A few weeks ago, a ship arrived at the shipyard without part of the propulsion system on the port side.
So, we had to take out the symmetrical part of the starboard propulsion system to do reverse cloning.
We sent the strut and propeller to a partner company so that the cloning could be done.
Due to time constraints, we machined the shaft and the closing nut of the propulsion system. A spare shaft that was in the engine room had to be adapted, machining its conicity and threading at the end on the propeller side.
In the photos, we can see the machined shaft and the raw material that we used to machine the port nut.
To verify the taper fit of the shaft with the taper of the propeller, the Prussian blue method and emery paste were used, achieving a fit of more than 90%.
The shipyard has a well-equipped mechanical workshop, which makes it easy for us to do this kind of work when needed. We also have qualified professionals who are prepared to do this work. The machines used to do the machining were: the lathe, the reciprocating saw and the milling machine.
This is the final result If you want to see the whole process, you can follow us on our Instagram account: @vmg_vlc