After taking a 40% ownership stake in privately held LTi REEnergy GmbH last June, Moog Inc.
a designer and manufacturer of high performance motion control solutions, has acquired the remaining 60% of the Unna, Germany-based renewable energy system development company. Moog is acquiring two manufacturing and testing facilities, one in Unna, Germany, and the other in Shanghai, China; and a widely used electric wind turbine blade pitch control system that complements Moog’s existing blade pitch control, rotor monitoring and slip ring systems.
Blade pitch systems control rotor speed and, therefore, efficiency of wind turbines. Most of the customers who buy pitch control systems are wind turbine makers based throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the US.
The LTi REEnergy wind products acquired by Moog include: robust servodrives, branded as PITCHmaster; motors; emergency back-up systems; a control system; and software for remote diagnostics and back-up power. Most of the blade pitch control components reside in the hub of the wind turbine, where temperature and motion can be extreme. If, for example, the wind turbine loses electrical power, then the blade pitch control taps its battery power to gauge speed, adjust the turbine’s blades and put the prop into a safe operating mode that is designed to protect a wind turbine from damage.
Blade pitch controls can fail in this regard, but the Moog PITCHmaster is proven to withstand temperatures ranging from -30 C to +70 C (-22 F to 158 F).
Source: plastics.2456.com
