Digital welding sets tackle many shipbuilding jobs

Digitally controlled modular welding systems perform a variety of MIG, TIG, MMA welding and carbon arc gouging on a variety of metals in a modern warship yard.

A successful relationship between the manufacturer, supplier and customer in any business plays a pivotal role in providing and maintaining high performance productivity.

At VT Shipbuilding in Portsmouth, Ian Perryman, Manufacturing Technical Manager responsible for welding operations is more than pleased with the excellent business relationship that has been developed between himself and Kemppi (UK), the welding equipment manufacturer together with their dealer in Hampshire, Rapid Welding and Industrial Services, which really works well, helps with his productivity and has done so for a long time.

Kemppi (UK) is the UK subsidiary of Finland - Kemppi OY - one of Europe's leading welding equipment manufactures and their equipment and systems play a major role in VT Shipbuilding's welding operations, especially their new facilities in Portsmouth.

VT Shipbuilding opened their purpose built facilities on a 33 acres site alongside the Royal Navy's surface fleet in Portsmouth Naval Base about 18 months ago, bringing back shipbuilding to the home of the Navy for the first time in over 100 years.

State of the art steel production equipment as well as new construction and assembly halls gives VT Shipbuilding one of the most modern warship building facilities in the World.

Emphasis has been put on automation to compete with yards around the World at the same time they have maintained the flexibility in their shipbuilding that is required to develop new products and maintain technology advantage over their competition.

As part of the equipment procurement program, Kemppi (UK) was awarded the contract to supply and provide technical support for a total of 45 shipyard standard PRO Evolution 4200 power sources and 49 PROMIG 200-MC wire feed units complete with meters, channel memory and inductance control.

Also included in the contract were 25 PROCOOL 10 water cooling units and MIG welding torches complete with all the necessary connecting cables.

PRO Evolution is a digitally controlled, software based, modular welding system with a 'slim line' design for MIG, Synergic MIG, Pulsed MIG, TIG, Pulsed TIG, MMA welding as well as carbon arc gouging.

It can be used on all weldable materials including mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium and more exotic materials such as CuSi3 and duplex steel.

The IGBT inverter high internal control speed provides precision optimisation of the welding programs for good arc characteristics including stability, spatter free and a quieter welding arc.

The PRO 4200 Evolution is rated at 420A at 100% duty cycle, whilst Kemppi's Pro-Weld Data System allows monitoring and downloading of all welding parameters during welding onto a PC and to re-programme the power source's characteristics at any time.

With the supply of the new PRO equipment, Ian Perryman wanted to be able to use them in specially designed 'Pack Frames', not only would these protect the equipment in the yard environment, they would add flexibility to the equipment's use.

The frames had to be designed for easy lifting onto the decks of structures using the yards overhead cranes, so that up to eight welders could be welding at any one time from the same station.

Individual power sources had to be replaced by water cooling units as required, all of which had to be safely locked into position to avoid accidents and the welding cables could be stored on the frames.

As Perryman said: "We had an idea and Kemppi together with Rapid Welding converted it into an ideal practical tool".

"These frames certainly help our productivity and flexibility, they help protect our equipment, we are seeing less damage to power sources and one man can quickly move eight welding power sources around the yard".

"They will also help keep the working environment tidy, welding cables trailing across any yard is always a problem, these frames will minimise this".

"We use mainly flux cored and metal cored wires with an argon CO2 mixing gas and the welding characteristics of the PRO 4200 are ideal for these types of wires".

"We also do aluminium welding from time to time and the benefit we have with the Kemppi equipment is that all we have to do is change the front panel to a synergic panel on the wire feed unit, when we wish to do aluminium welding".

"This again certainly helps with productivity levels and aids our welders with their aluminium welding skills" All the Kemppi equipment is now on site and fully operational as the site builds up to full production.

Rapid Welding is on site at all times, providing complete technical backup supported by a comprehensive spare parts storage, through their facilities located within the yard.

Perryman explained: "This is all part of the relationship that all three companies enjoy".

"Rapid Welding are the daily key to the relationship, emphasised by the fact that they will soon be linked by PC direct to VT Shipbuilding's welding engineers".

"Rapid personnel are highly trained welding engineers and having them literately working alongside us means we have continuity in production, any repairs or adjustments are carried out in their facilities, so downtime on any piece of equipment is at an absolute minimum".

"Not having to send equipment out of the yard is so important to maintaining our production levels".

"We have 50 coded welders in the yard, so we must maintain our equipment at a very high level to support them." VT Shipbuilding is working alongside BAE Systems Marine in the design and build of the Royal Navy's new type 42 'Daring' class destroyer.

It will be the largest and most powerful air defence destroyer ever operated by the Royal Navy.

VT Shipbuilding is building the bow and mast modules.

These comprise 2 forward sections and 6 mast units, which are being built as outfitted structures and shipped to BAE Systems assembly yard in Barrow on Furness.

To ship these structures to Barrow, VT Shipbuilding is currently constructing a barge, which has two primary roles, firstly to transport modules to Barrow and secondly to act as a launching platform for complete vessels in Portsmouth.

All modules and vessels will be built on the flat and low loaded onto the barge.

Complete vessels will be taken by the barge into one of the nearby dry-docks, whereon the dock will be drained, the barge hatches opened and the new vessel will float free as the dock is again flooded.

The width of the VT Shipbuilding's dock at Portsmouth has meant that the barge has a maximum 22m beam.

It is being built in 21 units and will be 90m long, about the size of a football pitch.

It will comprise of three units width and seven units in length".

""Our working relationship with Kemppi extends back to 1987," as Perryman explains: "we were looking to enhance our welding equipment and practices; we basically had a few transformer based MIG units and were moving from MMA welding to semi automatic MIG welding".

"We had and still have excellent welders and we needed them to have the right tools to do the work we were being asked to do and importantly we needed to be competitive in the market place".

"We looked at many equipment suppliers and were under pressure to buy British, however, Kemppi were introducing inverter technology, which gave us the opportunity to buy a lightweight unit and more critically we were looking for a small wire feeder and Kemppi were able to offer one".

"I think we bought 20 units and we were immediately impressed with the reliability of the equipment and with what they were able to do for us".

"In fact I remember one machine was immersed in sea water, was given an immediate wash down with cold water and amazingly started first time as if nothing had happened".

"Also it bought us into contact with Roy Edwards of Rapid Welding for the first time and the beginning of a longstanding business relationship was started".

"Today's machines, even with their sophisticated technology and computer software are very well protected and can withstand a considerable amount of robust handling".

"They have to be in a shipyard environment." VT Shipbuilding use their new Kemppi equipment both in the yard and at their training school, where they use the 'PRO Weld Data System' to help both the welding instructors and the trainee welders to obtain the knowledge and reach the expertise that is expected from them in the yard.

The Company's welders are trained to the highest level and carry out all the equipment parameter settings themselves based on welding procedures used by the Company.

They are also trained to undertake certain maintenance work.

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