SMD Begins Auxiliary Cutter Assembly
Nautilus Minerals Inc. will begin assembling its third and final Seafloor Production Tool (SPT), the Auxiliary Cutter (AC), this week at Soil Machine Dynamics’ (SMD) facility in Newcastle in Tyne, UK. Nautilus' CEO, Mike Johnston said “we are pleased that the assembly of the AC, the third and final of the three SPTs has now commenced, with the arrival of the chassis at the SMD facility. The next milestone for the SPTs will be the commencement of Factory Acceptance Testing on the already assembled Bulk Cutter (BC). We look forward to reporting on this progress next month”.
From ShipConstructor to SSI
On the sidelines at Norshipping 2013 in Oslo, Maritime Reporter caught up with Darren Larkins, a 14-year veteran of Ship Constructor, serving the last two years as CEO. The topic: the evolution of the company from that of an engineering tool supplier to a more consultative role, an evolution culminating in the changing of its name from Ship Constructor to SSI. Why the rebrand from Ship Constructor to SSI? Traditionally our core business has focused around ShipConstructor which is an engineering tool focused on the shipbuilding core disciplines.
A Step Forward For Thick Section Plate Cutting
For years, general manufacturing companies have enjoyed the benefit of laser cutting systems for producing complex or simple parts in batch volumes as low as one, and as high as tens of thousands. The laser is an incredibly powerful tool that remains unsurpassed in manufacturing activities across the world. As flexible and reconfigurable production tool that provides welding, cutting and machining capabilities in a single device, lasers are readily automated and have demonstrated that they can easily operate in "lights-out" mode for even greater productivity. With all this said, why aren't there any laser shipyards? Why hasn't one of the worlds largest and most important transportation industries rushed to implement laser cutting and welding technology?
