NGC Gears, one of the world’s largest wind power gearbox manufacturers, has completed the installation of two additional EndoFlex generators from UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, at its new facility in Jinhu, China location. This acquisition brings the total of generator sets to five since 2022, collectively generating an impressive 800 m³/h (22,252 ft3/h) capacity of endothermic gas supplied to carburizing and hardening furnaces used for processing various gear components. The latest installations in February and March of 2024 support the heat-treating operations of the company’s wind energy gearbox production.

Specialty forgers can manufacture custom, high-quality, seamless rolled rings in a variety of materials and finishes in as little as eight weeks. Open die forgings and seamless rolled rings are essential components in the wind energy sector, contributing to the overall reliability and efficiency of turbines, generator systems, and transmission and distribution equipment.

The main objective of this study is to perform an experimental evaluation of the structural model of a five-planet first planetary stage from a modern 6MW wind turbine gearbox.

2023 is shaping up to be our planet’s hottest year on record, and the wind energy industry is feeling the heat. The GWEC (Global Wind Energy Council) says that the rate of wind turbine installations will need to quadruple globally by the end of the decade if we’re to achieve the IRENA’s (International Renewable Energy Agency) goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050—and keep the average annual temperature worldwide from increasing more than the predicted 1.5° C. Fortunately, “net zero” commitments are gathering global momentum. Before year’s end, total global windpower is expected to reach a historic milestone of 1 TW of installed capacity, eliminating 1.2 billion tons of CO2 annually, roughly the equivalent of all the carbon emissions of South America.

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, that will house the world’s most powerful validation test bench for wind turbines. 

To increase cost efficiency in wind turbines, the wind industry has seen a significant rise in power density and an increase in the overall size of geared components. Current designs for multimegawatt turbines demand levelized cost of energy (LCOE) reduction, and the gearbox is a key part of this process. Since fatigue failures nearly always occur at or near the surface, where the stresses are greatest, the surface condition strongly affects the gear life. Consequently, an improved surface condition effectively avoids major redesign or increased material cost due to an increase in part size. Additional finishing methods such as shot peening (SP) and superfinishing (SF) significantly increase the gear load capacity, but these effects have not yet been adequately considered in the current ISO 6336 standard or in any other gear standards. The combination of SP followed by SF will be described here as an “improved gear surface” (IGS).