New Approaches to Shipbuilding Finishing and Assembly Operations

This program will investigate and develop an automated metal removal system concept that is precise, portable, adaptive and readily deployable to support modern in-situ shipyard manufacturing techniques. This type of system is needed to support future trends of modular shipbuilding, and to reduce current production costs and cycle times. PaR Systems, Inc. will build upon proven technologies and experiences derived from fielding hundreds of large scale automated precision material removal systems in the aerospace industry. PaR’s subsidary Jered LLC has a long history of providing large fabricated components for a various Naval ships and will assist by providing the familiarity of Naval shipbuilding and manufacturing know-how. This research will focus on two promising approaches to deploy a vision guided metal removal end effector: 1) a large scale mobile robotic platform with a six axes telescopic boom configuration and 2) a crane deployed magnetically anchored platform supporting a smaller 6 axis commercial robot. BENEFITS: A successful system will provide a measurable ROI to the shipbuilder, reduce material handling and speed production. PaR anticipates additional sales of $20 million in the next 5 years.