how it works WIND FARM WEIGHTLIFTING STEP BY STEP © LaraMM 1. Adaptation 2. Transportation 3. Installation 4. Lifting and lowering 5. Uninstalling 1. Adaptation. Nabrawind adapts BladeRunner for different types of blades and hubs, an engineering task that takes 12 to 20 weeks, depending on complexity. After that, the process of ordering and manufac-turing specific pieces to complete the adaptation goes much faster. The most substantial modifica-tions are made to the device’s two systems: align-ment and lifting. 2. Transportation. It can be loaded into a light vehicle such as a van for 20-meter blades or, at the very most, into a standard truck container for much larger blades. The heaviest version of BladeRunner weighs roughly one ton, which is minuscule compared to the mega cranes normally used. 3. Installation. A team of workers assemble it on site, inside the wind turbine hub, in just one day. The system includes one or two electric motors, depending on the weight to be lifted. 4. Lifting and lowering. It can hoist a blade or lower it during installation of a new wind farm or maintenance operations like replacing one blade with another. It lifts them by the blade root (the rigid internal structure), thereby avoiding the risk of damage. The operation is per-formed in one day and a small crane (the size of a truck or tractor crane) holds the blade at one end so BladeRunner can grasp it at the other. Nabrawind is working on a new system that will eliminate the need to use this sort of external machinery. 5. Uninstalling. Workers take one day to detach the device from the hub and lower it to the ground.