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Heason Provides Custom Positioning Solution for Natural Power
Date: 29 April 2009
Natural Power's innovative ZephIRŪ wind speed measurement system
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Custom-built, single-axis motion solution includes ceramic servo motor and drive, position feedback and motion controls - supplied as a modular sub assembly for OEM.
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QinetiQ developed laser anemometer technology for the wind industry
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Natural Power now distribute ZephIR worldwide and the system is already challenging traditional wind measurement techniques on performance and safety
Heason Technology has developed a customised high
precision positioning solution with ceramic motor technology for an
innovative Wind Resource Measurement System used to determine
optimal sites for offshore and onshore wind farms.
ZephIR, a laser anemometer, is an easily transportable ground-based
instrument combining three sealed pods for laser optics, data
collection/communication electronics and battery power. In simple
terms, ZephIR projects a conical infrared beam to illuminate
particles in the atmosphere which are detected as backscattered
light by an integral receiver. Target particles along the beam
produce a Doppler shift allowing the processed information to
determine wind speed and direction in five pre-selected, highly
accurate and repeatable distances up to 200 metres above the
instrument. Wind speed, direction and wind turbulence information
can be stored in flash memory or transferred to clients via mobile
phone or satellite. The technology is proving to offer a
significant advantage over traditional wind measurement masts which
involve the costly erection of large structures, require lengthy
building permission timescales, and also elicit health and safety
concerns.
Heason's initial involvement in the project was with QinetiQ, a
leading global research and development laboratory that began
working on a commercially viable solution for wind measurement back
in the early 2000's using its extensive knowledge of LiDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging). The product is now field proven and
licensed to Natural Power; a leading renewable energy solutions
provider based in Scotland.
Heason's brief was to design and deliver a robust single-axis
sub-micron positioning assembly for the high speed focussing of the
fibre-optic lens arrangement which in turn determines the
application-critical height accuracy. The scope of supply covers a
ring-type mechanical assembly with a ceramic servo motor, a linear
positioning stage with precision bearings, an optical linear
encoder capable sub-micron measuring steps, and fibre-optic lens
fixturing. Heason also supply the servo drive amplifier and motion
controller with all interconnecting cable assemblies to carry power
and signals through the three separately sealed GRP pods. The
specification calls for high acceleration and high speed to
maintain the ZephIR's 20 millisecond measurement window whilst
maintaining the positioning resolution requirement at the microns
level over a travel range of 15 mm.
As ZephIR can be subjected to hostile environments as extreme as
desert summers or arctic winters, and is left unattended in remote
areas over several months or even years, all components need to
comply with strict performance and reliability specifications. In
addition, the instruments' overall battery power consumption of
approximately 100W continuous, requires the motor, drive and motion
controller's power usage to be minimal.
Given these challenging specifications, Heason combined its
in-house motion system design capability and its access to cutting
edge products from global distribution partners to provide the
solution.
The HR series ceramic motors from industry leader Nanomotion have a
proven record in harsh environments with demanding applications in
semiconductor and biomedical, including harsh ultra high vacuum
environments. A significant and unique advantage over traditional
motor technologies is its ability for inherent braking under zero
power conditions. A further advantage and of particular
significance for this application is the ceramic motor's absence of
servo dither, ensuring high stability for beam focussing. In
combination with Nanomotion's AB series dedicated digital drive
amplifier which operates from a 12 VDC input, extremely low power
consumption is achievable. The reduced amplifier package size is
designed for exceptionally compact mounting and its single two-row
header connector provides for straightforward installation or field
replacement.
The motion controller is from another important distribution
partner for Heason. To ensure ease of installation in ZephIR's
space restricted electronics pod, a compact PC-104 board level
motion controller provided the optimal solution.
With advanced motion trajectory generation, real-time multi-tasking
capability and 48-bit floating point math, the sophisticated motion
controller synchronises real-time high level commands from ZephIR's
data acquisition software to produce the rapid linear motion
profiles and fast settling times required for beam focussing.
Heason's customised design service team continue to work closely
with Natural Power engineers to develop and optimise the motion
control solution for this interesting and pioneering application.
Customised designs for single- and multi-axis positioning systems
have been applied to many interesting and challenging applications
in aerospace & defence, printing and packaging, semiconductor
and photonics, simulation and robotics.
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