On September 16, at the CNOOC Engineering Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base, the intelligent welding robot for module nodes commenced engineering application experiments for the Pengbo Oilfield Group shore power application project. This initiative adds new momentum to the “7+1” intelligent production system of China’s first “smart factory” for offshore oil and gas equipment manufacturing.
As a typical discrete, non-standardized heavy equipment manufacturing industry, the traditional production mode of offshore oil and gas equipment manufacturing faces pain points such as dispersed production data, high reliance on manual labor, and insufficient quality stability. In recent years, the Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base has established a specialized research team, adhered to independent research and development, mastered intellectual property rights, and actively engaged in industry-university-research collaboration. It has built a digital system centered on a digital intelligent manufacturing management system, connecting three major platforms: operations management, production execution, and production support, achieving real-time data collection and analysis in production links.
With the successive deployment of intelligent cutting, grinding, welding, and inspection equipment, the base’s “7 production lines + 1 site-wide logistics line” has achieved an automation rate of 55.9% in key processes, and the numerical control rate of key equipment has significantly increased to 84.68%.
The application of the intelligent welding robot for module nodes is an important manifestation of the continuous improvement of this new pattern of intelligent production lines. As a key part of the “7+1” intelligent production system, it will collaborate with other intelligent equipment to further propel the entire production system toward a higher level of intelligence.
In the process of intelligent transformation, advanced management models are equally crucial. The Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base innovatively introduced a management model of “Party Committee leads, leadership commands, all employees tackle challenges,” forming a powerful synergy for technological breakthroughs. For the “7 production lines + 1 site-wide logistics line,” each member of the Party Committee leadership leads at least one production line upgrade project, with clear annual攻关目标 (tackling key problems goals) and acceptance indicators, creating a work structure where each level supervises the next and implementation is ensured at every layer, helping the team overcome one challenge after another.
Taking the three intelligent production lines in the module structure prefabrication workshop as an example, 65 key process improvement items were established this year, covering areas such as welding robot application, cutting process upgrades, and cross-project utilization of surplus materials.
Faced with the bottleneck in profile steel cutting efficiency, the team optimized the laser cutting process, expecting to increase cutting speed by over 20% by year-end. Currently, the annual improvement target completion rate for the workshop’s plate and profile steel cutting intelligent production lines has reached 100%.
Talent is the core driving force of intelligent transformation. Intelligent enhancement requires not only advanced equipment and technology but also highly qualified personnel who can integrate them with production practices.
Yang Jianguo, a talent in intelligent manufacturing, is a typical representative. After arriving at the Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base, Yang Jianguo led his team in developing core equipment for intelligent production lines, meticulously identifying core issues constraining the efficiency of these lines.
In addressing challenges such as the application of offline programming for welding robots and centralized control of structural pipe cutting production lines, team members continuously experimented with new methods and technologies, overcoming numerous core equipment development problems. They achieved a 20% increase in welding efficiency and a 10% increase in grinding efficiency, making significant contributions to the optimization and upgrade of intelligent production lines.
Faced with the bottleneck of “unbuyable and unmakeable” flexible manufacturing intelligent robot technology, the base also encouraged frontline workers to participate in research and development, forming a talent echelon where “experienced workers adapt to intelligence, and new workers engage in intelligence.”
Technical experts like Wang Hongliang, Du Yongheng, and Guo Lianjing translated years of practical experience into machine control algorithms, providing a “knowledge treasure trove” for robot training.
In the welding scenarios for reinforcement rings and crush rings, traditional methods were arduous. Workers needed to rotate every 20 minutes, working in a narrow 50-centimeter space, with welding quality difficult to guarantee. Now, through dual-robot collaborative operation using double-sided double-arc root pass and double-sided four-wire filling techniques, welding efficiency has increased by over 50%.
Currently, the welding robots for reinforcement rings and crush rings, together with the welding robots for module nodes and process pipelines, form the base’s most advanced intelligent welding technology cluster, providing strong support for the leap of China’s offshore oil and gas equipment manufacturing towards new quality productive forces.
In the next step, the Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base will continue to promote the optimization of intelligent production lines and the site-wide logistics line, aiming for the goals of “30% comprehensive efficiency improvement and 50% growth in overall labor productivity,” to build a full-chain “smart factory” ecosystem and write a new chapter from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing.
