Fraunhofer-Allianz Verkehr
Fraunhofer-Allianz Verkehr

Shipbuilding

The size and complexity as well as the unique character of maritime products present shipyards and suppliers in shipbuilding with great challenges. The aim of the research and development activities in this context is to develop holistic solutions that enable maritime customers to manufacture efficiently, cost-effectively and to a high standard of quality. Components of the portfolio are:

Planning and development of shipbuilding production facilities as well as the design, development and implementation of integrated digital process chains over the entire product life cycle

Development of efficient automation concepts and novel design approaches (e.g. lightweight construction, optimisation of noise and vibration behaviour)

Innovative use of the latest technologies such as the development and qualification of new types of joining technologies (e.g. welding, gluing, mechanical joining) or quality assurance through high-precision geometric measurement of large components

Shipyard planning and operation

© Fraunhofer IGP

The shipbuilding industry is characterized by complex material flows within manufacturing and logistics as well as extensive interdependencies within the process stages. This massive complexity of planning tasks pushes static planning tools to their limits. Therefore, there is  an enormous potential In the field of shipyard planning for the use of the latest methods and tools of the digital factory, such as material flow simulation, 3D layout planning and robot simulation. With the help of these tools, shipbuilding companies can be supported for example in managing reorganisation or investment projects. In addition, individually tailored software solutions in the field of production planning and control can help to optimally meet the industry-specific characteristics and increase production efficiency. A further aim is to create an improved and transparent planning basis so that, for example, bottlenecks can be identified at an early stage. Another approach is to evaluate various measures with regard to their effects on the overall system before the actual implementation of a scenario at the site.

Project examples

From planning to implementation: New laser hybrid panel line for MV WERFTEN (Fraunhofer IGP)

System for comprehensive information management in the pipe production of Fr. Lürssen Werft GmbH & Co. KG (Fraunhofer IGP)

Simulation and modelling of shipyard structures (Fraunhofer IGP)

COTECMAR - Optimization of ship repair processes at the shipyards in Mamonal and Bocca Grande (Fraunhofer IGP)

ProDock - Development of powerful algorithms for the dynamic optimization of manufacturing and assembly processes (Fraunhofer IGP)

Ship Manufacturing

© Fraunhofer IGP

In the field of shipbuilding, it has been of paramount importance to design products, processes and procedures in such a way that they meet the special requirements of the industry. In this process, the dimensions of the product, its field of application or the production organisation form a unique context, so that tailor-made solutions have to be developed in the area of production and production-related processes. The focus here is on special bonding or welding processes as well as innovative product concepts and the organisational design of the processes in the sense of Industry 4.0.

Project examples

SUPER - unique shipbuilding production with extended reality (Fraunhofer IGP)

Development of a modular generation of yachts (Fraunhofer IGP)

UW-Bonding - Development of a method for process-safe bonding of brackets under water (Fraunhofer IGP)

WOBEKA - Material and process engineering optimization of cavitation and erosion resistant coatings on ship rudders using cold gas spraying (Fraunhofer IGP)

Increased performance of electrogas welding of higher strength shipbuilding steels for use at normal and low temperatures (Fraunhofer IGP)

New technologies / innovations in shipbuilding

© Fraunhofer IGP

The development of measurement and quality assurance concepts forms the basis for a constantly high product and process quality and secures the position of the companies on the internationally highly competitive market. The main focus is on geometric quality control, the provision of the actual state being used as a basis for planning as well as online programming of robots and the modelling or evaluation of point clouds. Other strategically important fields are reverse engineering of point clouds, the creation of individual software solutions for data evaluation and the analysis and automation of measurement processes.

Project examples

AIRCOAT - A bionic hull coating to reduce ship resistance (Fraunhofer CML)

PROPSCAN3D - Automated ISO-compliant inspection of ship propellers using planar 3D measuring methods (Fraunhofer IGP)

FINISH - Geometry acquisition and data evaluation of ship surfaces for efficient coating processes (Fraunhofer IGP)

SMARTYards (Fraunhofer IGP)

Flatness measurements for POD - drives (Fraunhofer IGP)

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