Fairings
Problem:
Prior fairings weighed less than 100 pounds and were handled manually, due to a larger fairing size a handling device was needed to complete the operation. The operator must transport the heavy and awkward fairing from the container to the riser, which is more than 50 feet. The riser is also in an open well bay and has a safe zone that operators must remain clear of.
Application:
A container holding multiple fairings is placed on the deck. The fairing must then be moved to the riser, opened to a dimension that will allow it to wrap around the buoyancy module that is attached to the riser and lifted into position to sit in a groove on the buoyancy module. The fairing is then compressed to mechanically lock it onto the buoyancy module.
Solution:
Several options were presented to the team and were narrowed to find the best solution to fit the application. A custom cart was developed to pick up the fairing from the container and transport the fairing to an an Articulated Jib with Vertical Lift Cylinder and custom OD Gripper End-effector. The end-effector picks the fairing off of the custom cart, spreads it to go around the buoyancy module and presses the fairing together to lock it onto the buoyancy module. The process is then reversed to remove it from the buoyancy module.