Danish renewable energy solution supplier, Vindby, named Autodesk Inventor of the Month for April

Vindby’s Rooftop Wind Turbines Put Renewable Energy in the Hands of Homeowners.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif — Autodesk, Inc has named Vindby, a Danish supplier of renewable energy solutions, as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for April. Vindby used Autodesk Inventor software to develop the Vindby 1A, the first wind turbine approved for home use in Denmark. Easily assembled and installed, the Vindby 1A makes it simple for homeowners to generate clean, renewable energy and lessen their environmental impact.

“The rapid development of the Vindby 1A was possible only because we were able to form a complete Digital Prototyping workflow with Inventor software,” said Ole Jonsson, a director at Vindby. “It was the deciding factor in quickly getting the approval process under way and gaining a head start on the competition. It also led to a whole raft of concrete optimizations in design and construction.”

Denmark’s regulations for wind turbines require that all turbines — even small ones like Vindby’s that have a footprint of less than five square meters — undergo a rigorous six-month test period, three of which must be winter months. Working with Autodesk Authorized Reseller CDLIGHT, Vindby incorporated Inventor software into its design process and took the necessary steps to prepare its wind turbine for testing.

Digital Prototyping Optimizes Design in Less Time

By designing, visualizing and simulating the performance of its wind turbine in Inventor, Vindby was able to reduce the number of physical prototypes required and speed up the development process — gaining a six-month time advantage over the competition. As a result, Vindby became the first company to reach the Danish market with an approved wind turbine for private home use and has subsequently expanded sales to Norway and Sweden.

“Clean technology companies regularly face tight deadlines and a demanding regulatory approval process,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “Digital Prototyping helps companies like Vindby in both of these areas, enabling them to build a better product and deliver it to market sooner.”

Denmark-based Vindby is a leading provider of renewable energy solutions in the fields of photovoltaics, small wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps.