Norfolk Naval Shipyard Adds New Pipe Bending Machine
Capturing complex bends on pipes is an art form members of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Pipe Group have harnessed for many years. Now entering a more modern era with a new dual-head pipe bending machine, NNSY is able to create more precise bends in a fraction of the time, thanks to modern, automated controls. Originally, pipe benders would have to work on a semiautomatic machine where everything would have to be measured exactly and each bend would have to be checked with a protractor to guarantee the needed dimensions were captured. It was tedious work and there was a risk of wasted material should the measurements not equate to what was needed.
US Aircraft Carrier 'Ike' Leaves Drydock
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) has left dry dock and moved from Dry Dock 8 to pier 42/43 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Va. informs USN. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been in dry dock since September 2013, conducting a scheduled docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) period. "Without the excellent work of the ship's team leaders and zone managers, the ship wouldn't have been ready when it was," said Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy James, Ike's maintenance manager. James said the ship's force and NNSY personnel worked well together, completing approximately 12,500 jobs prior to flooding the dock. Brian Bennett, the Ike DPIA project supervisor, said the undocking is the first of many major key events to come for the Ike project team.
