Wuhu Shipyard’s Newly Invested And Constructed Intelligent Production Line For Hull Processing Was Officially Put Into Use

Wuhu Shipyard’s newly invested and constructed intelligent production line for hull processing was officially put into use

In recent days, a new production line in Wuhu Shipyard has attracted the attention of the industry. This intelligent production line has not only greatly increased production capacity, but also made breakthroughs in cost control and green manufacturing. It has provided a new sample for the transformation of the traditional shipbuilding industry in CNC cutting and beveling of hull plates .

Intelligent production lines increase core production capacity

The hull processing line recently put into production at Wuhu Shipyard provides direct services for the production goals set in 2025. The hull processing line mainly processes straight plates of the hull, and these components called straight plates account for 40% of the hull segmentation manufacturing process.

After the production line is put into use, it can produce 253 straight plates and hull plates for CNC cutting and bevel processing every month. Compared with the previous production of about 200 pieces per month, the increase has exceeded a quarter. The steady increase in production capacity provides a solid hardware foundation for the shipyard to accept more orders.

Continuous operations break delivery bottlenecks

In order to further tap the potential, the production line uses a robot double-shift operation mode. With this equipment, the peak monthly production capacity can reach 260 pieces. With the help of the roller intelligent circulation system, a continuous operation state of "non-stop replacement of people with machines" is achieved.

This model of solving the problem of production capacity bottlenecks has been effective during the peak production season. It has greatly shortened the order delivery cycle, which allows the shipyard to respond flexibly in the face of market fluctuations and successfully deliver the required goods to customers on time.

Digital closed loop ensures quality

The key to the intelligent nature of this production line is that it integrates multiple workstations with intelligent functions and a digital management platform. The platform has established a closed loop system that covers the entire processing process with quality data.

The system collects processing data and various quality parameters in real time in a very short period of time, and then builds an intelligent management and control model with clear standards and traceability. At the same time, it can provide early warning for problems. This provides customers with product quality assurance that is more accurate and more trustworthy in terms of reliability than before.

Two-wheel drive enables cost optimization

The benefits of the production line stem from the dual promotion of "automation substitution" and "technical innovation." In terms of manpower allocation, the number of people working in a single shift has been reduced from 35 to 20. Calculated based on double shifts, the annual labor cost savings can be about 3 million yuan.

At the technical level, laser tracking welding technology controls the accuracy to ±0.15 mm, reducing welding material consumption by nearly a quarter. The mechanical leveling process replaces the traditional pyrotechnic leveling, saving 260,000 yuan in annual acetylene gas costs alone.

Green manufacturing and efficiency transformation

The technological innovation also brought significant environmental benefits. The application of mechanical leveling technology reduced the amount of acetylene used in the workshop by more than 18 tons per year. Wuhu Shipyard's newly invested and constructed intelligent production line for hull processing was officially put into use. The input of welding heat was reduced, which led to a decrease in monthly power consumption compared with the same period last year, and the overall power consumption efficiency increased by 23%.

The production model has changed from the previous segmented and discrete model to a continuous intelligent process, resulting in an improvement of more than 30% in the connection efficiency between various processes. The workshop is steadily moving forward towards the goal of low-carbon manufacturing.

Employee Transformation and Future Blueprint

As production capacity increases, the roles of employees are also changing. The shipyard is also promoting digital skills training, prompting the operation team to transform from repetitive workers to "intelligent operation and maintenance" roles . CNC cutting and beveling of hull plates , and human value is released to core links such as equipment monitoring and data interpretation.

Wuhu Shipyard began to introduce the concept of "building ships with car-building thinking" in 2017, leveraging relevant experience in the automotive industry to promote its own upgrades. The new production line serves as the starting point for the intelligent manufacturing strategy in the next five years. Its goal is to build an intelligent hull workshop that becomes an industry benchmark, and to form a technical solution that can be copied.

This production line has been shown a clear path for the intelligent transformation of traditional heavy industry. What do you think of such a transformation model, which is based on "machine generation" and "data-driven" as its core. Can it be successfully replicated in more traditional manufacturing plants, and will it become an industry standard? Welcome to share your opinions.