The first marine oil and gas flexible intelligent spraying system has been put into use.
Recently, China's first flexible and intelligent spraying system for offshore oil and gas equipment was completed and put into use at the Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base of Ocean Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ocean Oil Engineering").
The picture shows the site of the spray system's trial operation. (Photo by Li Haowei)
It is introduced that anti-corrosion coating, as an important part of marine oil and gas equipment manufacturing, can effectively reduce the effects of seawater corrosion, salt spray erosion and biological adhesion, further extending the equipment's lifespan and reducing maintenance costs. The flexible intelligent spraying system is an intelligent system applied in flexible engineering manufacturing and possessing visual recognition capabilities. It has excellent flexibility, environmental adaptability and intelligent control features, and is suitable for various types and customized anti-corrosion spraying work in complex environments.
The flexible intelligent spraying system currently put into use adopts a modular design, consisting of a seven-axis flexible robotic arm, a 360-degree panoramic laser radar, an intelligent collision prevention safety system, etc. It also incorporates intelligent visual recognition and high-precision servo control technologies, possessing a high degree of adaptability. It can be started with a single click to complete the coating of structures according to the customized settings of the coating task. It initially realizes the full-process automation and visualization of the coating process, effectively reducing the labor intensity and safety risks of human operations. The single-machine maximum spraying capacity of this system reaches 200 square meters per hour, with a design lifespan of 15 years. The working efficiency for complex parts is over 30% higher than that of the traditional manual mode, and the coating thickness error is controlled within 0.01 millimeters.
According to Wang Xudong, the deputy manager of the Painting Operations Department of the Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Branch of China Oilfield Engineering, the project team spent five years successfully overcoming a number of industry technical challenges such as component identification, path planning, intelligent spraying, process matching, and adaptive adjustment. They achieved more than 10 domestic technological innovations including AI visual recognition for spraying components, spraying path planning, and precision control. The core software and hardware were all 100% domestically produced, and they initially demonstrated the application capability in specific scenarios, accumulating valuable experience for the intelligent development of marine oil and gas equipment coating in China.
Next, the project team will aim at technological incubation and industrial application. Based on the existing coating applications of small and medium-sized structures, they will continue to carry out system optimization and process adaptation, actively carry out engineering application and optimization, and gradually achieve the upgrade of China's offshore oil platform flexible intelligent spraying equipment from "able to spray" to "precise spraying and fast spraying".
