Wind turbines look invincible from a distance, but wind turbine maintenance requires reliable tools, accurate torque control, and safe bolting practices to keep turbines running safely and reliably.
The Demands of the Wind Industry
The constant vibration that wind turbines undergo means tower fasteners are always at risk of loosening. Dynamic loads on moving components add to the challenge, while constant exposure can also lead to corrosion. As wind industry engineers build higher towers and longer blades, vibration, loosening, and wind turbine maintenance demands continue to increase.
Safety is also a key issue. Heavy components and tools add to the potential danger for workers doing their jobs high above the ground. Safety also comes into play when dealing with fasteners, since faulty bolting can result in serious safety issues, downtime, and increased costs.
RAD Meets the Needs of the Wind Industry
When it comes to heavy-duty bolting, wind turbine manufacturers, wind power construction teams, maintenance contractors, and utilities around the world rely on RAD Torque Systems.
That’s because our wrenches are accurate, easy to use, lightweight, quick, and quiet. At RAD, we understand that the wind energy industry faces unique challenges, so we design wind turbine tools that help technicians work safely and efficiently.
We work with manufacturers like General Electric, Vestas, Siemens, Goldwind, and operators like Iberdrola, NextEra, and Morteson Construction, to meet torque needs at their facilities.
High Torque at High Heights
Trust RAD Torque to meet the unique demands of the wind energy industry. At RAD, we know that wind energy technicians require tools that can get jobs done several hundred feet above the ground.
The E-RAD and B-RAD are extremely light in comparison to their hydraulic competitors and do not require a heavy pump. That means they are easier to transport up to and use on work platforms. But that doesn’t mean they compromise on torque strength.
It can take up to 120 bolts and up to 11,000 ft/lbs to connect a large diameter flange. The E-RAD is a continuous rotation tool and can complete a task like this in a much shorter time than a hydraulic wrench.
Unique Tools for a Unique Workplace
In some wind turbine towers, technicians have to flange sections from the inside. Other turbines have unique curvatures that do not allow for the use of straight tools.
RAD’s offset gearboxes and 90-degree tools allow an E-RAD to fit inside the diameter and curvature of a turbine’s shell, helping technicians complete wind turbine maintenance tasks even on more challenging turbine designs.
The RAD Advantage for Wind Turbine Maintenance
When it comes to bolting components for the construction and maintenance of wind turbines, companies can rest assured that they have the right wind turbine tools for the job. Our E-RAD, B-RAD, offset gearbox, and Smart Sockets™ can be used to install and maintain tower bolts, blade bolts, shrink discs, gearboxes, generators, hub bolts, and yaw bolts.
How can you make sure your wind turbine operators are working with the right tools? Contact us today to talk about your site and applications, and see how our lightweight, high-torque tools can help make your job safer, more efficient, and more reliable.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
“On this last job, the Jumbo crew used the RAD Torque Systems E-RAD BLU 10K for the sea fastening process. The results they found were incredible. A job that used to take an hour with a hydraulic wrench now was reduced to 20 minutes using the E-RAD BLU torque wrench.”
-Diederik Bekkering, commercial director at Radial Torque Tools B.V.
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