Amid the wave of Industry 4.0, Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry Co., Ltd. is actively embracing digitalization, gradually shifting traditional shipbuilding drawings and on-site experience into a virtual world driven by data and models, achieving a transformation of "design as you build, see what you get."
1. Single-Source 3D Integrated Design
Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry Co., Ltd. has fully deployed a 3D Computer-Aided Design (3D CAD) platform and broken down the data barriers between design, process, and production.
Collaborative Design: Designers from all disciplines — hull, machinery, electrical, and outfitting — work in parallel on the same 3D model. Any modification made by one discipline is instantly visible to others, and interference checks are performed automatically. This completely resolves the "pipe clashes" commonly seen in traditional 2D drawings.
Direct Extraction of Production Information: The design model is no longer just a drawing; it becomes a data source containing all manufacturing information. The system can directly generate code for CNC cutting machines and automatically output part drawings, nesting plans, block division diagrams, and pipe bending data. This achieves a seamless transition from "design model" to "production instructions."
2. Virtual Simulation: Building the Ship in the Computer First
Before actual steel cutting and welding begin, Haizhongzhou's engineers simulate and verify key construction processes in a virtual environment.
Process Simulation: Simulate the lifting, turning, and welding of large block assemblies, analyze structural stress changes and the rationality of lug arrangement, and avoid potential process risks.
Logistics and Yard Simulation: Use discrete event simulation software to model the entire logistics process of blocks from workshop to storage yard to dock, optimize transportation routes and yard resource allocation, and prevent production bottlenecks.
Assembly Simulation: Simulate personnel assembly paths and tool accessibility in narrow, complex areas such as engine rooms and pump rooms, ensuring that the design has good "constructability" and "maintainability."
3. Data-Driven Management
Haizhongzhou's Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is integrated with its 3D design platform and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Each block and each pallet is assigned a unique QR code. Workers scan the QR code to view the 3D model, process documentation, and quality standards for that component on their terminals. Production progress is reported back in real time, enabling management to grasp the overall production status in "real time" rather than relying on "weekly reports."