Autodesk software helps create plug and play water turbines

The company said using Inventor and Inventor Fusion on a recent project for a federal government agency enabled it to model a turbine and then make appropriate changes to the prototype design in less than a week. Autodesk Vault software was also used to provide document control. "Autodesk Inventor software and Autodesk Inventor Fusion software helped us digitally visualise and then revise our designs," said Burt Hamner, Hydrovolts' ceo. "By using the Eco Materials Adviser within Inventor, we were able to weigh all ecological impact together with performance and financial impacts of materials for our turbines." Hydrovolts' turbines are engineered for easy drop-in installation, eliminating the need for dams or other permanent structures. The turbines are held in place by mooring lines, while an output cable plugs directly into the power load onshore. The turbines are specifically engineered to easily accommodate different types of rotor blades for optimal efficiency in the existing current, enabling users to select the blade that can deliver the most power for the least cost, based on a waterway's unique flow.