Guided Metal Cutting

The NSRP Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Strategic Investment Plan identifies the major initiatives that are required to promote commercial competitiveness and thereby reduce the cost of military ships. An important research area that is identifiedin the Strategic Investment Plan is improvement of manufacturing technologies. One of the most basic manufacturing processes is the cutting of metal, which is one of the first steps in transforming a piece of metal into a structure. Current metal cuttingimposes the requirement that rough cut edges and dross be machined down to an acceptably smooth surface prior to welding, which significantly adds to the production costs. To reduce or eliminate post-machining, NSRP ASE has been promoting severallaser-based cutting strategies that produce cuts that do not require post-machining. Despite this promise, few shipyards in the United States have adopted these practices. High cost and safety issues have prevented at least some shipyards from pursuingthis technology. Creare, with the support of two major U.S. shipyards, is proposing a retrofit to standard cutting torches that promises to offer high quality cuts, akin to laser produced cuts, at a fraction of laser cutting capital and operational costs.Shipyards will be able to leverage their existing cutting infrastructure using Creare's innovative technology. As such, high quality cuts produced at low cost will lead to significant production savings for U.S. shipyards. Creare's innovation will alsofind application in any metal forming industry such as automotive, aerospace, and construction.