What does it take to produce your own energy? We, a team of design students, were part of the growing DIY small wind turbines community focused on open design, open technology and open manufacturing to reach domestic self sufficiency.

Microgeneration is the small-scale generation of electric power by individuals to meet their own needs, as an alternative to traditional centralised grid-connected power. At the moment the small-scale wind turbines are the most feasible option both in regard of easy-to-access components and knowledge sharing

Assembling and testing out the wings for the first time.

The model building method we chose is a combination of waffle structures to approach the desired free form shape and epoxy fiberglass laminating to give it strength.

Laminating one wing with fiberglass and epoxy resin.

A steamed and then bended wooden rod is glued to the edges of the wing to seal them off.

The waffle structure is lasercutted out of 1mm aircraft plywood. Different slid width were tested beforehand to find the optimal settings for this material.

We translated our knowledge about wings into 3D and approximated the correct airfoils as much as possible. The hexagonal waffle structure is generated with grasshopper. First it runs a 3 Axis Slicer Script, then lays the slices flat on a plane for easy lasercutting.

The most crucial element of a wind turbine is its wings. We started by analysing an existing wing structure in 3D and understanding the complex aerodynamics of those free curves. Soon we realised the cross section of the wing, so called airfoil, matters much more than the outline of the shape. Therefore, we experimented with different forms and decided on an organic shape inspired by the seeds of maple trees.