A concept of a cable driven rotator for heliostats in a Solar Energy Field.

•   Cable based drive resulting in zero backlash.
•   Positioning accuracy of 0.02° for each axis.
•   Extremely rigid structure.
•   Designed for mass production while utilizing riveted laser cut plates for   high rigidity, light weight and low cost.

This system is a first generation design for a cable based rotator, to be used in accurately positioning a heliostats azimuth. It is designed to be extremely rigid in order to eliminate inaccuracies caused by structural deformations. The mechanisem has zero backlash due to the cable drive which means it retains excellent position accuracy even under windy conditions.

Using a belt driven worm gear we achived both very good accuracy and a self-locking mechanisem. The worm gear used is characterized with extremely small backlash which in turn addes to the machines accuracy and repeatability.

The system was designed for maximum modularity. The driving unit can easily be disconnected from the static pole for repair or maintenance.

The driving unit itself can then be disassembled to it's main components without causing any structural or mechanical damage to the system.

All this results in a quick and painless maintanence process.