of Commerce in Florida is proud to announce that the recipients of the 2024 Ponce de León Awards for "Company of the Year" are Iberdrola and its U.S. subsidiary, Avangrid and the "Executive of the Year" is Alejandro Pardiñas, CEO of ABSrecognizing their exceptional contributions to energy innovation and industrial leadership. 

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-10-15

Sartell City Council Enters Purchase Agreement with Niron Magnetics for Major Development

The Sartell City Council has signed a Purchase Agreement with Niron Magnetics for 79 acres of public land on the east side of 4th Avenue South. This property, part of the 167-acre Champion Plat acquired by the City of Sartell last year during the purchase of the Mill District, marks a significant development for the community.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-09-20

R&D Test Systems Completes Foundation for new Test Bench: Main Bearings for 25 MW Wind Turbines

Nine months into building the most powerful test bench for main bearings to date, R&D Test Systems, Denmark’s wind turbine test specialist, has completed the 3,700 metric ton foundation and is now designing and welding the test bench parts that will perform extreme test loads on main bearings for 25 MW wind turbines. With delivery in 2025, the test bench is bound for LORC’s new main bearing test facility.

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INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-09-09

ZF Wind Power Coimbatore is the first plant in India to roll out 50 Gigawatts of Wind Gearboxes

ZF Wind Power has announced a major milestone for the Indian market: the total production of 50 GW gearbox capacity at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Coimbatore, India. This achievement underlines ZF’s commitment to India's renewable energy landscape, while strengthening their position as a strategic partner on the road to a sustainable future.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-08-23

Emerging Technology Center Sneak Peek at IMTS 2024

When manufacturing leaders, job shop owners, engineers, and designers want to see what their operations might look like in the near future, one of their must-visit destinations is AMT’s Emerging Technology Center (ETC) at IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show. IMTS 2024 runs Sept. 9-14 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2024-07-26

Schaeffler Optimizes Wind Turbines Using Closed Loop Engineering

Wind turbines have a decisive role to play in the expansion of renewable energy. Schaeffler is a market leader and strategic development partner in the wind technology industry, leveraging closed loop engineering to play a key role that goes far beyond the provision of bearing solutions for on- and offshore wind. Working in close partnership with turbine and gearbox manufacturers, the company supports wind turbine development through state-of-the art system simulation, realistic test-bench testing, and field measurement campaigns.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2023-11-21

ONYX Insight’s Software Enhances Turbine Condition Monitoring

ONYX Insight has unveiled a new upgrade to its fleetMONITOR technology which will enable wind operators to monitor the health of their turbines using data from Bently Nevada System.   

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2023-09-29

Derivation of Relative EHL Film Thickness

This report derives the equation for relative elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) film thickness. Mineral (MIN), polyalphaolefin (PAO), and polyalkylene glycol (PAG) lubricants with viscosity grades of ISO 320, 150, and 32 are analyzed.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2023-09-28

Repowering the Future: Data-Driven Wind Farms

There is growing financial risk to maintaining operational wind turbines. The average lifespan of a wind turbine is around 20 years and as components within turbines begin to approach the end of their lifecycle, performance can decline resulting in reduced productivity. Meanwhile, recent reports have highlighted that new, larger capacity machines could lead to a rise in component failures and mechanical breakdown issues as manufacturers push to develop bigger turbines, faster.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2023-08-14

NKE Set to Display Bearings at Husum Wind 2023

NKE Austria GmbH (Booth #3C16) will exhibit at this year's Husum Wind trade show taking place September 12-15 in Husum, Germany. The Austrian bearing manufacturer participates for the first time at the fair for renewable energies in Northern Germany.

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INDUSTRY NEWS | 2023-07-20

Nearthlab Expands Partnership with ONYX Insight

Nearthlab, a leading provider of autonomous drone technology, announced that the company is scaling up its strategic partnership with ONYX Insight, a global provider of predictive maintenance solutions (PdM) beyond North America to Europe and APAC. The expansion comes a few months after the initial kick-off in March.  

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2023-06-26

Schaeffler Wind Power Standard Ensures Maximum Reliability in Wind Turbines

Schaeffler introduced a Wind Power Standard for wind turbine bearings more than ten years ago, which considers the high demands on the reliability of turbines and associated components. This standard for products and processes ensures that wind turbine bearings are subject to the highest quality standards, as also implemented, for example, in the automotive industry, and in the aviation and aerospace sectors. The start of the year marked the manufacture and delivery of the millionth bearing by Schaeffler in accordance with the Wind Power Standard.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2023-05-16

Heidenhain to Exhibit at Cleanpower

Heidenhain Corporation will be exhibiting at Cleanpower, May 22-25 in New Orleans, LA. The booth (#1514) will feature technologies from two companies in the Heidenhain family of brands—Leine Linde and LTN—that can reduce challenges related to wind turbine service and boost overall uptime. 

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2023-04-24

NKE Austria Announces Partnership with Kugler Bimetal

Bearing manufacturer NKE Austria GmbH is entering into a strategic partnership with Kugler Bimetal SA, a Swiss producer of bimetallic components and tribological surface finishes. The cooperation was announced at the Hannover Messe in April 2023. 

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2023-04-06

On the Potential of High-Ratio Planetary Gearboxes for Next-Generation Robotics

The earliest example of a gear train dates to at least 2,000 B.C. when Chinese engineers built a chariot that used a complex planetary mechanism made of wooden gears to let a dragon head continuously point south when driven around (Ref. 1). In Greece, a surprisingly advanced Antikythera gearbox mechanism, incorporating at least 37 precisely crafted bronze gears, was built years later, between 205–60 B.C. (Ref. 2).

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2023-02-07

Asset Management in Manufacturing

PT products such as gears, motors, pumps, fans and bearings will—without a doubt—continue to run through rigorous and harsh environments for the foreseeable future, but software and hardware improvements aim to disrupt unplanned downtime and machine maintenance through a series of new condition monitoring assets.

POWER PLAY | 2022-12-02

Wind of Change

Wind-turbine drivetrains undergo severe transient loading during start-ups, shut-downs, emergency stops, and during grid connections. Load cases that result in torque reversals may be particularly damaging to bearings, as rollers may be skidding during the sudden relocation of the loaded zone. Seals and lubrication systems must work reliably over a wide temperature variation to prevent the ingress of dirt and moisture and perform effectively at all rotational speeds in the gearbox. Many wind-turbine gearboxes have also suffered from fundamental design issues such as ineffective interference fits that result in unintended motion and wear, ineffectiveness of internal lubrication paths and problems with sealing. Improving the resistance of future gearbox designs to all these issues is a key to the future cost of energy generated by wind turbines.

REVOLUTIONS | 2022-11-21

Freudenberg Seals Improve Offshore Wind Turbine Service Life

The European Union aims to expand the capacity for wind power generated at sea to at least 60 gigawatts by 2030. With its sealing solutions for the foundation structures, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies helps ensure that new wind turbines reach a service life of at least 30 years or more despite the rough conditions at sea. 

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-10-03

ZF Wind and R&D Test Systems Develop Test Bench for Powertrains and Gearboxes

In its largest order to date, Danish wind turbine test specialist R&D Test Systems will develop the 30 MW powertrain and gearbox test bench for ZF Wind Power’s future “Test & Prototype Center” at Lommel, Belgium. Capable of simulating the multiplicity of wind loads that a nacelle powertrain might experience in its lifetime, the test rig, to be delivered in 2024, will help improve product reliability and shorten time to market.

REVOLUTIONS | 2022-08-29

Freudenberg Aids High Flying Wind Farm

Wind farms are expanding around the world. This is good for climate change. Wind turbines are being installed on the high seas with nacelle heights of more than 100 meters and rotor diameters of nearly 170 meters. This increases both the electricity yield and economic efficiency. Freudenberg is aiding wind power’s conquest with high performance components and materials.

REVOLUTIONS | 2022-07-11

The Quest for the Perfect Turbine

ONYX Insight examines how digital tools can provide wind energy solutions, from day-to-day problem solving to future-proofing operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies through condition monitoring technologies.

REVOLUTIONS | 2022-05-06

The Extreme Ends of Turbine Condition Monitoring

One of ONYX’s customers and a leader in driving up the reliability and asset performance of the wind industry, Pattern Energy, uses ONYX turbine monitoring for over 1,100 wind turbines. Across this fleet ONYX connects several CMS hardware types to fleetMONITOR, a multi-brand solution for drivetrain monitoring. Two of the wind farms were retrofitted with ecoCMS in 2018, the technology with which ONYX disrupted the CMS industry.

REVOLUTIONS | 2022-04-25

Performance and Safety Top Priorities in Gear and Gear Drive Applications

The gear and gear drive segment of mechanical power transmission continues to focus on performance, reliability and safety. There are several new products offering increased load capacity, reduced friction and longer service life. For those components unable to keep up with industrial demands, there’s a gearbox MRO team waiting to handle emergency repair services.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2021-02-01

How Predictive Maintenance Can Unlock Offshore Wind Growth

A practical guide to adopting digital technology in wind energy applications.
POWER PLAY | 2020-02-01

Schaeffler Goes Big in Bearing Applications

One of the largest components manufactured by Schaeffler last year was a double-row tapered roller bearing featuring an outer diameter measuring 3.6 meters and a weight just over nine tons.
POWER PLAY | 2019-08-01

Renewable Building Blocks

LEGO & Vestas Collaborate on Sustainability Project.
| 2019-06-03

Morgan Advanced Materials Examines Wind Turbine Mechanics

Reliance on wind power is increasing, so the industry must continue to find ways to operate more efficiently, while reducing maintenance and costs....
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2019-06-01

Documentation of Gearbox Reliability - An Upcoming Demand

The proof of the reliability of a gear drive is now an additional requirement. In Europe, the acceptance authorities for wind turbines are requesting a system reliability proof from gearbox manufacturers. The AGMA committee reviewing the AGMA 6006 standard for wind turbines is considering adding a chapter about design for reliability. However, reliability considerations are not new; NASA, for example, was in the 1980s using reliability concepts for gear drives.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2018-12-01

How to Deal With Growing Pains

Wind turbines are getting bigger than ever, and the manufacturing infrastructure that facilitates their construction needs to start growing with them.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2018-11-08

Webinar: Advanced Mainshaft Bearing Solutions for Wind Turbines

Mainshaft bearings inside wind turbines are subjected to extremely harsh operating conditions that result in failure patterns which include surface-initiated fatigue, abrasive wear and uneven internal load distribution. This webinar will introduce you to the latest engineering advancements in spherical roller bearing design, including solutions that allow potentially damaging thrust to be safely transferred through the bearing to the housing support. The resulting reduction in torque, friction and heat significantly improves the overall efficiency of the system, thereby enabling the wind turbine to generate more power – more reliably!

| 2018-09-25

Future of E-Mobility

Schaeffler Touts System Solutions and Electrification at Detroit Symposium

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| 2018-08-13

Harnessing Reliable Wind Energy with Gearing Solutions

As the wind comes sweeping down the plains of America these days, it passes through fields of wind turbines. As the energy market turns towards ren...
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2018-06-01

A Mechanical Healthcare Plan

Motor Operation Gets Big Boost from Smart Technology (Here's How to Take Advantage)
EVENTS | 2018-04-01

Momentum in Wind Power

Coming off of a stellar 2017 for the wind power industry, Wind Power 2018 is all about carrying that momentum forward.
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2017-03-01

Industry News

The complete Industry News section from the March 2017 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.
PRODUCT NEWS | 2017-02-01

Product News

The complete Product News section from the February 2017 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2016-08-01

Modular Control Systems for Wind Energy

For a 5-megawatt wind turbine prototype, aerodyn employs the latest control and software technologies, including a comprehensive PC-based control solution and the new modular TwinCAT Wind Framework. The TwinCAT Wind Framework features the latest software engineering and Big Data applications to extend current Industry 4.0 concepts to the wind energy industry. The modular software supports, for example, the direct provision of sensor data to the operator’s database, and in general enables the easy adaption of the wind turbine operation management to future requirements.
BEARING BRIEFS | 2016-08-01

Analyzing Wind Power

Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth’s surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind Turbines convert the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical power.
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2015-08-01

Baby Steps in Wind Energy

The Department of Energy estimates that 4 million megawatts of potential power—four times the amount all U.S. power plants combined currently produce—exists in offshore wind energy. Construction of America’s first offshore wind turbines began in July. The wind farm, which is being constructed off the coast of Block Island, RI, will consist of five turbines. Together, they will produce 30 MW.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2015-04-01

Wind Pushing Future of Mechanical Components

After a sluggish 2013, annual installations of new wind turbines grew by 44% in 2014, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. And while much of that growth has been in Asia— particularly China, which now leads the world with 114 GW of installed capacity—the USA, Europe, and the rest of the world expect steady growth for the next couple of years as well (Fig. 1).
| 2015-01-29

Just How Big Are the Biggest Bearings?

I don’t recall a single bearing class where someone didn’t want to know what the largest bearing ever made was. From my stint as a bearing engineer...
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2014-03-01

Investigations of Bearing Failures Associated with White Etching Areas (WEAs) in Wind Turbine Gearboxes

A critical problem for wind turbine gearboxes is failure of rolling element bearings where axial cracks form on the inner rings. This article presents field experience from operating wind turbines that compares the performance of through-hardened and carburized materials. It reveals that through-hardened bearings develop WEA/WECs and fail with axial cracks, whereas carburized bearings do not. The field experience further shows that a carburized bearing with a core having low carbon content, high nickel content, greater compressive residual stresses, and a higher amount of retained austenite provides higher fracture resistance and makes carburized bearings more durable than through-hardened bearings in the wind turbine environment.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2009-02-01

With Electric Motors, Size Indeed Matters

In this paper, Edward Hage, founder of specAmotor.com, an online motor calculation and selection tool, focuses on the overheating of electric motors. Presented here is a calculation method with which the temperature and heat development of a direct current (DC) motor and a brushless motor can be predicted accurately.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2008-12-01

High-Capacity Bearings Carry the Load for Chinese Gearbox Manufacturer

Th e signing of a contract for more than 5,000 sets of SKF’s latest high-capacity cylindrical roller bearings (HCCRB) for wind turbines will impart added load-carrying capacity, more reliability and longer life to the Nanjing Gear Company’s (NGC) line of gearboxes for wind generation applications.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2008-02-01

Capacity--And the Lack of It--Rules

U.S. wind turbine growth puts a new spin on bearing manufacture.
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