Abstract
Alignment of the main plates during the tack welding is essential to block assembly since most of the curved blocks and outfitting parts are assembled on the jigs and fixtures. Tact welding of main plates is the initial process of the curved hull block assembly. Due to the heavy weight of the main plates it is difficult to locate the plate on the accurate position of the jig and fixtures before welding. The conventional masonry process requires much time and manual work in order to achieve the accurate alignment. This labour-intensive process results in relatively high errors and correction works. Due to their larger dimensions and heavier weights, these hull blocks are not ergonomically desirable and, therefore, various mechanical devices such as hydraulic balancers or hydraulic jigs are used for the plate alignment. In this study, the position-sensing scheme implemented by sensors is presented in order to align the main plates on the accurate position during the hull block assembly. Integrating the Infrared photo sensors and micro processor unit, a small scaled prototype of the position-sensing module is developed to determine the alignment of main plates.
