UNO develops ship-welding robot technology
02 Oct 2006
The University of New Orleans (UNO) received a $3.6 million grant from the Defence Advanced Research Projects agency to develop automated tools for programming robots to weld ship components. The grant is funded by the Office of Naval Research.
"The shipbuilding industry can never find enough welders, and welding is a core competence of shipbuilding," said Frank Bordelon, executive director of the UNO Gulf Coast Region Maritime Technology Center and the principal investigator for the grant. Much of the work will take place at the UNO Maritime Technology Center of Excellence at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Avondale Operation.
"U.S. shipbuilding needs this technology for increased productivity and quality," said Russell Trahan, dean of the UNO College of Engineering. Robots have been used in automobile manufacturing for years, he said, but the mass production methods of automakers do not work in shipyards. Shipbuilders build numerous components to complete a ship and each part requires a different robot program, and an automated method is needed to create the thousands of programs needed, he said.
Robots present the industry with the perfect response to the shortage of welders, a problem that has been facing the industry for years, Bordelon said. UNO will work with Sandia National Labs in New Mexico and Spatial Corporation, a Colorado-based industrial software business that specializes in three-dimensional models, as well as several major shipyards to improve current technology.
UNO plans to take on a commercialization partner, a company that will take the new tools and market them throughout the industry. To meet that goal, the institution has formed a Technology Advisory Board which includes about 20 shipyards and 10 vendors. Understanding the needs of the customer is the key to those developing the right solution, Bordelon said. "We'll be testing using real robots, real welding machines and real shipyard components." UNO expects to be doing demonstrations for the industry in about 10 months, which means robotic welders in shipyards could be a reality within two to three years, Bordelon said.
"The shipbuilding industry can never find enough welders, and welding is a core competence of shipbuilding," said Frank Bordelon, executive director of the UNO Gulf Coast Region Maritime Technology Center and the principal investigator for the grant. Much of the work will take place at the UNO Maritime Technology Center of Excellence at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Avondale Operation.
"U.S. shipbuilding needs this technology for increased productivity and quality," said Russell Trahan, dean of the UNO College of Engineering. Robots have been used in automobile manufacturing for years, he said, but the mass production methods of automakers do not work in shipyards. Shipbuilders build numerous components to complete a ship and each part requires a different robot program, and an automated method is needed to create the thousands of programs needed, he said.
Robots present the industry with the perfect response to the shortage of welders, a problem that has been facing the industry for years, Bordelon said. UNO will work with Sandia National Labs in New Mexico and Spatial Corporation, a Colorado-based industrial software business that specializes in three-dimensional models, as well as several major shipyards to improve current technology.
UNO plans to take on a commercialization partner, a company that will take the new tools and market them throughout the industry. To meet that goal, the institution has formed a Technology Advisory Board which includes about 20 shipyards and 10 vendors. Understanding the needs of the customer is the key to those developing the right solution, Bordelon said. "We'll be testing using real robots, real welding machines and real shipyard components." UNO expects to be doing demonstrations for the industry in about 10 months, which means robotic welders in shipyards could be a reality within two to three years, Bordelon said.
