The power generation industry requires coils for various systems to function. Without these coils, electromagnetic generators would not be able to produce electricity. At Custom Coils, we offer wire coiling solutions to meet the needs of the power generation industry. We can work with our customers to determine the best materials and finishes to meet various power generation application requirements.
What Is Power Generation?
Power generation involves the production of electricity through various types of technology, such as wind turbines and steam boilers. Most power generating machinery produces electricity through the use of an alternator and a spinning mechanism. How the specific mechanism spins varies according to the technology implemented.
Unlike electric motors, which use electricity to spin a rotor, alternators in power generation equipment use motion to create electricity. Alternators consist of a rotor and a stator. The rotor spins within the alternator, generating a magnetic field in the process. The stator comprises insulated wire coils that wrap around a core. As the rotor spins within the stator, the magnetic field also rotates, subsequently generating an electrical current that can be collected and sent to the power grid.
Power Generation Industry Applications
Most of the world’s power generation comes from power plants that use a turbine to drive generators. These generators use some form of moving media, such as air, combustion gases, steam, or water to push a series of blades that are mounted on a rotor shaft. As the blades spin, the rotor shaft rotates, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Wire coils are used throughout various power generation applications, including:
- Steam turbines. Steam turbines use oil, natural gas, coal, and other fuels to produce steam and hot water. This steam powers the turbine which drives the generator that has magnets around a spinning wire coil. Examples of power generation plants that use steam turbines include solar thermal power plants, nuclear power reactors, and geothermal power plants.
- Combustion gas turbines. Combustion gas turbines burn liquid or gaseous fuels to create hot gases that spin the blades within the turbine to rotate the drive shaft. The spinning turbine is attached to a rod in the generator that rotates a magnet surrounded by wire coils, resulting in the generation of electricity.
- Hydroelectric turbines. These turbines use moving water to spin the blades within the turbine, which turns the rotor in a generator. As the rotor spins around the wire coils (stator), electricity is produced.
- Wind turbines. Wind turbines use wind power to move the rotor blades and power the generator. Permanent magnets spin with the rotor to produce electricity as they pass through stationary wire coils.
How Custom Coils Serves the Power Generation Industry
At Custom Coils, we design and manufacture coils for use in many power generation applications. Our collaborative design capabilities, state-of-the-art technology, and high-tech processes allow us to provide our clients with some of the most reliable solutions in the industry.
Power generation systems require reliable electromagnets, which the experts at Custom Coils have the ability to manufacture. We can work with customers from beginning to end to co-engineer the perfect solutions for your needs. Our specific capabilities include:
- Prototyping
- CNC machining
- Coil winding
- Coil bending
- Welding/soldering
- Heat curing
- Custom fabricated test fixtures and gauges
- Functionality testing
With these capabilities, we can create custom electromagnets for your power generation application. Depending on your particular needs, we can work with materials such as high-temperature epoxy, film insulated magnet wire, copper plate/copper tube, various insulation materials, PTFE coated lead wires, Kapton tape, and more.
Coil Design and Manufacturing from Custom Coils
The power generation industry relies on electromagnets and wire coiling to generate electricity throughout various types of power plants. As an expert in custom and specialty coil design, Custom Coils can provide the ideal wire coiling solution for your power generation applications. For more information about our capabilities, or to get started on your custom power generation coil solution, contact us or request a quote today.