Suppliers of renewable energy production technologies are faced with the major challenge that European directives on ecological conversion pose. The goal that the international community set itself at the Paris conference requires governments to rethink and restructure their energy policies in order to achieve a significant impact in terms of reducing CO2 emissions by 2050. Wind energy is certainly one of the key drivers of this change.

To move towards this horizon, many nations are investing significant capital in the construction of onshore and offshore wind farms: the developers of these farms rely on companies capable of providing technological, quality, reliable, cost-effective and time-effective solutions for the success of their projects. The main focus guiding the production management of these fabricators is production efficiency: it is therefore essential to be able to produce, while maintaining high and constant levels of product quality, always guaranteeing compliance with very tight tolerances, within certain timescales and realising the margins necessary for the success of the company.

With FICEP, fabricators now have a technological partner at their disposal that is able to support them in all the machining processes pertaining to Area 1: all those processes, from the plate metal storage warehouse to the stages preceding rolling. In fact, FICEP provides its own integrated technological solutions for the processes of shotblasting, cutting and beveling by milling.

FICEP is an Italian industrial company with almost one hundred years of experience, a world leader in technologies for the steel construction industry and the forging and forming industry. The company, which manufactures its own machines and plants in-house, operates on an area of 145.000 square metres, directly taking care of the design, engineering, machining, surface treatments, assembly and installation of its machines. From the customer service point of view, thanks to a global presence with sales offices in 17 countries and more than 100 active agents in the rest of the world, FICEP is able to provide a very efficient global spare parts supply and after-sales service.

The technological challenge facing fabricators around the world is to support the construction trend dictated mainly by the offshore market: building ever taller towers, with ever greater power generation capacities per single turbine.  The production of 15.0 MW per tower is the new benchmark in the sector and passes through rotors with diameters of more than 230 m (but we are likely to see 20 MW wind turbines and rotor diameters of more than 250 m). This requires the construction of increasingly massive and solid supporting structures (foundations: Monopile, Jacket, TP, Floating), capable of withstanding the enormous forces and tensions generated by the rotating moments of the blades. Base diameters can reach or exceeding 9 meters for towers, while 12 m monopiles are a reality and there is already talk of 14/15 m and thicknesses of up to 160 mm and more.

 

FICEP, with its technological offer, which covers the stages of shotblasting, cutting, and beveling, supports fabricators in facing this complex technological challenge.

The RB shotblasting machines, the Kronos machines for thermal cutting – plasma and oxyfuel – and the Energy machines for beveling (edge preparation by milling), are high-performance, reliable production tools supported by excellent service, capable of providing wind tower fabricators with a real competitive advantage throughout Area 1.

The other, equally important, challenge is the optimised management of production in terms of cost/benefit: in this regard, the performance and integration of FICEP’s machineries guarantees greater productivity. Producing efficiently today is an essential step for the success of the company: it is necessary to produce, guaranteeing the optimisation of costs, times and materials. In this regard, FICEP plays the card of integrating its technologies. The integration of the machines generates a significant advantage in terms of production efficiency: having a single technological interlocutor for all the processes in Area 1 means, in fact, dialoguing with a single interlocutor, which greatly simplifies communication.  Having a single contact person for all technical sales support services speeds up communication and process: quick and decisive interventions can be planned by talking to just one person.

 

It is equally important in terms of production efficiency that machines can interface, be in communication with each other, and constantly provide a complete picture of production data for tracking and necessary adjustments. In fact, it is essential to constantly monitor production in order to be efficient: both because it is possible to adjust the various parameters, making them more efficient, and because the data reflect the state of health of the machineries plants. The customer, having access to this data in a simple, direct way, can plan the necessary preventive maintenance work, avoiding any downtime that exposes companies to the danger of penalties, very high in this sector, due to late deliveries.

RB: SHOT BLASTING SYSTEMS

FICEP offers a wide range of shotblasting machines with different characteristics and working speeds, intended for the surface treatment of plates. The machines can be supplied as single units or integrated into highly complex systems. The RB range guarantees very high performance for the blasting of plates, being equipped with the latest version of ETA-patented turbines that offer excellent performance and unbeatable durability thanks to the special hardened steel blasting components. Below are some significant technical specifications of the RB machines:

  • Widths from 3000 to 4500 mm
  • Up to 10 super high-performance and durable Roto-Jet TITAN 5.3 ETA turbines
  • Sheet feed speeds of up to 5 m/min and more on request
  • Shotblasting cabinet completely made of manganese (structure and panels – double cell system) extremely resistant to blasting with hardness from 35HRC to more than 50HRC.
  • Rotating brushes remove the shot left after blasting, which is returned to the process by means of a screw conveyor.
  • The abrasive material is continuously purified during its circular movement within the machine. For best results, the right mix of new and used blasting media must be used.
  • It is possible to equip the machine upstream with a system for drying and removal of dirt by air jet and/or downstream with a preservation line by shot primer.

In view of the increased demand for plates thicknesses up to 160 millimetres, FICEP is the optimal solution both in terms of thermal cutting with the Kronos range, and for beveling by milling with the Energy range. These are modular systems: once the working width is established, bench and rails lengths of up to 50 m and more can be achieved.

KRONOS: AUTOMATIC GANTRY CNC HIGH-DEFINITION PLASMA & OXY CUTTING SYSTEMS

The Kronos range, dedicated to the wind energy sector, covers a variety of plate widths from three to four and a half metres in standard configuration or more on customized solutions. The Kronos can be equipped with four high-performance oxy-fuel torches, triple oxy-fuel torches, one or two high-definition plasma torches, for straight or bevel cuts, with the latest Hypertherm or Kjellberg power sources. It can be equipped with independent motors and allows the cutting of sheet metal into rectangular, trapezoidal or curved shapes (banana) for subsequent rolling, as well as the creation of the welding preparation bevel already, thanks to the 3D bevel plasma head, the 3D bevel oxyfuel torch or the triple torch oxy-fuel head with manual, semi-automatic or automatic configuration. This integrated solution, which is more compact and economical, is recommended for smaller thicknesses. The cutting bench consists of a robust grid that guarantees the stability of the plate during processing. Below is a brief overview of the technical specifications of the Kronos systems:

  • Extremely robust thermal cutting gantry
  • One or two high-definition plasma torches for straight or bevel cutting
  • Up to four high-performance oxy-fuel torches (maximum 2 for bevel cutting)
  • Up to two triple oxy-fuel torches
  • Different types of Hypertherm or Kjellberg generators to meet all cutting requirements
  • Possibility of mirror or copy cutting
  • Can be equipped with inkjet, laser or scribing systems
  • Mechanical, pneumatic cutting benches with or without fume extraction system

ENERGY: CNC GANTRY WORKING CENTRE FOR  PLATES EDGE MILLING, DRILLING AND MARKING

Energy is the new CNC working center, designed and manufactured for beveling through milling, drilling and marking of plates, intended for the construction of wind towers and foundations (Monopile, Jacket, Pin pile, Suction bucket, TP, Floating) . Energy is characterised by high machining speed; precision and high chip removal capacity thanks to the power generated by the 40 kW or 100 kW spindles; high productivity and the ability to handle 24-hour work cycles; very high precision thanks to the touch probe that allows the control of machining dimensions for absolute precision. Energy has two special milling heads suitable also for drilling and marking operations. The machine can perform all typical bevels required in preparation before rolling, such as Y, K, X, V or J (or any other type). Programming can take advantage of DXF import via the PLM to interface with a pre-loaded tool magazine and create the machining program. The same PLM can also be used for the cutting machine (plasma or oxy-fuel) to generate the correct program in order to obtain the exact dimensions (extra material) for the next milling phase.  Programming on board the machine without necessarily having to go through the technical department is also available.

Energy is an innovative and powerful technological solution, designed to guarantee high productivity, machining versatility and performance. For example, tool change is facilitated thanks to the gantry movement that goes beyond the guides, allowing tools to be changed quickly and easily from outside to inside the tool magazine. The electro-permanent magnets that hold the plate in place during machining are easily moved along the table to accommodate the exact shape of the plate to be processed and leave no residue in it. The positioning speed of the machine reaches 30 metres/minute: this speed is particularly functional, not only to guarantee a high processing speed, but also for the probing device that guarantees perfect conformity between the program loaded and the actual geometry of the plate to be processed. The rails (linear guides type) on which the gantry slides are designed and constructed with a view to processing quality: the quality of the materials used and the very high level of engineering give life to a system capable of conferring great rigidity to the system, to support very demanding work cycles always guaranteeing the maintenance of minimum tolerances, high speeds and minimum maintenance.

With a view to absolute machining precision, FICEP has equipped the system with an automatic compensation system for the vertical working height: the system, covered by a patent, verifies in real time the flatness of the plate and adjusts the height of the milling head according to the irregularities detected on the plate, perfectly following its profile.

Below is an overview of the technical specifications of the Energy working centers:

    • Two standard widths: 3200 and 4500 mm (different sizes available on request)
    • Two 40 kW spindles for thicknesses up to 60 mm in a single pass and 140 mm in several passes (possibility to have
    • Two 100 kW spindles for thicknesses up to 140/150 mm in a single pass and 200 mm in several passes
    • Processing speed of 30 m/min in the X axis
  • On-board automatic tool change with 3 or 5 positions for each head
  • Possibility of manufacturing the most common X, J, K, U, Y, V, (or any other type) bevels.

On the bench, which can reach a useful length of more than 50 metres, plates of different lengths or several individual plates can be positioned on different stations: the gantry system and the two separate working areas make it possible to optimise the loading and unloading of plates, without interrupting the processing, thus guaranteeing the high production standards that characterise FICEP technology.