Method for manufacturing wind turbine blades using a mould system

A method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade from two blade halves using a mould system comprising a first moveable mould and a second stationary mould with mould surfaces shaped according to the respective first and second halves of the blade, and comprising a hinge unit with a rotatably hinged arm connected to the first mould, the method comprising:

• rotating the first mould about a single hinge axis of the hinge arm from an initial position in which the mould surfaces of the first and second moulds each face upwardly to an intermediate position wherein the mould surface of the first mould substantially faces the mould surface of the second mould;
• and
• subsequent to rotating the first mould about the single hinge axis, translating the first mould relative to the intermediate position by using two actuators engaged with the hinge unit so that the hinge unit carries at least a fraction of the weight of the first mould at least during an initial period of the translation, wherein the two actuators are distributed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the single hinge axis, and wherein the two actuators are located on either side of a centre of gravity of a load comprising the weight of the first mould when the first mould is in the intermediate position, thereby compensating and minimizing torque loads on the two actuators about an axis parallel or substantially parallel with the single hinge axis,
• wherein each of the two actuators includes a first part coupled to the hinge arm and a second part coupled to the first moveable mould and moveable relative to the first part, and at least one of the first and second parts of each actuator engages with an engagement slot in the corresponding hinge arm or first moveable mould in order to provide a positional degree of freedom for the actuator in a transverse direction to the relative movement of the first and second parts of the actuator.