A positioning jig (25) and a method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade comprising moulding a first and a second blade shell portion in respective first and second mould tools; positioning a shear web (15) in a spanwise direction within a first shell portion (20) in a said first mould tool (7); anchoring said shear web in position in said first shell portion; and closing said second shell portion (21) over said first shell portion to thereby generate a wind turbine blade shell defining a chordwise extent between a in trailing edge and a leading edge thereof, and a spanwise extent between a root region and a tip thereof and wherein said shear web, bordered by a first (24) and a second longitudinal edge, extends in a thickness direction of said blade; said method further comprising: providing a positioning jig; and securing said positioning jig to said shear web, prior to its introduction into said first shell portion and guiding said shear web into its predetermined standing position in said first shell portion, with its first longitudinal edge adjacent said first shell portion, by engaging a reference surface (33) of said positioning jig with a locating surface (12) at said first mould tool thereby to bring said positioning jig into its guide position with said shear web in its predetermined standing position; and removing said positioning jig from said first mould tool prior to closing said second shell portion over said first shell portion. A shear web, especially an upper edge thereof, may be additionally secured to the blade shell using ligaments (30) prior to removal of the positioning jig.

Installation fittings for use with induction weldable pipe connectors for assembling multi-layer pipe fluid distribution systems. Induction welding pipe connectors including a major central pipe connector section and a minor lateral pipe connector section pair having reduced thickness relative to the major central pipe connector section. Induction welding pipe connectors with integral solder flow barrier for assembling fluid distribution systems. Electromagnetic induction coil reverse action pliers for use with induction weldable pipe connectors for assembling fluid distribution systems.

A method of manufacturing a rotor blade includes (1) assembling a first blade module that defines a first-module span axis and includes a first-module skin and a first- module spar, and each of the first-module skin and the first-module spar includes a first thermoplastic polymer and reinforcement material; (2) assembling a second blade module that defines a second-module span axis and includes a second-module skin and a second- module spar, and each of the second-module skin and the second-module spar includes a second thermoplastic polymer and reinforcement material; (3) transporting the first blade module and the second blade module to a field location; (4) aligning, at the field location, the first-module span axis with the second-module span axis to define an aligned pair of modules; and (5) heating a portion of the aligned pair of modules to form a weld joint between the first-module spar and the second-module spar.

A composite radius filler material is provided. The composite radius filler includes a resin, a first group of fibers dispersed within the resin, and a second group of fibers dispersed within the resin. The first group of fibers has a first length configured to facilitate orientation in a longitudinal direction. The second group of fibers has a second length that is shorter than the first length, with the second group of fibers configured to facilitate random orientation in a transverse direction.

The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus and method for manufacturing a composite component. The apparatus includes a mold onto which the composite component is formed. The mold is disposed within a grid defined by a first axis and a second axis. The apparatus further includes a first frame assembly disposed above the mold and a plurality of machine heads coupled to the first frame assembly within the grid in an adjacent arrangement along the first axis. At least one of the mold or the plurality of machine heads is moveable along the first axis, the second axis, or both. At least one of the machine heads of the plurality of machine heads is moveable independently of one another along a third axis. A second frame assembly is moveable above the mold along the first axis, the second axis, or both. The second frame assembly includes a holding device. The holding device affixes to and releases from an outer skin to place and displace the outer skin at the mold.

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating gap fillers for composite parts. One exemplary system includes a controller that acquires a geometry for a gap filler that will occupy a volume at a joint between laminates of curable constituent material, subdivides the geometry of the gap filler into layers, and for each layer: identifies variations in width of the layer along a length of the gap filler, and generates instructions for trimming a web of curable constituent material to match the variations in width of the layer. The system also includes rollers that dispense webs of the curable constituent material, trimmers that trim the webs of the curable constituent material based on the instructions, and compaction rollers that compact the trimmed webs together to fabricate the gap filler.

Methods for forming rotor blades, rotor blade mold assemblies, and cores for rotor blade mold assemblies are disclosed. A method includes providing a first shell substrate on a first mold, providing a generally hollow core on the first shell substrate, providing a second shell substrate on the generally hollow core, and providing a second mold on the second shell substrate. The method further includes flowing a resin into a mold interior defined between the first mold and the second mold.

Induction Weldable Pipe Connectors (IWPCs) (400) for electromagnetic induction welding with at least one plastic pipe (30). IWPCs (400) include a tubular induction weldable mounting (401) having an opposite pair of induction weldable sockets (404A, 404B), a tubular cover (406) externally mounted on the induction weldable mounting (401), and a tubular pipe tang (407) internally disposed in one induction weldable socket (404A, 404B) for destining an induction weldable socket (404A, 404B) as an induction weldable pipe socket (408A, 408B) for forced sliding insertion of a pipe end (31) thereinto. The cover (406) includes an opposite pair of thermally insulated induction weldable socket mouth rims (426A, 426B) for entrapping melted solder lining (412) inside the induction weldable mounting (401) during an electromagnetic induction welding operation, thereby ensuring improved welding.

A system (100), for manufacturing a rotor blade (112), comprises a first tooling (170), positioned at a factory location (114) and configured to assemble a first blade module (116), comprising a first-module skin (118) and a first-module spar (120), each comprising a first thermoplastic polymer (122) and a first reinforcement material (124). The system (100) comprises a second tooling (172), configured to assemble a second blade module (126), comprising a second-module skin (128) and a second-module spar (130), each comprising a second thermoplastic polymer (132) and a second reinforcement material (134). The system (100) comprises a first support (160), positioned at a field location (140) and configured to receive the first blade module (116), and a second support (162), positioned at the field location (140) and configured to receive the second blade module (126). The system (100) comprises a spar welding assembly (174), positioned at the field location (140) and configured to join the first-module spar (120) with the second-module spar (130), and a skin welding assembly (176), positioned at the field location (140) and configured to join the first-module skin (118) with the second-module skin (128).

Disclosed herein are methods, devices, and systems for manufacturing wind turbine blades which in some instances require using new blade joint designs. The blade joint designs described herein may allow for contact in places where welds will be made, which allows for existing manufacturing tolerances to be used while still enabling the use of thermal welding for wind turbine blades.