Portable Automated Plate Straightener (PAPS) : Flexible Automation for Ship Production-Integration Into the Shipyard

During the ship erection process, deck plates are often distorted because of welding, fitting practices, penetrations, inserts, and rolled-in stresses at the mill. This distortion drives decks out of compliance with specifications for fairness. The Portable Automated Plate Straightener (PAPS) is an application of flexible automation. It is able to straighten the deck plates without operator intervention, increase productivity, improve the working environment, and reduce the energy cost of deck plate straightening. This paper is a second report on the completion of the machine and integration into the shipyard.