Products + Tools

Renewable energy is the future, with wind power, whether on or offshore, playing an important role – with all signs pointing to growth in the market. At the centre of the sector is ZF Wind Power, a subsidiary of ZF Group, who is among the world’s leading gearbox manufacturers for wind powerplants – with the company partnering with STAHLWILLE for its torque technology needs.

More than 70 years of experience underpin ZF’s place in this field, with its production and headquarters, located in Lommel, Belgium, one of six production facilities worldwide – producing more than 1,000 high performance gearboxes annually. These are sent to wind powerplant manufacturers for wind turbines with an output of three to six megawatts.

Around 800 Stahlwille torque wrenches are currently in use by ZF at Lommel, including the MANOSKOP^® 730N, MANOSKOP^® 730 Fix, MANOSKOP^® 730D and the MANOSKOP^® 714 – for ts gearbox manufacturing requirements. According to STAHLWILLE, it is the consistent quality of the tools, in combination with their high-level of reliability, that was the deciding factor in their selection. In addition, ZF Wind has invested in one of STAHLWILLE’s motorised perfectControl calibration systems, which is a software controlled system that guides users through the calibration process – with only approximately 10 minutes required to calibrate a torque wrench. 

“With some wind turbines standing as high as the famous Cologne Cathedral in Germany, which is 157m tall; blades, today, are 20 times longer than their equivalents of 40 years ago, and gearbox torques, have resultingly, increased by as much as 1,000 times over the same time period,” explains STAHLWILLE. “The gearboxes made by ZF Wind are technical masterpieces and valuable assets. Unsurprisingly, precision, reliability and efficiency in assembly, and quality assurance, are a top priority, which makes the correct choice of tools, particularly torque technology, extremely important.”