{"id":319,"date":"2008-04-23T12:43:49","date_gmt":"2008-04-23T02:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/?p=319"},"modified":"2025-06-29T22:03:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:03:34","slug":"advanced-technology-for-the-worlds-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/ship-building\/advanced-technology-for-the-worlds-seas","title":{"rendered":"Advanced technology for the world’s seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Replacing plasma cutters with CNC routers has improved production processes in the workshops of a world leading manufacturer of aluminium vessels.<\/em><\/p>\n

Visitors to Austal\u2019s Australian shipyards in Henderson, WA, will notice a substantial change in the arrangement of one of the world\u2019s leading shipbuilders\u2019 workshops and assembly halls. The Advanced Ship Building (ASB) project, in conjunction with new automated machinery, will improve and simplify how the company\u2019s aluminium vessels are built.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

To face the challenges lying ahead, Austal decided to install automated profile cutters from Brisbane-based Advanced Robotic Technology (ART). <\/p><\/div>\n

Austal\u2019s leadership in the design and manufacture of high performance aluminium vessels is founded on the vision to provide customers with the perfect solution and through it Austal has developed a significant portfolio of aluminium shipbuilding expertise. With yards in Western Australia, Tasmania and the United States of America, Advanced technology for the world\u2019s seas Replacing plasma cutters with CNC routers has improved production processes in the workshops of a world leading manufacturer of aluminium vessels. Austal provides one of the most substantial product bases of any shipbuilder worldwide with their fast ferries continuing to lead the market.<\/p>\n

To face the challenges lying ahead, Austal decided to install automated profile cutters from Brisbane-based Advanced Robotic Technology (ART). \u201cBefore we installed the two ART router machines (10000SX and 19000SX) two years ago, we exclusively used plasma cutters,\u201d Alan Pedley, Workshop Coordinator at Austal\u2019s Henderson shipyard, says. \u201cBut plasma cutting can be very messy and dirty as there is a lot of heat involved during the cutting process. So we were looking for alternatives and also a way to monitor and analyse our machining processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the alternative was delivered by ART, manufacturer of extremely large scale profile cutting machines able to process aluminium plates up to 20m \u00d7 2.8m \u00d7 50mm. \u201cAustal is probably the biggest user of aluminium in the southern hemisphere,\u201d Mr Pedley says. \u201cSo it made sense cooperating with a company like ART, specialising in profile cutting technology tailored to our needs.\u201d \u201cBecause we deal directly with the customer, we are able to maintain constant communication with the end user,\u201d Peter Nolan, ART\u2019s Director, explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomer feedback is one of the vital links that keep ART in front of the crowd. Many of the features that are included in our current line of machinery have origins dating back to customer suggestions.\u201d And that is also true for the tangential ink head included in the CNC routers installed at Austal. The aluminium ship is assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and the profile cutter produces finished components directly from the sheet or plate material, including fold lines, welding positions and part numbers. \u201cWhile our old plasma cutters had a line marker, it was not capable, however, to mark text,\u201d Mr Pedley says. \u201cThe router prints with a speed of 15m\/min, more than double the speed the plasma cutter was capable of. Moreover, the amount of afterwork has been dramatically reduced with the automatically marked parts ready to go straight off the machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Nolan adds that no one in the world was offering that solution and ART was ready to work on a customised solution for their client. \u201cThere was no off-the-shelf product and we delivered a solution to the problem.\u201d Improved productivity The ART routers cut plates with production speeds of 4.5 to 5m\/min and up to 20% faster than Austal\u2019s plasma cutters when it comes to cutting plates with thicknesses of 30 to 40mm. \u201cThe routers are more productive, especially due to reduced maintenance, afterwork and swarf collection,\u201d Mr Pedley says. \u201cI used to have a team of three people for sanding and preparing the plasma-cut parts. That is not necessary anymore and our staff can be used much more efficiently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cART machines have a vacuum extraction system to collect all the swarf to be recycled, which saves us some money as well. We now collect about 98% of all the swarf off the table, up to 100% sometimes. It is also much cleaner in the workshop: no swarf, no smoke, the boys on the floor love the routers because they are so much better to work with. The accuracy is also better, especially on square parts.\u201c To meet their customers\u2019 demands, ART also develops its own controls and software.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur control systems are able to perform the most complex tasks, while keeping the user controls as simple as possible,\u201d Mr Nolan says. \u201cAll basic functions can be accessed through a remote control styled pendant. The operator has to simply follow three basic steps and he can produce his parts almost instantly. With the skills shortage in Australia, it is absolutely necessary to develop machines and controls that are as efficient and simple as possible, so people can be easily trained to operate them.\u201d Moreover, the software developed by ART allows companies like Austal to fully manage and control their machines 24\/7.<\/p>\n

\u201cApart from the two routers in WA, we have another one installed in our US shipyard and have placed two more orders, including one for our new production facility in Tasmania,\u201d Mr Pedley says. \u201cThanks to new technology available today we will continue to lead the market, with Austal built vessels already operating in almost every continent of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Published in AMT magazine February 2008<\/em><\/p>\n

More info here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Download pdf Austal Ships<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Replacing plasma cutters with CNC routers has improved production processes in the workshops of a world leading manufacturer of aluminium vessels. Visitors to Austal\u2019s Australian shipyards in Henderson, WA, will notice a substantial change in the arrangement of one of…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,16,14],"tags":[37,106,105],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-studies","category-sheetmetal","category-ship-building","tag-aluminium","tag-boat-building","tag-sx-router"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1337,"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/1337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advancedrobotic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}