IIW White Paper

9 Needs and challenges of major industry sectors for future applications

advanced technological level as for steel fabrication due to lower priority in the past by fabrication and welding systems manufacturers.

There is a great potential, in particular for aluminium ship structures for further improvement. Development is carried out in close co-operation between shipyards, research institutes, fabricators of production systems and welding supply companies. Suppliers offer technologies and systems for robotic welding of ship structures. Off-line programming based on CAD data combined with a high degree of automatic generation of the complete control programmes for welding is required to fully realise the capacity and potential of the welding station. The main objective for using sensors in robotic welding of aluminium ship construction, is the need for localising the point where to start welding and then to follow the seam. There are remaining challenges and problems, which have to be solved before the technology can be considered to be ready for implementation in the production of aluminium constructions in shipyards. The future work will be focused on the off-line programming. So far it has been focused mainly on the problems connected to accuracy. The strategy for handling the huge amount of data for a complex hull section and the welding required is not clear and has to be emphasised in future work. 9.8.7 Hot topics Improved Joining Technologies for Ship Structures: There is the need for continued improvement and the application of “World-class” processes that increase efficiency, reduce rework, and shorten construction time. Joining processes such as precision arc welding, friction stir welding, and hybrid laser arc welding continue to be of high interest. Additionally, the shipyards have interest in expanding the use of automation for large marine structures using smart adaptive welding systems. Process Control: Application of process control that will result in more standardised production processes, improved accuracy control, and improved cost, quality, and schedule performance. Interest areas include advanced measurement techniques, expanded use of statistical process control, automated data storage, analysis, and transfer. Distortion prediction and accuracy control are important subsets of this. Controlling weld distortion continues to be a challenge for shipbuilders and the problem increases as lighter and lighter structures must be built. Technology needs include improved modelling and simulation tools and the development and application of workable manufacturing processes capable of controlling distortion during fabrication. EWI has field demonstrated a novel automated technology, dubbed Transient Thermal Tensioning, for control of buckling distortion on thin panels. Joining Non-traditional Materials: There is a need for increased performance (e.g. speed and manoeuvrability) and this is driving the requirement to reduce ship weight. This results in the use of non-traditional materials including non-metallic composites, high-strength steel, aluminium, and titanium. There are needs for materials joining processes for these materials and processes to join dissimilar combinations of these materials. Advanced Non-Destructive Inspection Techniques: Shipyards want to minimise the cost of inspecting welds. New solutions include the implementation of advanced non-destructive inspection technologies. These technologies include processes for improved inspection under lagging, ultrasonic and digital radiographic inspection of welds, inspection of composite structures, and the Generally, the business drivers in the shipbuilding industry include reducing both the cost of producing new ships and reducing the total ownership cost over the life of the ship.

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Through Optimum Use and Innovation of Welding and Joining Technologies

Improving Global Quality of Life