The unique Saturn welding robot is being tested at the hull and welding production facility of Sevmash. It was developed for the enterprise by specialists from the domestic company ITS-Engineering under the USC program "Reducing the construction time of serial SSBNs."

Image source M. Vorobyov, press service of JSC "PO "Sevmash"

Saturn's specialization is automatic welding of hull assembly joints in a shielding gas environment in slipway conditions; it is also intended for use in hull and welding production.

For the first time in global practice, this equipment enables mechanized welding in all spatial positions using not only flux-cored wire, but also solid-section austenitic wire. This is ensured by new orbital welding heads and special welding power sources, as well as constantly improving software. In addition, the new complex is based on the idea of a universal modular system that allows for the initial preparation of the edges of structures by gas (plasma) cutting, and then carrying out mechanized welding in a shielding gas environment on the same guides, changing only the working modules. And in the future, the introduction of ultrasonic and X-ray diagnostics modules, which will make it possible to quickly, almost immediately after welding, carry out quality control of welded joints.

Press service of JSC "PO "Sevmash"

It is expected that the robot will be able to increase productivity and quality of work by at least four times compared to conventional manual electrode welding. This means that Russian submarines will be built faster, and fewer employees will be required for this. According to the developer's calculations, Saturn will reduce the number of people in the areas from 20-30 welders to only 6 operator-welders.

Based on the results of welding pilot work at Sevmash, the quality of welds will be checked by non-destructive methods (UT, RT), and a set of mechanical tests will be carried out to verify the compliance of welded joints with the requirements of regulatory documentation.