In an empty and bright factory, a large piece of steel was hoisted into a designated position by a robotic arm and could see sparks splashed, laser welding, polishing, and correction forming... In the production workshop where people came and went, now only the operation sound of the machine can be heard, this factory is China’s first steel bridge industry with 5G intelligent manufacturing factory built by HGTECH for China Railway Baoqiao (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yangzhou Baoqiao), and it is also a new example for steel bridge manufacturing in the new era.

Yangzhou Baoqiao Intelligent Factory has built a Four Lines and One System with the core of intelligent sheet cutting and cutting production line, plate unit intelligent welding production line, segment intelligent assembly production line, steel box girder intelligent coating production line, and workshop manufacturing execution intelligent control system.

5G Animate Bridge Manufacturing with Powerful Brain

The Deep-Medium Corridor is another world-class super project built by China after the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Ling ding yang Bridge, is the world's highest tower and largest span steel box girder suspension bridge in the sea. Nowadays, the steel structure used in the deep-medium corridor comes from this intelligent factory.

The factory uses the combination of intelligent manufacturing information system and steel bridge intelligent production equipment to establish a 5G+MAC high-precision network, and create an intelligent production model with real-time manufacturing data collection and human-machine coordinated control in order to consolidate the core competence of steel box girder intelligent manufacturing and to meet the Multi-specification, Large-volume, Customized Production demand of the bridge industry.

At the same time, establish a central control room and introduce an intelligent manufacturing information cloud platform system to visualize production and management data and make the factory intelligent. All technical experts and management personnel can check project construction progress and quality inspection data at any time through the cloud platform, and randomly generate a matching model of labor employment and construction schedule to provide a basis for accurate labor placement.

Start from the scratch and create more values for customers

In the past, Chinese bridge manufacturing process equipment was less automated, the labor intensity of workers was high, meanwhile the consistency of product quality was not enough good. Various problems severely restricted the development of the bridge industry. The application of intelligent manufacturing technology to the bridge industry is the general trend.

As the first company started the trial, HGTECH got nothing to refer to. The completion and practice of the project is a model of the industry, which is of great significance for building the "Chinese Bridge" national business card.

The entire process from cutting, inspection to welding and assembly has been automated in Yangzhou Baoqiao Intelligent Factory. The intelligent production equipment can interact with the MES system in real time, and has the function of face authority management. Among them, the laser CNC design and the line plasma trimming machine which are developed by HGTECH can achieve +45 to -45° bevel cutting,integrates excellent diagnostic capabilities ,networking communication capabilities to ensure continuous and stable production in a high-load working environment. The factory is also the first to realize the bridge industry intelligent production of full penetration welding meets the 96% pass rate of U-rib unit welds, and the continuous welding of plate unit robots from flat welding to vertical welding, which effectively improves welding efficiency and strengthens steel box girder weld strength to meet production quality  requirements  increase  the  service  life  of  bridges.

The implementation of the intelligent factory has improved the quality and efficiency of steel bridge production. There are now only about 30 workers in the factory area that originally required 500 workers. Operating costs have been reduced by at least 60%, production efficiency has increased by more than 160 times, and product acceptance cycles have been shortened above 50% .

Driven by innovation, build an intelligent manufacturing ecosystem

At present, a new round of industrial revolution is emerging on a global scale. China is transforming from a large manufacturing nation to a powerful manufacturing nation. Intelligent manufacturing is an important starting point. HGTECH established an intelligent manufacturing headquarters last year to leverage its software and hardware integration capabilities to serve as a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Several Chinese manufacturing benchmark companies such as the Heavy Industry Group, Baoqiao Group under China Railway Group and Sany Heavy Industry Group have built smart production lines and intelligent factories to help enterprises transform and upgrade, and establish more healthy manufacturing ecosystem.

Why use the bridge industry as a breakthrough? The person in charge of the Intelligent Manufacturing Headquarters stated that on the one hand, in order to consolidate chinese international leading position in the bridge industry and complete the transformation from a large steel structure manufacturing nation to a powerful steel structure manufacturing nation , there is an urgent need for a group of exemplary intelligent factories; on the other hand, bridges are traditional ,and the leading industry in infrastructure construction is responsible for its intelligent transformation, which is a challenge and an opportunity, allowing HGTECH to seek development from a higher starting point.

HGTECH will increase technology research and development on the basis of improving the level of intelligent transformation of the bridge industry in the future, focusing on cultivating comprehensive high-end talents, and promote the implementation of intelligent manufacturing overall solutions in more industries such as shipping and 3C, and follow the wave of digital economy.