MALAMA in brief

Laser technology is part of the digital transition in the marine industry

The MALAMA project, The surface preparation of the surface to be painted in the Marine context, has been developed to meet the need for advanced laser-based cleaning, surface treatment, polishing and texturing in the shipbuilding industry. Laser beam is used in a number of different material processing processes and is typically a truly digital machining method. Applications are numerous, and in many cases, the laser-based process is displacing traditional technology as it is environmentally friendly, economic, and digital.

Objectives

The preparation of the surface to be painted and the cleaning of the surface before painting are done in several stages in the shipbuilding industry. The work is typically a heavy, dirty, and difficult craft with a substantial and vague carbon footprint. The project aims to explore the potential of advanced laser-based cleaning, surface treatment, polishing, and texturing technology and bring the surface preparation to the level required by shipbuilding applications so that the potential of the technology is known economically and from the environmental aspect. The project will in particular target companies in the maritime cluster and packaging industry as well as other technology industry clusters and stakeholders potentially benefiting from the technology.

In addition, the MALAMA project aims to study and compare shot blasting technology and laser processing, especially from the perspectives of their environmental impact and economy. It will test the suitability of advanced laser-based cleaning, surface treatment, polishing, and texturing technologies and later, based on the laboratory results, test the most promising laser processing in a real operating environment. The project also aims to identify the most economically advantageous laser processing in the context of shipbuilding and analyse the effects of the introduction of digital technologies on companies’ business models, especially from the economic point of view.

Funding

The MALAMA project is a project co-funded by the European Union and implemented by the Pori Unit of the Turku School of Economics (TSE Pori) and the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering of the University of Turku (project code A80056). The funding authority is the Regional Council of Satakunta from the EU Regional and Structural Policy Programme ”Innovation and Skills in Finland 2021–2027”.

The project duration is 1 May 2023 to 30 April 2025.

Additional information

Additional information:

Professor Antti Salminen, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, antti.salminen@utu.fi

Senior Research Scientist, D.Sc. (Tech.), Adjunct Professor, Additive Manufacturing and Laser Materials Processing, Heidi Piili, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering,   heidi.piili@utu.fi, mob. +358 50 473 4723

Project Manager Kirsi Laitio, Turku School of Economics, Pori unit (TSE Pori), kirsi.laitio@utu.fi, mob. +358 40 7799 483