Production Process and Design for Manufacturability (DFM)

Production of wind blades requires adherence to the unique specifications of our customers, who design the wind turbines and wind blades to optimize performance, reliability and total delivered cost. With our culture of innovation and a collaborative “design for manufacturability” approach, we have the capability and expertise to manufacture wind blades of any design, utilizing fiberglass, carbon or other advanced composite materials to meet unique customer specifications. We also have the flexibility to quickly and efficiently transition our manufacturing capabilities to produce different wind blade models and sizes using our precision molding and assembly systems, including modular tooling techniques.

TPI has developed a highly dependable method for making high-quality wind blades. We design our proprietary manufacturing processes to be replicable, scalable and transferable to each of our advanced manufacturing facilities worldwide. TPI has developed and inserted a new “Model based Manufacturing” (MBM) approach in which a well detailed manufacturing model is extracted and built from the design data provided by our customers. This model not only serves as a foundation to design the manufacturing processes but also supports the tooling design. A wide range of processes from layup to infusion, cure and bonding is covered by MBM some of which are currently under development.

As a result, we can repeatedly move a product from its design phase to volume production while maintaining quality, even in developing regions of the world. Similarly, we have developed the manual portions of our manufacturing processes based on proven technologies and production methods that can be learned and implemented rapidly by line personnel. We focus on consistency and quality control across our facilities, using hands-on training methods and employing repeatable manufacturing processes.

Wind blade designs are continuously evolving requiring greater demands of the materials of construction, the build process and quality assurance to provide a product meeting the exacting specifications, and the goals of performance, reliability and delivered cost. TPI’s extensive experience in high-volume high-quality wind blade production gives us a uniquely innovative and detailed application of the design for manufacturing process in collaboration with its customers. Design specifications for all wind blade types and lengths are rigorously subjected to expert scrutiny and recommendations made to arrive at an optimum materials and process build standard. TPI can incorporate its in-house skills in mold tooling, fixturing, model-based-manufacturing, plant layout, NDE and ancillary functions to provide a complete blade build solution. Extensive application of failure modes and analysis assessments combined with operational metrics analytical feedback on MRP, production performance, quality data, change control and preventative maintenance allows TPI to maximize volume production from a given factory capacity anywhere it operates in the world.