An Approach to a New Ship Production System Based on Advanced Accuracy Control

Mechanizing and automating have been accelerated in shipbuilding in order to respond to the problem of decreasing numbers of skilled workers and increasing difficulty in recruiting new workers. For effective implementation of mechanization or automation, current hull fabrication systems should be reviewed in order to make them suitable for intended mechanization or automation because geometric inaccuracy hampers implementation and necessitates voluminous work adjustments. This paper proposes a new ship production concept based on using advanced methods to keep the accuracy of the hull structure at a high level, such as numerical simulation of heat deformation in burning, welding and bending; mechanizing to reduce deviations dependent on human skill; and a three-dimensional measuring system for advanced accuracy control together with some examples of its actual application to checking block shape at the assembly stage and shipwrighting at the erection site.