There are many industries that depend greatly on the machinery and parts that comprise their main structure. Among these industries we find the electric power industry, petrochemical processing, aerospace, etc. In order for the conditions and operation of electric power generation to be optimal and fruitful, the design, and above all, the quality of its components must be of the highest quality in order to perform flawlessly. What importance do a power plant’s components have in this case?

Types of power plants

• Thermal
• Wind
• Tidal
• Solar photovoltaic
• Nuclear
• Hydroelectric

What are the main parts of a power plant?

In a power plant, different machines called electrical generators or alternators are needed to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

These have two fundamental parts: the stator and the rotor.

• The stator. This is a metal cylinder in the shape of a cannon with slots inside that house an interconnected copper winding.
• The rotor. This is a rotating solid metal shaft housed inside the stator. Its surface has grooves that house another interconnected copper winding that acts as an electromagnet.
• The turbine, alternator and exciter are all aligned and have the same axis of rotation.

Importance of the components

The lifespan and performance of a power plant is driven mainly by its components. In thermoelectric or hydroelectric power plants, the components should have a lifetime of about 30 years, higher in the case of hydraulics. In order for power plants to be completely up to date, with their components operating at full capacity, technical inspections must be carried out on a regular basis, especially to check the condition of the most important components.

Of course, the quality of the materials and the treatment of the parts will be key to the performance of the production processes of the power plant itself.

Wind energy forgings

For several years, ULMA Forged Solutions has been working with pioneering companies in the renewable energy sector. Committed to a more sustainable world, we are deeply involved in the design and generation of new technologies. The wind power industry especially is one where we find important and substantial components.

ULMA has modern and highly efficient facilities for the manufacture of forged rings using the ring rolling forging process. In addition, savings in raw material and machining times are an important characteristic of such rings.One of the technological innovations that have been implemented in this design is that each ring base unit undergoes a precise inspection by a 3D laser installed inline. The ring rolling process is usually used with gears for planetary gear sets and for bearing components.

Wide variety of forged flanges at ULMA Forged Solutions Forged flanges are designed to join up pipes, valves, pumps and the different components that make up a piping system. There are multiple standards in the market for producing flanges. They are designed to exacting specifications in order to ensure their full functionality and replaceability.

At ULMA Forged Solutions we know that each engineering project has very specific characteristics, so in addition to the wide variety of parts in our catalog, we also design, calculate and produce custom flanges based on the needs of each client.

All ULMA Forged Solutions flanges conform to API (American Petroleum Institute), ASME B16, ASME B16.47 and/or MSS SP-44 standards, so their functionality is assured, and when a part’s end of life is reached, replacement with another standard part is much easier.