CORDIS Archive : Esprit and Odense Steel Shipyard: sailing a steady course

Sailing a Steady Course

Few industries over recent years have felt the harsh reality of international competition more fiercely than shipbuilding. In the face of overcapacity and new rivals from developing countries, many of Europe's most respected shipbuilders have contracted or closed completely. In the 1980's, Odense Steel Shipyard (OSS) recognised that in this, one of the most traditional of industries, embracing new technology was the only way of safeguarding its long-term future. Thanks largely to a series of innovations in robot technology arising from its participation in esprit, the yard is now one of the most productive in the world.

Back from the brink

With employee numbers down to around 1,000, in 1986 OSS was on the verge of closure. A substantial improvement in productivity was the only way it could hope to survive the intense competition in the international shipbuilding industry. New technology, and especially robot technology, seemed the only way forward. The answer came through esprit, as a result of which the company has been able to embrace a variety of advanced robotics technologies within the demanding, one-off, heavy industrial environment of the shipyard. Today OSS uses approximately 30 welding robots in its production, accounting for around 22% of the total length of welding on a ship. This will increase to around 30% within the next two years, with a target of 50% for the longer term. The result has been productivity increases of more than 20% over the past five years, with much more still to come. The yard now employs more than 2,900 people and has recently delivered the first of a series of 12 giant container vessels, which are amongst the largest of their type in the world. OSS was so pleased with the outcome it now supplies its technologies to others, both within the shipbuilding industry and beyond.

A record of success

Of the seven esprit projects in which OSS has participated to date, two stand out in having had a significant impact on the company's business performance. The first of these, "The Application of CIM to Welded Fabrication" (E595), demonstrated the application of computer-integrated manufacturing in heavy welding fabrication. It brought together computer-aided design, graphics simulation and production robots, showing how to link a series of computers so that a product could be designed, methods for automated production assessed, and machine work instructions generated to guarantee efficient manufacture. The visible result at OSS is a giant robot welding machine in one of the large halls where huge sections are completed before being lifted out for assembly in the dry dock. The machine has 12 robots, each with eight axes of movement, working simultaneously on a single section. The work of the robots is co-ordinated, a task which calls for supercomputing techniques. A light sensor system enables the robots to identify and move into the required positions. The job of the welder is to punch the buttons to instruct the robot - a role welders now much prefer to conventional manual welding. These results are being built upon in the Cleopatra project, where the robot is being equipped with vision, enabling it to adapt programs to changing and complex profiles and to weld complex geometric shapes. This so-called 'Smart Welder' can move around 11 axes, compared with the six axes used by most industrial robots. This very flexible manipulator gives an exceptionally long reach and the ability to move in complex and confined spaces. At the same time the manipulator is easy to adapt to different kinds of processes like welding, painting or assembly. The flexibility can be increased even further if standardised models are used for interfacing between product design, simulation and robotics. Although the project is still on-going, the results are already proving useful, and OSS is now looking to commercialise the Smart Welder.

Worldwide opportunities

Since 1992 OSS has been supplying robot technology to external customers. This business has grown rapidly, with customers such as Kvaerner Floro (Norway), Chantiers de l'Atlantique (France), Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries (Korea), and Metro Machine Corp (US). The latest venture is AMROSE Ltd, a company jointly owned by OSS, Odense University and five research organisations, set-up to market the AMROSE advanced robot programming and simulation tool. Market research conducted by OSS in 1995 concluded that there were over 100 yards worldwide that could benefit from robotics technology. Only 23% use robotics today but over 90% are likely to invest in the future. A similar situation exists in other areas of heavy industry.

Contact Point:

Soren OSTERGAARD

Odense Steel Shipyard

P.O Box 176

DK-5000 Odense C

Denmark

tel +45-65-974-444 -- fax +45-65-975-368

e-mail sos@md-oss.dk

www http://www.oss.dk/ (under construction)

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