Flow Line for Assembly and Welding of Panels’ Plate Blankets
The flow line is intended for cutting, welding of plate blanket’s butt joints and welding on of stiffening members to plate blankets of panels of ship hull structures, laser technologies being applied including the following operations:
- Laser cutting and beveling of sheets for welding preparation;
- Hybrid laser arc single pass welding of sheets for coalescence of plate blankets;
- Automated setting of principal direction framing on enlarged plate blanket;
- Double side hybrid laser arc welding on of framing to the plate blanket.
Line of panels provides for precision mechanized processing including cutting and welding of parts produced of sheets 3.2 х 12 m in size and enables single pass welding of up to 20 mm thick sheets.
16 kW powerful home-produced fiber-optics laser capable of four channel optical switching has been applied as laser-plasma light source (LPLS).
The line consists of special purpose positions, in each of which a certain operation of assembly / welding of sheet and profiled bar sections is performed. Movement of sections from one position to another one is carried out by floor-level conveyor.
| Dimensions of a panel, m | Up to 12 х 12 |
| Weight, t | Up to 30 |
| Number of special purpose positions | Up to 9 |
| Dimensions of welded sheets, m | From 6 х 1.6 to 12 х 3.2 |
| Thickness of plate blanket sheets, mm | From 6 to 35 |
| Height of installed framing, m: | |
| principal direction | Up to 0.24 |
| cross direction | Up to 2.0 |
| Number of sections, manufactures per a shift, unit | Up to 1.5 |
Basic advantages of laser technologies application in panel productions in comparison with traditional technologies:
- 1.5–3.0 fold increase in processing rate;
- 20–40% reduction of materials intensity and energy intensity of the process;
- Minimal level of residual welding stress and strain of welded structures.
Configuration of line and number of positions may be changed depending on particular conditions of a yard.
After considering the results of the competition “The best engineering solution in the field of shipbuilding and marine engineering of non-military nature” within the frames of International Forum “Marine industry of Russia” held on 23—25 May, 2012 the pilot project was awarded with diploma and gold medal in category “New technologies in shipbuilding and repair of shipboard machine engineering and equipment”.
After considering the results of the competition “The best innovative project and the best research and engineering pilot project of the year” within the frames of the exhibition “St. Petersburg technical fair” held in St. Petersburg on 15—17 March 2011 the pilot project was awarded with II degree and a silver medal in category “New hi tech pilot projects of equipment development and high-end technologies”.
Time of line delivery is 12 months. The cost is subject to level of mechanization / automation and number of line positions.
