High-power fibre laser in shipbuilding

New applications are established in Europe shipyards

Original published in German in “Laser
Technik Journal” in March 2008 by AUT HORS
WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA

The advantages of solid-state lasers

for shipbuilding and for similar
industries, which are characterized by
the production of large structures,
have already been studied since many
years. Substantial basics for the
usage of such beam sources on
shipyards were developed in Rostock.
Hence, the first world-wide usage of
solid-state lasers in the manufacturing
of shipyard was initiated: Since
November 2006, a high–power fibre
laser with an output of 6 kW was
implemented in the Aker shipyard in
Turku, Finland, for the welding of
sheet metals during panel production
with the Laser-GMA-hybrid welding.
Thus, globally, a high-power solid-state
laser is completely integrated into the
daily ship-building and manufacturing of
shipyards for the first time and this huge
milestone in shipbuilding is achieved with
the integration of sources of solid-state
laser. IMG Rostock as the main
contractor for the implementation of this
application and the SLV M-V, the sub-
contractor and in-charge f or process
development and queries of laser work
safety have gained great experience
from different projects for the application
of solid-state lasers in shipbuilding.
Solid-state laser in shipbuilding – The
idea
ULF JASNAU
Dipl.-Ing. (IWE) Ulf Jasnau, born in 1968,
study of mechanical engineering with the
major in material and welding
engineering at the University of Rostock.
In the year 2000 beginning of the
occupation in the area of research and
development at the Welding Training and
Research Institute Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania GmbH as a project engineer.
In the year 2004 he becomes the head of
the research and development
department.
●●
Ulf Jasnau
Head of Research and Development
Schweisstechnische Lehr- und
Versuchsanstalt Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern GmbH
Alter Hafen Süd 4
18069 Rostock
Tel.: +49 (0)381/811-5026
Fax: +49(0)381/811-5099
E-Mail: jasnau@slv-rostock.de
Website: www.slv-rostock.de
RAINER GAEDE
Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Gaede, born in 1956,
Study at the University Rostock in the
field shipbuilding technology with a major
in welding technology. Beginning his
career as a development technologist in
the department of welding engineering of
the rationalization centre for shipbuilding.
Since 1990 employed in different
functions for the Ingenieurtechnik und
Maschinenbau GmbH Rostock. Since
1999 Manager sales and distribution of
the IMG.
●●
Rainer Gaede
Manager Sales and distribution
Ingenieurtechnik & Maschinenbau GmbH
Industriestraße 8
18069 Rostock
Tel.: +49 (0) 381 79 30
Fax: +49 (0) 381 71 21 89
E-Mail: inf o@img-tech.de
Website: www.img-tech.de

With the Nd:YAG Laser sources with

outputs over 4 kW at acceptable beam
qualities being available since long,
already a fundamental condition for the
use of solid-state lasers in shipbuilding
was f ulf illed at the end of the nineties of
the prev ious century. In addition to this
the transferability of laser radiation via
flexible optical fibres and the associated
easy "handling" of the tool laser beam as
compared with the high-power CO2-
Lasers was a reason for the intensified
interest in the use of solid-state lasers in
shipbuilding. With the Laser-GMA-hybrid
welding there exists additionally a laser- Figure 1: The prototype of the welding
station at the Aker Yard in Rostock-
based joining process, which can make
the advantages of the laser technology Warnemünde, world-wide equipped
usable for shipbuilding under the specific first-time with the solid-state laser
basic conditions of the manufacturing in technology.
relation to ship-building. Right: Detail of Laser-GMA-hybrid
Left: Total view of the carriage with welding head with optic module for 2
processing heads for the under- optical fibre plugs
powder-welding and the Laser-GMA
hybrid welding.

On the basis of the mentioned aspects
the Welding Training and Research
Institute Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania GmbH initiated several
projects since 1999 for the fitting and
retro-f itting of welding-technology related
equipment racks with hybrid welding
tools on the basis of solid-state lasers in
shipbuilding.
In the course of these projects, a One
Side Welding Station with 2 diode-
pumped Nd:Y AG lasers each with 4 kW
output of the manufacturer Rofin Sinar
were re-modified (Refer Figure 1) for the
first time in the years 2003 and 2004 on
the Aker shipyard in Rostock-
Warnemünde together with the IMG
Rostock.
THE COMPANY
Welding Training and Research
Institute Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
GmbH (SLV M-V), Rostock
The SLV M-V individually implements the
introduction and the further development
of welding methods or welding
technologies as well as other thermal
procedures from the v iewpoint of the
customers. Beside the conventional
methods, laser-based technologies take
centre stage of the work since the
establishment of the SLV M-V. In the
short and medium-term, the laser beam
hy brid welding and the mobile use of
laser technologies are the emphasis of
our activities.
By the combination of the competences
of all the departments of the SLV M-V an
individual package can be put at the
disposal to the customer that promises
high practical usage with quality
improvement of processes and products
as well as the reductions of costs in
production.
www.slv-rostock.de
Figure 2: World-wide first 10 kW fibre
lasers during installation at the SLV
MV.
Extensive investigations in relation to the
welding process and for the
organizational and safety-relevant
integration of solid-state lasers into the
process flows at shipyards were
accomplished with this system.
High-power fibre laser – The break
through for solid-state laser in
shipbuilding
With the world-wide first 10 kW fibre
laser (Figure 2), which was used firstly in
August 2004 at the SLV Mecklenburg-
Western Pomerania, a rapid
development was achieved in the
increase in output power of the fibre
lasers. In the following year different
inv estigations for industrial applications,
particularly for shipbuilding, were
accomplished with this laser source at
the SLV Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania.
Figure 3: Demonstration of the Laser-
GMA-hybrid welding with 10 kW fibre
laser source on a conventional One
Side Welding Station.
Left: Welding gantry with hydraulic
clamping technology for one side
welding of sheet metals.
At a conventional One Side Welding
Station, which was available at the IMG
in Rostock for delivery to a customer in
summer 2005, the outfit of such
equipment was demonstrated with the 10
kW fibre laser during a workshop (Figure
3). Thereby sheet metals with
thicknesses from 6 to 10 mm with a
length up to 12 meters were welded with
the Laser-GMA-hybrid welding
technology. The small heat inputs
implemented thereby made the potential
of the laser technology in connection with
conventional equipment technology very
clear.
As a result of these demonstrations and
the past experiences of the SLV M-V in
case of other applications, the f irst
shipyards decided for comprehensive
inv estigations or investments in systems
with high-power solid state laser sources.
The Finnish Aker shipyard in Turku was
the pioneer investing in a high-power
fibre laser.
Here the retro-f itting of a One Side
Welding Station, operated with Sub-
merged arc welding equipment, with an
additional carriage for the Laser-GMA-
hy brid welding took place in the year
2006 by the IMG and the SLV M-V
(Figure 4). A 6 kW f ibre laser source is
used here for the production of flat
panels out of sheet metals with
thicknesses between 5 and 10 mm.
Special milled joint preparation ensures
that with the limited laser power all the
sheet metal thicknesses within the
mentioned range can be welded.
Since November 2006, the shipyard has
the certificate of the Classification
Society "DNV - Det Norske Veritas" f or
the new welding method and use it in the
manufacturing of the largest cruise ships
of the world.
Right: Lateral view of the hybrid
welding process and the brackets for
clamping the sheet metal during
welding
Figure 4: First manufacturing welds on the retro-fitted plant of the Aker shipyard in Turku.
Left: Manufactured joint after the outlet of the sheet metal from the plant.
Right: Manufactured connection in the plant before the outlet, clamping claw just detached
With the procurement of a new panel line
at its location Monfalcone, the Italian
shipyard Fincantieri also decided to
inv est in laser technology in the year
2007.
The general order for the entire panel
line is implemented by the IMG Rostock.
A 10 kW of fibre laser source is used in a
new One Side Welding Station (Figure
5). It is the aim, to weld the entire plate
thickness range from 5 mm to 20 mm
based on laser.
However, typical for shipyards with the
product spectrum of cruise ships, the
largest portion of welding tasks is within
the plate thickness range from 5 mm to
12 mm.
THE COMPANY
Ingenieurtechnik und Maschinenbau
GmbH (IMG), Rostock
As a system supplier of the shipbuilding-,
mechanical engineering- and steel
industry, the IMG today is one of the
prominent outfitters of the world.
The company was one of the main
partners with the modernization of the
shipyards at the German Baltic Sea
coast, developed together with the
shipbuilding enterprises new shipyard
concepts and supplies the largest part of
the new outfits.
Building on our experiences since mid-
nineties, we have equipped enterprises
all over the world with our high power
production plants.
The Ingenieurtechnik und Maschinenbau
GmbH supplies innovative production
lines of different degree of
mechanization-and automation process
developments for shipbuilding that are
optimally customized to the need of the
customer, for e.g. in the range of the UP-
side welding, the laser beam hybrid
welding or the MAG-Tandem welding
belong to this.
New technologies are realized together
with the scientific mechanisms.
www.img-tech.de
Future applications of high-power
solid-state lasers in shipbuilding
Meanwhile, a disk laser with a power
range of more than 8 kW is also available
as an alternative to the f ibre laser. The
final customer and end user will gain
from this technical development as now a
better coordinated and customised
service range of "laser technology" can
be offered to him.
Similarly in practical tests conducted over
several months at the SLV MV and also
at the IMG, good results were achieved
with an 8 kW disk laser. Particularly, with
a view to future applications, the
av ailability of several laser sources is
helpful for investment decisions in a
shipbuilding market characterized by
increasing competition.
Quality improvement in the hull
manufacturing processes with rising cost-
pressure is a challenge for European
shipbuilding in the next years. The extent
of utilization of expensive capital goods
e.g. laser sources must also be improved
in typical individual- and small-batch
manufacturing units. In addition the
advantages of the laser technology in the
processing of three-dimensional
structures in shipbuilding must be taken
into account. With this background,
several research projects were initiated.
Research projects in relation to the
laser application in shipbuilding
In the European project DOCK LASERS,
the basics for a mobile use of solid-state
lasers in shipbuilding were developed
with participation of the SLV M-V from
2002 to 2006. In addition the acceptance
of solid-state lasers at the European
shipyards was greatly increased by the
project.
In the so called PALAS project of the
Mey er shipyard in Papenburg, the Laser-
GMA-hybrid welding of three-dimensional
structures by means of stationary robotic
systems is developed.
Continuous path control and process
control with changing welding positions
represent special challenges in this
project.
Figure 5: Panel line during the installation in Monfalcone, in the foreground the One-Side Welding Station for the production of butt
welds between individual sheet metals
In a cooperation project for the
inv estigation of new high-performance
technologies in shipbuilding, the bases
for mechanized, tractor-based laser
cutting and Laser-GMA-hybrid welding in
the block- and dock-assembly is
developed by the SLV M-V and the Aker
shipyard in Rostock.
Presently, the prototype of a welding
tractor f or cutting and welding with solid-
state lasers in obligatory position is
developed at the ship outer shell plating.
A maritime cooperation project under
participation of the SLV M-V meets a
short to medium-term challenge: new
rules of the IMO – International Maritime
organization – demand the assurance
and the certificate proof of the coating
quality of so called free edges at the hull.
In addition, the rounding or breaking of
each free sheet-edge in the hull is
necessary on medium-term.
This is at present exclusively done via
manual subsequent machining by means
of an angle grinder. With more than
40,000 meters of free edges in a typical
cruise ship, the challenge of the
production costs and quality is clear. In
the project, different thermal tools and
also the high power solid-state laser, are
inv estigated for the processing of the
edges.
The three mentioned projects are funded
by the Federal Ministry for economics
and technology by means of the agency
responsible for the project executing
organization Jülich. Cordial thanks for
this.
Conclusion and prospects
At the applications of high-power solid-
state lasers in shipbuilding, implemented
so far, it becomes clear that these can be
used signif icantly and economically also
at large structures. The break-through for
solid-state lasers in shipbuilding
succeeded with the high-power fibre
lasers of the manufacturer IPG. These
proved their utility in the past 3 years in
shipbuilding. Meanwhile a constantly
growing interest in high-power solid-state
lasers is noted in European shipbuilding.
By the enhancement of the application
possibilities of solid-state lasers in
different projects the European
shipbuilding can make the advantages
regarding costs and quality usable during
the hull manufacturing.
The experiences from the research
projects and the current usage in the
shipyards will lead to an enhancement of
application at stationary systems for two-
and three-dimensional applications.
Besides, the mobility of the tool LASER
in shipbuilding opens new perspectives.
Our goal is having laser tools which can
be transported, handled and adapted
easily with mechanized equipment and
then their usage will not be restricted to
shipbuilding alone. Meanwhile there is a
strong interest in such solutions f rom
other industries such as pipe
manufacturing.