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Actual FRP DNA piece

A project log for DNA Wind Turbine

A Modular design allowing different size devices for different applications

mw-motorsMW Motors 09/08/2015 at 11:334 Comments

Below are some pics of the actual FRP piece that will make the windmill.

First pic just shows the scale of the real FRP piece compared to the model we printed on our 3D printer. Each actual piece weighs exactly 5kg.

Second pic shows how big it is compared to a nice office chair !. You can also see bits of our other projects in the background..!!



The two pics above show the male & female locks to keep the turbine together..

Assembly is pretty simple. Make the top & bottom bearings & holders. Insert a pole through the big hole in the center of the DNA piece. Stack the pieces as high as you like & lock them using the locks. Put a PMG (generator) on the bottom. Build a foundation, place in a windy area, make electricity. Of course, it is a bit more complex than that & I will show the reality in future project logs.

The key point is the modular nature of the build. Our one DNA piece can be stacked to make a small or a relatively larger windmill...

Next log will be about the poles, the bearings, & the super structure to stop the turbine falling over...

Discussions

gerbenzandberg wrote 11/02/2015 at 16:15 point

Im not planning on making a 1000 euro foundation for the windmill, rather attaching it to an existing structure. Also im planning on using an Brushless motor to act as the generator, just directly attached to the main shaft. What would you say the FRP blades cost, if you had to geuse? is there metal in the blades, or did i read that wrong?

I have a tendency to be optimistic ;) :

150 euro for bearing and metal for the structure

100 euro for a brushless motor used a an generator

100 euro for the esc to convert the power to 12v dc

200 ?? euro for 10 FRP blades

450 euro total

so these are the basic cost. i might be missing some, but no some drastic i think. Please correct me if i'm wrong.. i should be wrong otherwise these things should be everywhere.

maybe the blades cost ten times as much... but fiberglass ain't that expensive..

I'm watch your this project closely, and the luka ev.

have a nice day

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MW Motors wrote 11/02/2015 at 16:24 point

You are definitely an optimist !...  I have all the costs somewhere..  I just do now know where, I will try to dig up the file.  It is one advantage of HaD, somewhere sensible to keep the files. However, this project was started before I found HaD... 

Connecting to an exiting structure is a good idea.  Just buying the bits you can not make yourself like the blades is a good idea.  The blades will cost a lot more than EUR20 each.  Even transporting the blades will probably cost more than EUR20..  They are a horrible shape to make..  Some guys I know well who are experts in making injection molding tooling told me it would be impossible to make an injection molding tool of this shape.

Give me a bit more time, I will post everything in the next month or so..  I would be delighted if you could make this work for under EUR1K..  (& hope you would put the ''how to'' up on HaD).

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Gerbenzandberg wrote 11/02/2015 at 14:17 point

The more i think about this project the more i like it. I made a quick calculation, if i'd have a windmill producing 300w continuously i would have no electricity bill so effectively saving ~500 EUR per year , it seem kind of reasonable to produce this windmill for maybe double. that would mean it would pay for itself in 2 years! i have no idea if 300 w continuously is a reasonable assumption.. but i like it anyways 

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MW Motors wrote 11/02/2015 at 14:42 point

It is not as cheap as you think!.

Depending where you live, even digging the hole & getting all that cement will probably cost EUR1K.  The generator & the GTI (grid tie inverter also cost a lot of money).  & then there is transport & planning permission & neighbors...

The metal that goes with the FRP pieces is quite massive...  so quite heavy & expensive...

The windmill will produce a lot more than 300w..  My guess is about 2000W.  But, only when the wind blows.. 300 W over 24 hours is 7.2kW so if you live somewhere that is even sort of windy, you should get 7.2kW over 24 hours....  Instead of a GTI, maybe we can provide a battery pack so you can just feed your home rather than the grid..

I do not know how much all this will cost yet.  But, I think if your electricity only costs EUR500 per year, it will be more like a 10 year pay back than a 2 year pay back (sorry!).  

I will get prices of everything up on the site  soon.  DIY versions could be very cheap..  For example, instead of a proper generator, you could use a second hand car alternator. (& I think the amount of concrete we poured was obscene !) .  But, we did what the experts told us..  The FRP pieces themselves are not expensive..

There is a bigger picture where we use multiple helix turbines to power one generator.  This is our 'killer app''.  But, we have to prove the one helix powering one generator works first. I do not want to make any promises but once the thing is up, I hope to offer a ''live'' data feed so people can see the wind speed & the power output..  That, coupled with the prices of all the parts should tell us if the idea has any real merit.. Watch this space !

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