WINDMILL PROJECT-1

Ingebrikt, Rune, Marco and Luca

We got the assignment to make a windmill power plant. Before we started the project, we watched a short movie about different types of renewable energy, and we visited some places where they produced this kind of energy.

We got some parts and a dynamo from a bike to use as a generator. Apart from this, we could construct the mill any way we wanted. After some discussion and searching in the Italian-Norwegian dictionary we made a simple drawing of how we wanted the final product. Our group decided to make a 4-blade rotor in aluminum on an axle with a wheel in the end. We bound up this axle on a plate and put in on top of a rack we welded with a MIG/MAG-machine. The generator didn’t function properly, and needed abnormally high RPM to produce enough energy for the bulb. Because of this, it took some time before the mill worked.

In spite of some small problems related to communication during the planning and building, the group cooperated very well. The tasks were mainly divided so that one Italian and one Norwegian student could work together, and everybody took part in the building. But since the Italians didn’t have much mechanical experience, the cutting and welding was done by the Norwegians.

Under the circumstances, we were quite satisfied with our mill, and it functioned out in the wind. But it could have been a lot better with a new generator. Still, we got an idea of what it takes to make a windmill, and how important part planning is in a project like this.