Detailed Explanation of Electric Motor Applications in Wind Turbine Blade Intelligent Polishing Robots

1. Component Composition

The intelligent polishing robot for wind turbine blades is used for surface treatment after the blade manufacturing process. It is a key piece of equipment for enhancing aerodynamic efficiency and consistency during production. It typically consists of the following components:

• Multi-Joint Robotic Arm: With more than 6 degrees of freedom, it flexibly controls the polishing angle and trajectory, mimicking manual polishing actions.
• Polishing Unit: Integrates high-speed rotating polishing tools and dust extraction systems to achieve efficient and clean automated surface treatment.
• End Force Control Sensor: Monitors the polishing contact pressure in real-time, adjusting the thrust to ensure surface uniformity.
• Visual Recognition and Laser Scanning System: Identifies defects on the blade surface, creates 3D models, and plans the polishing path.
• Track Moving Platform: Supports the robotic arm’s movement along the full length of the blade, enabling processing of large-sized workpieces.
• Control System: Composed of industrial computers, motion controllers, and intelligent algorithm modules, it coordinates multi-axis synchronization, polishing strategies, and path compensation.

2. Working Principle

The polishing robot acquires 3D surface data of the wind turbine blade through its visual system, and generates the optimal polishing path based on the CAD model. The control system drives the robotic arm to follow the planned trajectory, while the polishing motor starts, and the polishing head rotates at a set speed. The force control system detects the polishing contact force in real-time, and when the surface curvature changes, the robotic arm's posture and downward pressure are automatically adjusted to ensure that every polishing spot is uniform and not excessive. The track platform moves forward in sync, ensuring complete polishing of the blade without any blind spots. The entire process significantly reduces manual intervention and improves both polishing efficiency and consistency.

3. Key Role of Motors in the System

The intelligent polishing robot places high demands on motor system performance, including high precision control, dynamic response, and stability. The key roles of motors in the system are as follows:

• Joint Drive Motors: Each robotic arm joint is equipped with a high-performance servo motor (usually AC servos or direct-drive motors), supporting precise positioning and high-speed interpolation movement, ensuring that the polishing path error is less than ±0.2mm.
• Polishing Head Spindle Motor: Requires high-speed and stable rotational power (typically 2000–6000 rpm), maintaining constant cutting force on the polishing tool. High-speed brushless DC motors are often used, offering speed control and low vibration characteristics.
• Track Moving Motor: Synchronously drives the entire polishing robot along the blade's longitudinal direction, requiring high torque, smooth start-stop performance, and long-term operational stability.
• End Thrust Adjustment Motor: Some robots use small servo motors to control the end contact pressure, combined with force control modules to achieve compliant polishing.
• Vacuum System Motor: High-speed fan motors are used to synchronize the extraction of polishing dust, ensuring the equipment's safety and cleanliness during operation.

4. Customized Motor Solutions

Given the challenges of polishing large curved surfaces and multi-axis dynamic control in wind turbine blade surface processing, we offer highly integrated servo motor + drive control solutions. For joint drives, we recommend the GPG-RA75 series hollow-shaft servo motors, equipped with 22-bit absolute encoders, meeting the high-precision needs of multi-axis coordinated path interpolation control. The hollow structure facilitates the integration of cables and air pipes, improving overall wiring efficiency and reliability of the robotic arm.

For the polishing spindle, the GPG-HS55 high-speed brushless motor is configured with a dynamic balancing precision spindle system, capable of running at 6000 rpm while maintaining less than 1% speed fluctuation, effectively controlling cutting force and surface roughness. Meanwhile, for the track drive and end force control modules, we use the GPG-LM60 series torque motors, which provide precise torque control and linear thrust adjustment, enabling real-time compensation of polishing force on a millisecond level, further enhancing edge polishing consistency and product appearance quality.

The entire system is compatible with EtherCAT/CANopen protocols, facilitating seamless integration with the robotic system. All products are CE and RoHS certified, ensuring long-term stable operation in environments with high dust, humidity, and vibration in wind turbine equipment manufacturing sites. This solution has been successfully deployed in several domestic and international wind turbine blade factories, significantly improving production efficiency and product consistency, providing strong support for the intelligent manufacturing upgrade of wind power equipment.