Dow Formulated Systems, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, have opened a Global Wind Application Center in Switzerland. As part of a new 800m2 Composite Excellence Center in Freienbach (near Zurich), the Wind Application Center includes new system formulation capabilities, process testing equipment and semi-scale lab demonstration tools. This development gives Dow enhanced ability to deliver a complete solutions portfolio of resins, foams, and adhesives to wind blade manufacturers.
Existing equipment was transferred from a smaller lab in Baltringen, Germany. In addition, the new larger component scale manufacturing equipment covers adhesive bonding, vacuum bagging, vacuum resin infusion at room and elevated temperatures – capabilities that are critical for testing and manufacturing of AIRSTONE Systems from Dow. Another highlight of the wind application testing facilities is a new, 5 meter blade mold section. This mold section is fully equipped with cooling and heating capabilities, coupled with temperature development sensors and will be used to test and demonstrate Dow’s innovations, such as the COMPAXX foam core system. Additional capabilities include hotwire cutting, computer controlled milling and compression molding.
The lab expansion is a result of continuous efforts to provide reliable innovation to our customers in the wind energy business,” said Jean Luc Guillaume, Global Marketing Manager for Wind Energy at Dow Formulated Systems. “As wind energy grows long-term, it will continue to require innovation in blade technology. We look forward to using this application center to further strengthen our ability to help customers advance their technologies for this sustainable energy source.”
Source: Dow Chemical
