A CNC Sheetmetal Fabrication System for Production of Ships Ventilation Components and Flatwork
Abstract
The U. S. Navy has a need to produce more ships at lower cost. As documented by a recent study, present shipyard methods for fabricating ventilation and flatwork are key cost drives in ship production. They consist of a multitude of repetitious operations, resulting in excessive manhours and material costs. By utilizing computer graphics technology and Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machine tools, it is possible to reduce the manhours required for fabrication of ventilation and flatwork by as much as 40 percent. Benefits resulting from increased efficiency in materials use, in-process storage and production planning may also be realized by users. In addition, the U. S. Navy can benefit through a reduction in ship production costs, increased production capacity and spread of a new technology adaptable to many shipyards. This paper discusses a joint effort by the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES) and the Bath Iron Works Corporation (BIW) to develop and implement a Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) system for cutting the cost of fabricating ventilation and flatwork in BIW sheetmetal operation. It is a cost-shared project, funded by the Navy under its Manufacturing Technology (MAN TECH) program.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA448512
Entities
People
- David R. Blais
- Thomas R. Galie