A masterpiece of sensor technology: the production of the KRIWAN INT10 ICEfight

2025-01-13 Renewable energy, Products, Company

KRIWAN ICEfight sensor family

Wind speed and wind direction are crucial information for optimising the alignment of the wind turbine and thus generating more energy.

The design of the ICEfight sensors effectively prevents icing on the moving parts and thus ensures reliable operation. The KRIWAN anemometer and the wind direction sensor record the current wind speed and wind direction and convert them into a linear output signal without contact. A generously dimensioned heater is located inside the cup star or wind vane, which is supplied with electrical energy from the fixed sensor part without contact or mechanical loss. As this heater extends to the respective ends of the cup star or vane, all parts are heated highly effectively. The heating switches on at ambient temperatures at which ice can form. The heating is temperature-monitored and switches off automatically if the surface temperature is too high.

The ICEfight is the world's first mechanical sensor that actually prevents icing caused by freezing rain or icy conditions. The key difference to conventional mechanical wind sensors lies in the heating system.

 

Factory hall Forchtenberg: Everything runs like clockwork here

Like all our sensor, monitoring, control and diagnostic electronics products, the ICEfight is produced entirely at our site in Forchtenberg.

With 42 per cent of KRIWAN's man/women power, production accounts for the lion's share and ensures that we can guarantee the excellent quality of our technical concepts.

Part 1 - Body and mechanics

The cervical spine

In humans, the cervical spine refers to all the vertebrae between the head and the thoracic spine. In the ICEfight, the cervical spine is a shaft that ensures the mobility of the shell star with a ball bearing. Here you can see the already moulded part of the ICEfight fuselage.

KRIWAN-Familie wird gelebt

The checkers

Ute Spiegler, a trained precision electronics technician, and Ernst Spiegler, a trained electronics technician, and their team are responsible for quality. They check components to see whether they meet the quality guidelines required by KRIWAN and decide whether they can be reused.

Is it running smoothly?

The start-up test showsʼs: the shaft must rotate perfectly for 3 to 4 periods. Only then does it move on to the next production step. Before the ICEfight is delivered, there is a 100 per cent routine test.

Part 2 - Electronics

You'll be flattened!

Printed circuit boards are at the heart of modern electronic devices and are customised at KRIWAN. This also applies to the PCBs for the ICEfight and its numerous versions. The ICEfight circuit board is pure electronic intelligence - it controls the contactless, force-free transfer of heating energy to the moving part by means of high-frequency induction.

Skilful hands

... solder the ‘brain cells’ of the ICEfight precisely onto the circuit board. Then the coil and wires are soldered.

Part 3 - Housing

Firmly connected

The ICEfight body is firmly attached to the housing.

The body: in top shape

The body of the ICEfight is a high-quality metal housing. It was corrosion-tested with harmful gases in a special salt spray test before being released for series production.

Part 4 - Cup Anemometer

The finest hour for the ICEfight

Viktor Ortmann is the sensitive ICEfighter, the man with the steady hand. The trained electromechanic has been with KRIWAN since 2001 and produces the template for the ICEfight shell star in order to be able to bond the heating coil. This generously dimensioned heater is supplied with electrical energy from the fixed sensor part without contact or mechanical loss. As this heater extends to the ends of the shell star, all parts of the shell star are heated highly effectively.

Viktor Ortmann installs PTC sensors in the first half of the shell star. Thanks to these, the KRIWAN anemometer records the current temperature of the heating coil. The inner workings of the shell star are now complete. Once the second half has been fitted, the shell star is sent to the service provider for welding.

Step 5 - Finalising

What belongs together

After each value-added step, a check is carried out to ensure that everything has been processed correctly. Every single component is subjected to an incoming goods inspection. This ensures that the quality corresponds to what we are happy to deliver to our customers.
Here the welded shell star is joined to the fuselage. The ICEfight is ready!

Hot or not?

Does it really heat? This is finally checked in the final tests. The ICEfight must also have the best EMC properties and guarantee stable, high measurement accuracy over the entire measurement range, e.g. in the event of indirect lightning strikes. This is also tested!

Our ICEfight has etiquette

Of course, every ICEfight is labelled as it should be. The printed QR code guarantees the so-called ‘traceability’ of the product, i.e. traceability within the supply chain. The KRIWAN product label also identifies the exact name and use of the respective ICEfight.

Let the fight begin!

Perfectly packaged with a data sheet, it travels from Forchtenberg around the world. Currently, 95 per cent of the ICEfight's target area is China and the wind farms in the cold climate zones there.

Do you have further questions or comments about the blog post? Please contact us!