RESURGAM: Robotic survey, repair and agile manufacture for shipbuilding
RESURGAM proposes a system and procedure that will improve the productivity of shipyards, by enabling the repair of damaged components in ships without the need for dry-docking. In addition, it will provide a number of ready-to-adopt technologies that will allow small and medium sized shipyards to fast-track the fabrication of new and high technology vessels, and increase their access to the repair and maintenance market. This facilitation of rapid repair, in conjunction with agile manufacturing, should significantly reduce the operational downtime of ships and potentially save substantially on costs.
The aims of RESURGAM are to:
- Develop a welding tool and procedure that allows friction stir welding (FSW) of steel, of a range of thicknesses, both in air and underwater
- Introduce a low cost FSW system for steel that can be retrofitted to existing CNC machines
- Create a FSW robot that can successfully repair ship hulls submerged in water
- Demonstrate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that can effectively identify damage in the welding process
- Develop a digital platform that connects the European shipbuilding and ship maintenance supply chain, and provides them with a digital tool to facilitate agile manufacturing
The European shipping community, especially small and medium shipyards, often lack the resources to undertake research and innovation to boost their competitive advantage. Therefore, RESURGAM mitigates this challenge by providing European stakeholders with a strategy and approach to enable them to remain competitive in the context of stakeholders from other regions, particularly Asia. The project has a 36-month duration.
Partners: European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (Project Co-ordinator), Aislamientos Termicos De Galicia SA, Asociacion Cluster Del Naval Gallego, Engitec Systems International Limited, Forth Engineering (Cumbria) Ltd, Ned-Project SP Z OO, Technische Universiteit Delft, Turkiye Gemi Insa Sanayicileri Birligi Dernegi, the University of Limerick, Element Six (UK) Limited, Stirweld, and the Joining 4.0 Innovation Centre (J4IC).
RESURGAM is funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union.