Cost Reduction through Weld Penetration Control in Ship Piping Fabrication

An advanced welding process control technology is proposed which can dramatically reduce the cost for welded piping in new ship construction. The Weld Pool Oscillation Sensor (WPOS) can be used to measure weld penetration while the weld is being made. The WPOS technology has been researched for over 15 years and has been shown to be effective and robust. The WPOS has not been commercialized because patents have protected two key underlying technologies. WeldWare has obtained licenses to these key patents. WeldWare, Inc. and Edison Welding Institute have formed a team to further develop and commercialize the WPOS. The team represents most of the expertise world-wide in the WPOS technology. The objectives of Phase 1 are to demonstrate the WPOS technology on a shipyard application and to perform return-on-investment (ROI) analysis. Representatives from two shipyards (Ingalls Shipbuilding and Newport News Shipbuilding) will be on the project team to help steer the project. An existing prototype laboratory WPOS system will be used for the testing. A shipyard piping application will be selected and the WPOS will be optimized and demonstrated on the selected application. Data will be collected to support the ROI analysis. A report will be written which details the findings.