Objective:
Collaborative Robots, or CoBots have been under development for well over a decade and are currently in use in a number of non-shipbuilding manufacturing industries. Several factors can be attributed to the lack of CoBots or even conventional industrial robotics in shipbuilding. One of the main impediments is the lack of trained operators or any type of training pipeline to establish baseline skills for CoBot operators in shipbuilding applications. The intent of this project is to support cobotic welding capability development and expansion in US Shipyards and their supply chain partners, with the goal of building a sustainable model that will drive efficiencies across the industry. This project will leverage the rapidly growing field of CoBots in manufacturing and recent work on CoBots in shipbuilding applications with a hands-on training mission under the framework of a Shipbuilding CoBot Alliance (SCA). The SCA will create Shipbuilding CoBot Training and Demonstration Centers with a northern branch located at NWTC (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Marinette) and Mid-Atlantic branch at Tabet Manufacturing located in Norfolk, VA, to prepare and launch workers for increased use of CoBots and related technologies in shipbuilding.
Summary:
CoBots will be provided at a reduced cost and training curriculum will be developed jointly by shipyards, CoBot suppliers and experienced consultants. Within one year the first trainees will be deployed in participating shipyards that choose to purchase CoBot systems. During the second year the course curriculum will be refined, and the Centers mission will be expanded to include continued Research and Development on specific shipbuilding applications and problem sets, along with physical testing of weld samples for qualification of systems.
Key Deliverables / Benefits:
- To set up and demonstrate physical and classroom training centers at two maritime locations.. Each site contains multiple CoBot production systems, simulated manufacturing lines and process practice, test, and qualification facilities.
- To standardize training curriculum for shipyard CoBot operators that spans the basics of CoBot operation, hands-on training for typical shipbuilding scenarios, maintenance, design for new in-yard applications, and qualification of equipment and operators.
- To provide a CoBot process laboratory for training, testing, and evaluation.
- To select CoBot welding applications from member shipyards, with solutions serving as a case study in the CoBot shipbuilding center and under implementation at the yard.
- To design and build a mobile welding CoBot simulation cell for training and implementation.
- To provide ongoing collection of qualification data on CoBot process to assist in future qualification procedures.
Overview
Project Team:
- Cahill Consulting
- Hepinstall Consulting Group
- Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM)
- Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS)
- Master Boatbuilders
- Pacific Shipyards International (PSI)
- Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC)
- Tabet Manufacturing
- Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC)
- GenEdge Alliance
- Robotic Technologies of Tennessee (RTT)
- Edison Welding Institute
- Comau Robotics
- Lincoln Electric
- Atmospheric Plasma Solutions
June 2024 – July 2026
INDUSTRY INVESTMENT: $2,207K | NSRP INVESTMENT: $1,657K
