Native American Technologies Inc. - Deckplate Straightener

Cost Savings

£ 9 Month Return on Investment

£ Save $2,000 - $15,000 on Energy Costs per Year

£ 25% Reduction in Paint Repair Costs

£ No Fume Ventilation Costs

Better Straightening

£ Continuous Full-Time Operation

£ Optimized Heating Patterns

£ 2x Faster Straightening

£ Automatic Measurements

Health & Safety Benefits

£ No Gas Fumes, No Explosive Gases

£ Heat Not Radiated into Workspace

£ Worker Removed from Direct Heat

£ No Underside Paint Burning

Customizable

£ Choose the Size and Dimension that Best Fits your Application

Portable

£ Easy Assembly/Disassembly for Small Workspace Access

£ Pushcart Design for Quick Section to Section Straightening

£ Crane and Forklift Transport Design

This system is currently in production use at Northrop Grumman's Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, MS. If you are interested in their feedback please Contact Northrop Grumman Ship Systems at (228) 872-7568. Additionally if you have any interest or questions about NA Tech providing you with a system like this please Contact Us at anytime.

During the ship erection process deck plates are often distorted due to welding, fitting practices, penetrations, inserts, and rolled-in stresses at the mill. Military Specification 1689 identifies the fairness requirements of the different parts of the ship.

Deck fairness is primary in these requirements because: a) unfairness of the deck creates a corrosion problem, b) unfairness of the deck can reduce midship transverse framing stiffness, c) foundation fit up requirements, and d) personnel safety in walking areas. However, due to the cumulative affect of the different sources of distortion, often the fairness of the deck is out of specifications.

Currently, a manual straightening process is used to bring the decks back into spec, but this is a costly non-value adding process that consumes resources and can affect construction schedules. The cost of removing this distortion drives the cost of Navy hulls up 0.1 – 0.3%.

The Portable Automated Plate Straightener (PAS-D) is the first example of a portable unit possessing both robotic capability and flexible automation in ship production. The system can adjust to the changing environment in real time in order to straighten the deck.

This system was designed and built with collaboration with Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and Bollinger Shipyards.