VMF: Manufacturer of hydraulic manifolds for wind turbines

The renewable energy sector, including wind power, has many advantages in the current climate challenge. VMF, a French manufacturer of precision hydraulic manifolds, provides solutions to the wind energy industries to ensure the smooth operation of the facilities.

Wind energy is 100% renewable and sustainable, thanks to a strategic location on land or on the high seas, wind energy has the advantage of being inexhaustible. A major advantage of wind energy is to be more productive in winter, the time of year when the population’s energy needs are greatest, when the winds are stronger.
Unlike solar energy, which requires the installation of photovoltaic panels on large areas on the ground, the ground space occupancy of wind turbines is relatively low compared to its efficiency.

Wind turbines operate more than 80% of the time at varying speeds depending on the strength of the wind. According to EDF, a wind farm of 4 to 6 turbines would cover the electricity needs of nearly 12,000 people.

The energy produced by wind turbines depends on the driving force of the wind. Mechanically, the wind rotates the rotor blades, which drive an axis in the nacelle, also called a shaft, connected to an alternator. It is the energy supplied by the rotation of the axis that allows the alternator to produce an alternating electric current. Finally, a transformer located on the mast increases the voltage of the electric current produced to be transported on the medium voltage line network.

To start a wind turbine, the wind must reach a minimum speed of about 15 km/h. When the winds are too strong, above about 90 km/h, the wind turbines stop working for safety reasons. There are different types of wind turbines, ranging in height from 10 to 100 metres. They usually have three blades.

One of the challenges in the operation of wind turbines lies in its adaptation to wind fluctuations. The blades are designed to have the most constant rotation speed possible despite variations in wind forces in order to use the generator’s electrical capacity evenly. Their operation must be limited when the winds are too strong.
This limitation of blade rotation can be based on two systems: hydraulic or electric. The electrical solution requires the installation of a powerful motor and batteries that are not very environmentally friendly and involve high maintenance costs.
The hydraulic block allows to overcome the disadvantages of the electric thanks to the pressure accumulator. It provides the necessary power for optimal and safe operation of the wind turbine and low component wear.

Hydraulic manifolds, O-rings, distributors, valves, cylinders, etc. The components of hydraulic solutions for wind turbines must meet several rigorous requirements such as tightness, compactness, robustness to last many years (up to 20 years), ease of installation on site, resistance of materials to climatic and environmental conditions onshore and offshore.

Created in 1986 in the heart of the Rhône-Alpes region, by an expert in fluid mechanics, VMF designs and manufactures precision hydraulic blocks. For more than 35 years, our qualified experts have been meeting the needs of energy, offshore, maritime, armament, construction and agricultural machinery industries to develop their industrial solutions.

Our know-how and professionalism in the manufacture of precision hydraulic manifolds have earned the loyalty of the big names in the industry such as Bosch, Parker, Hytop, Siempelkamp with whom we have been working for many years.

Proof of our expertise and our ability to meet the most demanding requests, we have participated in major projects led by our customers such as the Las Vegas Ferris Wheel or the construction of the Chernobyl containment arch entrusted to Novarka.

The company now has more than 40 employees, benefits from a specific tooling of more than 10,000 parts and a complete and efficient machine park of 19 machines and machining centres. This allows us to produce 23,000 high-precision manifolds per year that are fully designed and manufactured in our workshops .

VMF offers a wide choice of materials for hydraulic blocks (steel, aluminium, cast iron, stainless steel) and surface treatments (zinc plating, phosphating, anodizing, chemical nickel) to meet the needs of customers and to produce varieties resistant to the environmental constraints to which they will be subjected.

Quality is at the heart of the values of VMF, a French manufacturer of precision hydraulic blocks for wind energy. Certified ISO 9001 in 2002, the company has implemented a procedure for checking hydraulic manifolds by ultrasound, dimensional, or endoscopic (drilling, connections, diameters and depths of cartridges, sealing, etc.).

The experts of our design office analyse all the requirements to create the hydraulic manifold tailored to the specifications of our customers.
Our company has a CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) tool specially developed for VMF that allows us to make all production steps reliable and produce manifolds of optimal quality.
VMF can also manufacture precision hydraulic blocks from drawings provided by its customers.

At VMF, we want to support industries in the realization of their projects over time, in a relationship of trust with our customers.
That’s why we make every effort to meet the specific demands of companies. Thanks to the digitization and archiving of our customers’ plans in addition to the constitution of a stock of parts, we are able to restart the production of manifolds already manufactured in our workshops in a short time or to resume a project by making changes.

Do you want to know more about VMF, the French manufacturer of hydraulic manifolds and our solutions for wind energy? Do not hesitate to contact us ! We are at your disposal to meet your needs.