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Milling a 100m fishing boat ?

daliss

Plastic
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
I hope not to be laughed off the forum, but would like to ask how far away we are from the practicality of milling seafaring vessels from a solid block of metal alloy?

I read the cost of a single metric tonne of Aluminium is approximately $1500 as of January 2021, so lets say that I need a fishing vessel around 100m long, and let's just say 50mt, that's a really good deal.

But, can a single solid high grade piece of aluminium be smelted at that size, let along machinery to mill it ?
 
Nothing is impossible. It's just a matter of how much time and MONEY you are willing to throw at the project. They used to carve canoes from a solid piece of wood, but they stopped doing that because it was quicker, easier and more cost effective to assemble one from pieces.
 
I hope not to be laughed off the forum, but would like to ask how far away we are from the practicality of milling seafaring vessels from a solid block of metal alloy?

I read the cost of a single metric tonne of Aluminium is approximately $1500 as of January 2021, so lets say that I need a fishing vessel around 100m long, and let's just say 50mt, that's a really good deal.

But, can a single solid high grade piece of aluminium be smelted at that size, let along machinery to mill it ?

Why not just fusion weld one from poly ?
 
I hope not to be laughed off the forum, but would like to ask how far away we are from the practicality of milling seafaring vessels from a solid block of metal alloy?

I read the cost of a single metric tonne of Aluminium is approximately $1500 as of January 2021, so lets say that I need a fishing vessel around 100m long, and let's just say 50mt, that's a really good deal.

But, can a single solid high grade piece of aluminium be smelted at that size, let along machinery to mill it ?

How many aluminum cans do you have?
 
A block that size you need to make your own foundry Then a roller Why cast a big block Blocks are the hardest to cast
And then mill out tbe most part Easier to cast it from the beginning in shape Not that that would be possible So yes You are dreaming
Peter
 
The reason why is simply skills and labour costs, as well as technical ability. We don't have masons carving gargoyles into buildings any longer, but to CNC one from stone would be far cheaper and more reliable, it's just progress.

Are there any facilities that could create a block of high grade aluminium 100m (L) x 20m (W) x 20m (H) ?

I envisage several arms milling simultaneously, how long would something like that take with say two drills ?

As for additive manufacturing, I don't know how durable that would be on the high seas, perhaps with the UV bonding method in liquid ?
 
It would be easy to machine. You would just would mount your Smithy to the dock with a few Black & Decker squeeze clamps, then turn it on. Next, you'd float the aluminum past, the depth of cut being set by how close you sailed to the dock, and the rate of speed would be simply how fast you sailed. When you were done, you could paint it in a similar fashion using your Wagner Airless sprayer, and then you could add decoration to the hull with your rhinestone Bedazzler. Finally, a little Vajazzling on yourself would finish the job!vaj.jpg
 
It would be easy to machine. You would just would mount your Smithy to the dock with a few Black & Decker squeeze clamps, then turn it on. Next, you'd float the aluminum past, the depth of cut being set by how close you sailed to the dock, and the rate of speed would be simply how fast you sailed. When you were done, you could paint it in a similar fashion using your Wagner Airless sprayer, and then you could add decoration to the hull with your rhinestone Bedazzler. Finally, a little Vajazzling on yourself would finish the job!View attachment 315529

I think long before the Smittys drill bit hit the work the chunk of beer can grade billet would sink.

Great idea but one minor oversight :crazy:

The Vajazzling is a nice touch though. Prob best to just skip to that step and claim victory
 
I don't know why everyone thinks it is a stupid question. I mean, I would say 100% not practical, but possibly doable, but as mentioned, not sure why?



Back to the question in general, obvious the OP doesn't know anything about machining, but at least he asked unlike some clowns around here that ask/tell us how they are going to do it with no knowledge at all. I meet people that have no idea that you can even cut "metal"....
 
I don't know why everyone thinks it is a stupid question. I mean, I would say 100% not practical, but possibly doable, but as mentioned, not sure why?



Back to the question in general, obvious the OP doesn't know anything about machining, but at least he asked unlike some clowns around here that ask/tell us how they are going to do it with no knowledge at all. I meet people that have no idea that you can even cut "metal"....

Many thanks. It is common for folk to poke fun, this usually happens.

The only way to make ship building competitive on cost, and sustainable, is to robotasise the process, as with everything else. I simply judged additive manufacturing to be less reliable than subtractive, which is known for its durability. If it were milled from a single block of metal for example there would be no issue with leaks, and the fit and finish would be perfect, every time, with no strikes, pay hikes, or limit on output.
 
OK lets do a little BOE* math here just to visualize the scale of this operation:

1. First a few simplifying assumptions like there already exists a milling machine of the scale to handle this job and it has already been bought and paid for and tooling is cheap etc... Make it easy and asy it is a travelling gantry with a 100+ meter bed and can handle a piece of stock square in cross section that is say... 20 meters square. For simplicity assume a beam (width) of 20 meters and overall height (masts, if any, can be added) is 20 meters. We will need a density also... typically 6061 Aluminum alloy is 2.70 grams per cubic centimeter (2.70 g/cm^3)

So a block of aluminum 100 meters X 20 meters X 20 meters. How much aluminum IS that and how much will it cost at $1500 per metric ton ($1500/1000kg)

2. Volume of 100m X 20m X 20m = 40,000 m^3 (Forty thousand cubic meters of aluminum)
which in cubic centimeters is:
Vcc = 40,000m^3 X 100^3cm^3/m^3 = 40,000,000,000cm^3 = 4X10^10cm^3 (Forty billion cubic centimeters of aluminum)

3. How much will it weigh?
Mass of Aluminum = 2.7g/cm^3 X 4X10^10cm^3 X kg/1000g X metric ton/1000kg = 108,000 metric tons of aluminum

4. How much will that cost at $1500/metric ton?
Cost of Aluminum = $1500/1000kg X 108,000(1000kg) = $162,000,000 = (One hundred sixty two million dollars.)

All that aluminum which will mostly be turned into chips which is why we don't usually build a ship this way. If "billets" of aluminum this size were growing out of the ground and the tools to "harvest", transport, handle and machine it were common it might be practical but that is not the way reality is.

*BOE (Back Of Envelope) BOE calculations are something engineers do all the time to figure out if an idea is feasible before they spend too much time on it. This idea, as presented, is not feasible either economically or practically. We have been building ships (or boats) for at least ten thousand years. Big ones for at least three thousand years. Except for small dugouts and a few toy models we have not found it practical to make them up from solid.

-DU-
 








 
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