Abstract: A method of making a wind turbine component comprises providing a mould (7), placing a fibrous pre-form (60) in the mould (70), admitting resin into the mould and curing the resin. The method further comprises heating (58) the fibrous pre-form before placing the pre-form in the mould.

Abstract: A method of aligning shear webs for the construction of a wind turbine blade is provided. The method comprises providing one or more jigs (402), each configured to receive one or more spacer elements (701) and providing one or more spacer elements (701). First and second shear web panels are placed on the one or more jigs (402) to align them. The first and second shear web panels are restrained relative to each other and are separated by the one or more spacer elements. The first and second shear web panels are then removed together with the one or more spacer elements from the jig. A corresponding apparatus is also provided.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade using pre-fabricated stacks of reinforcing material is described. The stacks 14 comprise a plurality of plies of fibre material, joined together along a side edge to form a spine. The opposite edges of the stack are left unjoined so that the plies can separate and slide across one another. In doing so, the stacks can be stored flat, but on installation into a curved mould 12 profile, the plies may slide to adopt the curved shape of the mould. The stacks extend from a point near the leading or trailing edge of the mould to an intermediate point on the mould surface. The stacks may be used to construct the thickened root section of a wind turbine blade.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a composite part comprising fibre reinforced material in a mould (10a, 10b, 10c), the method comprising the steps of: depositing fibre material on a mould surface; covering the fibre material with a vacuum film to create a mould cavity that contains the fibre material and is substantially sealed; evacuating air from the mould cavity; detecting if there is an air leak into the mould cavity with an acoustic camera unit (31) during and/or after the step of evacuating air from the mould cavity.