Weld management and traceability

This section of the Help discusses how bevels and welds are managed and tracked within the CADMATIC Hull by the users, and the configuration files used by the system administrator to define rules for generating beveling and welding data automatically and consistently. Follow the links at the end of this Help topic in More information for detailed information.

Overview

CADMATIC Hull allows for highly customizable beveling and welding data to be added in a quick yet consistent manner. This is achieved by providing the system administrator control over predefined beveling rules and weld line data while still allowing manual control by users in special situations.

CADMATIC Hull also provides tools for exporting beveling and welding data to production staff while also allowing for the progress of welding to be tracked using the Weld Manager tool. Using this method, CADMATIC Hull provides a complete package for managing and tracing bevels and welds across the entire life cycle of a project.

Beveling and welding functions

Beveling and welding functions are closely connected to each other. Several files and settings have to be modified by the system administrator before the user is able to use or extract information from the system to its full functionality.

CADMATIC Hull has functions to add beveling manually, but configuration files are used to predefine beveling rules which can apply bevels and weld lines automatically to many construction parts.

Bevels and bevel attributes

There is a distinction between predefined bevels and bevel attributes. Predefined bevels have fixed properties and are controlled solely by the system administrator but the user can specify which predefined bevel is used. Bevel attributes have properties which can be controlled by the user instead of being restricted solely to the system administrator. Plates always contain bevel attributes. Brackets can be set to use either bevel attributes or predefined bevels, and all other eligible construction items only use predefined bevels.

Defining beveling and welding data

Beveling and welding data is usually defined after the detailed design phase has been completed but before the construction phase has begun. In CADMATIC Hull, the weld data is generated simultaneously with the construction using the following process:

  1. Predefine bevels and weld rules
    • Predefined bevels constitute the standards for automatic weld lines. Customizable rules use geometry and logistics to pick the correct predefined bevel and welding information for construction items, as chosen by the system administrator. This process results in a consistent and efficient design.
  2. Insert and modify
    • Special cases requiring more care from the designer can have the welds and bevels manually added or adjusted with easy to use insertion and modification tools.
  3. Presentation and documentation
    • Both the bevel and weld information can be presented in drawings and profile sketches using fully customizable methods.
  4. Production
    • Beveling information is included in the plate cutting data for production. Shrinkage resulting from welding can be compensated by users with Shrinkage Management levels, and the settings can be controlled by system administrators using Shrinkage compensation. Additional Welding information reports can be generated in the same manner as other production reports, as explained in Creating Reports. Using the Work Breakdown Structure, the order of construction can be defined by users to ensure that production flows smoothly and automatic processes can be executed properly. With the additional Weld Manager tool, customizable Excel reports can be generated for traceability purposes, and geometric information for robotic welding systems can be exported in the WisCon format (STP/XML).
  5. Send data to browsers, eShare and eGo using Plant Modeller
    • Weld data is made available so that it can be checked and compared so that everyone in the construction process is kept up to date on production information.

More information

The following topics provide detailed information on defining beveling and welding in CADMATIC Hull: