LaserPipe
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TWILaserPipe In-bore laser welding feasibility study Feasibility study part funded by Innovate UK Thursday, 19th November 2015 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

• Agenda - Partner company overviews - LaserPipe project overview - Laser welding development - Alignment mechanism development - Integration testing and trials - Live demonstration - Way forward for LaserPipe - Questions - Lunch COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

LaserPipe partner overview

OC Robotics - reaching the TWI unreachable • OC Robotics is a leading provider of robotic systems for use in confined or hazardous environments • A wealth of experience designing and delivering robotic systems to key industries, such as; nuclear, aerospace, construction, defence and oil & gas COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

OC Robotics – reaching the unreachable Borescopes Small, flexible inspection tools for accessing confined areas with limited controllability. Snake-arm robots Snake-arm robots fit in between borescopes and industrial robots. They are highly flexible, multi DOF robots that are able to deliver a payload into a small confined space. Industrial robots A stiff, stable platform for repeatedly moving large objects.

- Cartoon of pack and arm or picture COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

OC Robotics - reaching the TWI unreachable OCRobotics COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

LaserPipe partner overview

Independent research and technology organisation, established in Cambridge, UK in 1946 A world centre of expertise in manufacturing, fabrication and wholelife integrity management technologies ~700 Industrial Members operating in over 4500 locations worldwide In 2014, ~£80m of R&D and training in materials joining and related technologies was performed ~1,000 staff world-wide

TWI Trn • Materials processing at TWI - Laser joining of metallic materials • Laser welding, hybrid laser-arc welding, laser brazing - Laser cutting of metallic materials - Laser surfacing of metallic materials • Micro-machining • Surfi-Sculpt® • Laser-based cladding processes - Additive manufacturing • Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) • Selective Laser Melting (SLM) - Laser processing of ceramic and polymeric materials - Lasers for (nuclear) decommissioning COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project overview • Background – Modern industrial operations often require complex and extensive pipelines, leading to maintenance issues: • • • • • • • Confined spaces Limited external access to pipes Hazardous working conditions Worker dose (nuclear) External orbital cutting and welding not viable Limited operational windows Significant cost of extended plant shut down Example of pipelines found in a nuclear environment (courtesy of Sellafield Ltd)

Project overview • Background – Traditional orbital cutting and welding technology not suitable due to limited access and proximity to other plant. Typical orbital welding tool for pipeline (TIG) COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

Project overview • LaserPipe feasibility study - Problem: • Identify a suitable welding technology to deploy within pipelines for in-bore welding • Determine a method of access and alignment to reach the weld site - Solution • Laser welding - scope for miniaturisation, flexibility of fibre, speed of weld, proven technology across many industrial applications • Snake-arm technology allowing repeatable access to confined spaces and accurate delivery of payloads, including alignment COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

Project overview • Key objectives for feasibility study - Use of available COTS snake-arm - Use of available COTS optics - Identify welding parameters - Minimising total mass and footprint of payload: • Alignment mechanism • Laser welding optics • Laser welding assembly • Services (cameras, laser diodes, laser fibre, water cooling, air knives, shielding gas). - Alignment - Beam dump and external gas shielding COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

Project overview • Major system components – – – – Laser generator Snake-arm robot Alignment mechanism Welding assembly

LaserPipe LASER WELDING DEVELOPMENT ©2015 OC Robotics®

Laser welding development • Key development aims – Using COTS optics produce an assembly capable of multipositional in-bore welding to determine feasibility. • Positions: – PE, PF, PG, PA

Laser welding development • Key development aims - Successful system must be capable of deployment using available snake-arm technology: • Total mass including services and alignment mechanism <5kg • Capable of >360 degree rotation • Small enough to navigate in/around then weld standard pipe Inner Diameters (IDs) - Produce a welding result at recognised standards: - BS EN 13919-1 • Welding - Electron and laser-beam welded joints - Guidance on quality level for imperfections - Part 1: Steel COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ©2015 OC Robotics®

Laser welding development Target Factors Benefit Rate (Target factor x Weighting factor) Weighting Factor Scoring system Use of Flat Bending Parabolic Mirror Cube Mirror Beam Bending Cube (BBC) Does not require a focussing lens Camera Visibility is in the plane of view likely size of Laser head design Pipe size (small and Large) Variable focal length to compensate for positional inaccuracies (rings/spacers) Likely Cost to project Protection system (Air/Argon) Design and build effort Mirror Cleaning ability/ Maintenance Ease of Mirror setup tolerance 1=Can achieve in plane view 0=Out of...

Laser welding development • Copper mirror testing W= 75-80 g (f60-f500) (We have f200 & f400) W= 600g (For f100) Water cooled mirror temperatures 41.83mm stand-off 50mm stand-off 81.83mm stand-off 2000 3000 4000 Power requested from laser, W