Information about http://www.onr.navy.mil/media/extra/fact_sheets/0705_hybrid_welder.pdf

A new welding process, sponsored by the Navy ManTech (manufacturing…

Tags: arc welding, fiber laser, gas metal arc, laser welders, mantech, naval sea systems, naval sea systems command, naval shipbuilding, pennsylvania state university, pipe joints, prototype system, robotic automation, sea systems command, shipbuilding company shipyard, shipbuilding technology, underway replenishment, welding pipe, welding process, welding processes, welding system,
Pages: 1
Language: english
Created: Thu May 3 11:36:48 2007
Display cached document
Page 1
image
A new welding process, sponsored by the Navy
ManTech (manufacturing technology) program,
combines
   · the ease of use and weld strength of gas metal
      arc (GMA) welding;
   · the precision, speed, and penetration of laser
      welding; and
   · the speed and uniformity of robotic
      automation.

A prototype system currently being tested and
evaluated at a shipyard in San Diego is welding pipe
joints with record speed.

A typical ship, such as the 689-foot long T-AKE class Combat Logistics Force Underway
Replenishment vessel, has several miles of pipe with thousands of welded joints. Welding thick or
large parts can require several passes, a process that consumes time and energy and can introduce
flaws.

Laser welders can penetrate deeply into a joint between two metal parts, with less heat input, but they
are less forgiving than traditional welding processes. Arc welders make a larger weld puddle, requiring
less stringent tolerances for fitting parts together by spreading molten metal into the gap between parts.
By combining the best features of both types of welding, sound welds can be produced with much less
time and heat input than with conventional methods. The new hybrid system is economical and energy
efficient because of the reduced number of welding passes required, and the welding process is much
faster because of automated controls and the deeper penetration of the laser beam.

Pennsylvania State University's Applied Research Laboratory has developed the weld parameters,
working through Navy ManTech' s Center for Naval Shipbuilding Technology. General Dynamics has
installed a prototype system at their NASSCO (National Steel Shipbuilding Company) shipyard in San
Diego.

As of April 2007, the hybrid welding system is going through the approvals process from the
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the Naval Sea Systems Command.


Specifications:

Speed: ~7 min/piece (1­1.5 hrs arc welding)            7 kW ytterbium fiber laser (IPG Photonics)
Welding passes required: 1 (6­8 arc welding)           Robotic controls (Wolf Robotics)