Achieving Reliability in Construction of Marine Equipment Using Turret Mills

Introduction

It is said that one machine can perform the job of over hundred men and the work done by these machines has countless advantages as compared to manual tasks.  The marine sector is one of the most important sectors in international trade. It account for over 80% of all the goods transferred from one nation to another.

Due to the heavy nature of the machines used in ship building and the need to incorporate reliability, all marine metal construction works can only be achieved using heavy duty machine tools. These machines are widely popular in this sector and are inevitable in the construction of modern boat components.

Manufacturing precision marine parts

These components require heavy duty gang milling operations. In addition, machine centers comprised of both horizontal and vertical millers are installed. The horizontal types have an arbor which can house one or many cutters. The turret essentially has a rotating cutter held vertically against a moving work piece.

The modern hull (the part under the water) and super structure- the part above the water are manufactured by cutting large steel plates, machining them on miller to specific shapes corresponding to the hull and finally welding the plates to for the ship hull and the superstructure above it. Since the hull must be water tight, precision is crucial and is achieved through careful machining and welding.

The parts of the ship propulsion system are largely dependent on accurate and precision machining of large elements. Modern propulsion is achieved through the use of large V type diesel engines which are coupled through a gear box or a shaft to the propeller.  The manufacturing of these engine blocks require large machines that can fabricate all components to accurate flatness and good surface finish. Due to the heavy pressure, these parts must be made reliable and resist imposed loading.

In addition, these devices are also used to produce countless parts. A number of operations such as flat milling, leveling, surfacing, gear cutting and cutting slots are achieved using this device. Therefore, these devices are imperative in improving the reliability of parts produced.

Repairing and maintenance of marine equipment

Mills are virtually all ship maintenance workshops. The device has wide application in this sector since the swivel and turret can be adjusted through 360⁰C to make any type of cut. The turret and other millers play a significant role in repair of old engine blocks and cylinder head that require constant leveling. The equipment also performs countless operations in repair works such as gear cutting, grinding and bolt head shaping.

Conclusions

The boat building and repair industry is one of the most thriving sectors in many countries such as the UK, USA, China, Europe (Netherlands) and India. It comprises of both small and large scale operators. In the UK, for example, the industry employs over 105,000 people and generated over £7.6 billion annually. This industry heavily relies on machine tools such as turret mills in production and maintenance.