DOE funds 3D printing of wind blade tooling to make U.S. clean energy sector more competitive

October 5, 2023 Purdue News

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —

Wind energy is a vital component of a portfolio of clean, sustainable power. Those slow-moving turbine blades you see rotating at wind farms are constructed largely manually, and low-cost labor keeps most of this manufacturing industry abroad. Strengthening and perpetuating this essential sector in the United States can be achieved only through automation, which will enable cost-efficient production and broaden adoption of wind power in the U.S.

To that end, the U.S. Department of Energy has announced an award of $2,849,000 to the Composites Manufacturing Simulation Center of Purdue University and its industry partners, Thermwood Inc., TPI Composites Inc., Dassault Systèmes, Dimensional Innovations and Techmer PM.

The DOE-funded Purdue program, “Additive Manufacturing of Modular Tools with Integrated Heating for Large-Scale Wind Blade Manufacturing,” is led by Eduardo Barocio, director of the Composites Additive Manufacturing and Simulation Industrial Consortium.

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Media contact: Wes Mills, wemills@purdue.edu