Tech Tuesday - Applications of lasers in ship building

Applications of lasers in ship building

A high-accuracy method of building commercial ships is anticipated to reduce the amount of time required for building a ship and also to improve the quality of a product. Laser and arc welding is employed such that a hybrid laser arc welding technique is achieved and it uses low heat welding. It also reduces deformations of the welded parts.

Hybrid laser arc welding coalesce the deep welding penetration and the associated heat input is low and the laser welding with power efficiency and greater gap tolerance of Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) thus creates a new welding alternative. Deep penetrations and faster welding speeds in laser welding leads to reduction of heat infusion into the part and consequently reduction of distortion that causes plates to bulge and warp. Addition of GMAW in tandem with the laser and moderate amount of filler metal creates a wider weld bead which is capable of bridging large weld gaps. Addition of GMAW on to the welding mix enhances metallurgical stability, with a slower cooling rate of GMAW result in welds with less brittleness, greater strength, tough and ductile. Hybrid laser arc welding process resolves a demerit of laser-only welding. It has allowed the industries to shift to higher strength and designs which are of lightweight without distortions that usually result from conventional welding. Hybrid laser arc welding is used to build ship decks and stairs. In shipbuilding metallic sandwich panels are used. Sandwich panels have three layer structures, which consist of a higher strength material which is separated by low weight and density core material. It is designed with fiber reinforced polymer composite.

Construction application for ship building

Owing to the stiffness of steel sandwich panels, it can span over a longer distance. It also holds more floors hence providing enough space. Sandwich panels have two main advantages in transportation industry. Its reduced weight result in saving fuel cost. Reduced weight allows a subsequent increase of the product volume and also cargo weight. A Sandwich panel structure offers a highly superfluous load path. If at any instant is damaged the load is redistributed and it absorbs energy from the crash thus protecting the cargo and passengers.

Hybrid laser arc welding reduces production cost, improves weariness and corrosion life, and reduced phase costs thus has led to improvement in manufacturing fields.

Scan On,

DimTec 3D