Castings Services supplied a variety of E600 and F900 loading covers, in sizes from 600 x 600mm to 1500x1500mm, to the new offshore tower manufacturing facility in Campbeltown, Scotland. The multi-million pound project was a result of significant investment from DONG Energy who’s other projects Castings Services have also supplied in recent years. The facility is the first of its type in the UK and will be able to produce around one offshore turbine per week.
The difficulty when working with wind turbines is not necessarily the weight as our F900 products can take well in excess of 90 tonnes. The real problems are caused by the 28 wheel trailers that are used to move the turbines. The trailers are so long that the, when turning, the rear wheels have very little, if any, forward momentum which results in a twisting action. If a wheel happens to be on a manhole cover when this twisting action occurs then the rubber can grip the manhole lid and twist it out of its frame or, worse still, twist the frame out its bedding mortar.
As always we supplied the highest quality product available but, because we understood the challenge faced, we looked to supply covers with oversized flanges so that there would be the maximum amount of contact between the frame and bedding mortar.
“As a builder’s merchant we find it great having Castings Services on our supplier list for projects such as this. They were happy to assist our client with the more technical aspects and help recommend the correct product for the project. It makes our work so much easier!”
– Contract Sales
