Page 43: of Marine News Magazine (April 2018)

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BOATBUILDING

Quality and meeting customer needs are the driving forces for Metal Shark. Even on jobs with demanding turnaround times, the company won’t sacrifice quality or customer satis- faction for speed. Dynasty 400 TIG welders from Miller Electric Mfg. Co. allow the company to weld thicker materials without preheating — saving time and improving productivity.

Tackling intricate builds or projects with demanding Eliminating the need for preheat timelines requires the right personnel and the right equip- Producing the high-quality welds means staying on the ment to turn out high-quality ? nished products. Metal leading edge of welding technology and solutions. Metal

Shark recently invested in ? ve Dynasty 400 TIG welders Shark has for many years used Miller welding equipment from Miller Electric Mfg. LLC. The machines allow the in its operation, including Dynasty 350 TIG welders.

company to weld thicker materials without preheating — Taking the next step to invest in Dynasty 400 TIG weld- saving time and improving productivity, while still main- ers provided the company with more amperage and greater taining strict quality requirements. versatility. The extra amperage of the machines delivers more heat on demand for welding operators, allowing

The best of the best welds them to eliminate preheating when welding thicker ma-

Metal Shark’s Franklin Shipyard facility was designed to terials. “We don’t have to really use preheating as a source accommodate the latest serialized production methodolo- of heat before we weld, because of the extra amps that the gies. Three separate assembly buildings enable the weath- 400 offers,” says Karl Prados, general manager and CWI at er-independent construction of vessels up to 200 feet in Metal Shark Boats. “Start time is cut in half.” length. The facility also has protected deep water berths, Eliminating the preheat process saves signi? cant time crane-in/crane-out launch facilities, over 8,000 square feet for Metal Shark, and allows welding operators to keep of of? ce space for engineering, project management, and their hood down and remain focused on the weld. administrative staff, and room for storage and staging. A “That can be the difference between 30 minutes of pre- new 160-ton Marine Lift transporter facilitates the move- heating or just taking off and welding,” Stovall says. “Because ment of boats around the yard and to water for launch. we’re welding on so many different thicknesses, we keep our

Metal Shark’s Franklin yard is one of the most modern and amperages pretty high, so if we need the heat it’s there, rather capable shipyards along the Gulf Coast. than having to go back and forth to the machine.”

Quality and meeting customer needs are driving forces for Metal Shark. Even on jobs with demanding turnaround Tailoring the arc times, the company won’t sacri? ce quality or customer sat- Achieving the best results when welding aluminum re- isfaction for speed. quires the ability to ? ne-tune and control the arc. With the “We always keep an eye on what’s best for the customer, Dynasty 400 TIG welders, Metal Shark welding operators what’s best for the quality,” Lambrecht says. can easily adjust arc characteristics for speci? c applications

As Metal Shark transitioned from a small boat produc- and electrodes. Balance control provides adjustable oxide tion facility to a shipyard, welding became even more criti- removal, which is essential for creating the highest quality cal to the operation. It was important to build a workforce aluminum welds. In addition, operators can use frequency of skilled welding operators and choose the right welding to control the width of the arc cone and improve direc- equipment and processes to help them produce high-qual- tional control of the arc.

ity ? nished welds to meet codes, inspections and customer “The machines help us with the quality, because we do demands. Metal Shark operators use TIG welding on alu- it right the ? rst time around,” Stovall says. “We don’t want minum and stainless steel for many of the vessel builds. to go back and do any repairs.” “We need the best machines with the best settings to Another technology helps keep the machines cleaner be able to keep up with the quality of all the boats,” says — saving time while also reducing noise. The Fan-On-

Blake Stovall, TIG welding operator and supervisor at Demand cooling system in the welding power sources

Metal Shark’s Franklin Shipyard. “Quality and consistency operates only when needed. Compare this to other cool- are really important. We do a lot of the main features of the ing systems that run constantly — even when the opera- boats that everybody is going to see, so we want the best of tor isn’t welding — which means the system fans are con- the best of welds.” stantly pulling dust particles, dirt and contaminants into 43 www.marinelink.com MN

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