Robot welding of hatch coamings for large container ships

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to describe the changes that were needed in an existing offline programming system (OLP) in order to produce heavy steel weldments. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the changes needed in an OLP system in order to produce heavy steel weldments in a shipyard. Findings – The paper finds that the new requirements given for the production of hatch coaming lead to a fundamentally change in the design of the OLP system; it is possible to automate the welding of heavy steelplates, but the savings in this process are not always as planned. Practical implications – It is not clear that the added complexity makes for a better software system. Sometimes a split into two programs makes the design of the programs more simple. Originality/value – The paper shows how manipulators can be used in a new way to increase the welding quality at a robot installation in a shipyard.