Optimization of the Robotic Process for Welding and Spot-Welding of Brackets in the Manufacturing of Bulkheads Using an Innovative Robotic Gripping and Welding Tool

Naval engineering projects are becoming increasingly ambitious and often require specialized equipment for their manufacture. As a result, shipbuilding is far from mass production due to the high degree of customization in their components, which makes robotization difficult. In this work we present an experimental robotic cell where the process of welding and spot-welding of brackets in the manufacturing of bulkheads is replicated using various robots and an artificial visión system. Different system configurations have been developed for measurement and analysis of cycle times by means of a digital model of the process and the real cell. The comparison of the experimental data and simulations carried out with the reprogramming of robots shows that, using an innovative gripping and welding tool attached to a single robot, the time it takes installing the brackets in the bulkheads can be reduced in relation with the actual manual and robotic systems. The assembly of the prototype and the manufacturing tests have been performed at the Robotics Innovation Center (CIR) of Navantia Ferrol shipyard, in collaboration with the Joint Research Center (CEMI) of the University of A Coruña (UDC).