Towards Automated Welding in Big Shipbuilding Assisted by Programed Robotic Arm Using a Measuring Arm
This paper presents an automated robotic welding system adapted for shipbuilding in large shipyards. This solution has been devised in the shipyard of Navantia located in the south of Spain, in the context of ROBOT FASE II R&D project. It also presents the human teams that have developed this welding system. The article explains the 3 parts that make up the welding system. The location of the robotic welding arm of the Fanuc brand is detailed in the first part. In addition, the gantry and spatial coordinate axes are described and indicated where the robotic arm is housed. The second part contains the system capture of the coordinates in the space for the reading of the singular points to be soldered. These points are measured by a portable measuring arm. The last part is composed of the system of communication between the different parts throughout the computer. The computer is responsible for synchronizing the measuring arm and the robotic welding arm by translating the points to be soldered.
Robotization in Korea: Trend and implications for industrial development
Abstract This paper presents the result of our survey on the robotization in Korea as a typical case of newly industrializing countries (NICs), which have recently succeeded in promoting their export-led growth. The survey itself is the first effort in collecting detailed information on the degree of robotization, and its effects and impacts on the competitiveness of the modern industries in the developing countries. In contrast to the conventional hypothesis that the major factor of increased competitiveness of the NICs industries is their cheap labour cost, our survey has revealed that the borrowed technology and know-how embodied in the imported robots are playing crucial role to improve their competitiveness by upgrading the quality and confidence of the products, and by increasing the flexibility of the production lines. In short, the developing countries which have otherwise been stagnant in permanent backwardness of technology could easily step up to produce the products of same quality as high as the advanced countries, especially in automobile and semiconductor industries.
Neutron Residual Stress Measurements on Rail Sections for Different Production Conditions
Rail sectioning with subsequent neutron diffraction experiments has been used to assess residual stresses in the rails. In this study we present the results of neutron stress measurements performed at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) on rail sections from rails that were produced under various conditions. Specifically, these are air-cooled, air-cooled and roller-straightened, head-hardened and head-hardened and roller-straightened. More significantly, a head-hardened and roller-straightened rail was also studied after service to elucidate evolution of the service-induced residual stresses. In the latter case both a transverse-cut slice and the central region of a 0.53 m long piece were studied. Measurements on this piece are the first in which triaxial stresses have been determined for an intact rail. Neutron strain measurements with 3×3×3 mm3 spatial resolution were successfully employed for transversally cut slices to verify the difference in the stress state depending on the production process. Although examination of slices allows determination of only two-dimensional stresses in the plane of the slice, additional measurements on obliquely-cut slices, which were also carried out, and utilization of FEM gives the possibility of reconstructing the full triaxial stress distribution. Together, these approaches provide a better understanding of rail fabrication and the possibility of improving the durability and safety of rails in the future.Copyright © 2004 by ASME