Energy

Delivering sustainable, reliable and affordable energy is vital to ensuring that worldwide power requirements are met and maintained. Renishaw's products are at the heart of manufacturing processes and are used to produce key components for both traditional and renewable energy generation.

Traditional energy sources must be extracted safely and efficiently using specialist systems with machinery manufactured to stringent requirements. Components need to be robust, reliable and capable of operating for long periods of time, often in harsh conditions.

Global initiatives to address climate change have increased investment in renewable energy generation, leading to large growth in the alternative energy sector. Renishaw is helping to drive renewable energy development by reducing manufacturing lead times and helping to bring new components and technology to market.

Wind turbines are produced in many sizes for various applications and their parts must be produced within tight machining tolerances to operate continually and produce energy efficiently. Components such as bearings are essential to the movement of the turbine and the blades themselves can be difficult to manufacture correctly without a rigorous process control system owing to their potential size and complex geometry. Maintaining manufacturing accuracy with tightly controlled production, thanks to Renishaw's range of innovative solutions, helps ensure that these turbines operate at their full potential.

Solar panels made of photovoltaic cells are becoming increasingly popular for home owners as well as for grid power generation. These complex systems are made in a multi-step process, using position encoder systems to monitor the movement of a machine, or via an automated system like a robot arm, with the aim of ensuring the precise positioning of components within photovoltaic cells. Renishaw's Raman spectroscopy systems can then be used to analyse panels for any surface defects.

Precision manufacturing

Safety, reliability and efficiency are key drivers in energy production and as a result, system components such as safety valves and turbine blades require precision machining to the tightest tolerances.

Chemical analysis

Understanding the quality of energy resourses is vital, Renishaw's inVia™ Raman spectroscopy systems can be used to assess the chemical and structural make-up of geological samples.

Advanced prototyping

Research is rapidly advancing the technologies used in renewable energy generation and storage. Additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) supports the prototyping of new components with internal structures and designs that are not possible with traditional machining.