Maxsurf News

In connection with an order of a series of 10 new 13,800 TEU container vessels from the world’s largest shipbuilding company Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the global container transportation company APL requested DNV Maritime Advisory to cooperate with the shipyard to ensure superior hull efficiency of the vessels. Ships used to be optimized for the design point (i.e. to give the best performance at the design draft and speed); however, the ship seldom sails in that condition.

Bentley’s latest SACS release provides advanced visualization of motions prediction & expanded offshore wind turbine analysis. SACS version 5.5 is software that expands installation capabilities, integrates new wind turbine platform design functionality, and introduces floating analysis for offshore vessels. Leveraging Australia-based Bentley’s November 2011 acquisition of Perth-based FormSys and its Maxsurf technology, these SACS release enhancements provide integrated workflows between offshore vessel modeling and structural analysis of motion induced loads, unmatched visualization of vessel motions – including real-time rendered animation of vessel motions in irregular wave conditions – and best-in-class coverage of offshore steel design codes optimized for large, complex structures.

Bentley Systems acquired FormSys, based in Perth, Australia. This software development company has a proven, 20-year track record in 3D design, analysis, and construction software for structural engineering, offshore engineering, and naval architecture. The acquisition will expand Bentley’s SACS offerings for the design and analysis of floating structures, further extending the company’s reach in the offshore energy market. SACS is an integrated finite element structural analysis suite of programs that uniquely supports the design, fabrication, installation, operations, and maintenance of offshore structures, including oil platforms and wind farms. Thirty-eight years of focus on these specialized requirements have made SACS the analysis mainstay for most of the world’s offshore engineers.

The recent growth of the Brazilian shipbuilding industry, with the construction of more than 20 new shipyards and efforts to modernize older shipyards, has highlighted the need for more efficient ship design and construction methods. With the increased reliance on production line automation, ship design software has become even more important. Maritime Reporter and Engineering News spoke with Mr. Bruno França,CEO of  Brazilian IT company Sincronia and ShipConstructor representative in Brazil, about the relevance of CAD based ship design software in the new Brazilian shipbuilding industry. Please tell us a little about yourself and your company (Sincronia)? My name if Bruno França, I am CEO of Sincronia.

The vessels Gelatik, Peregrin, Cocabora and Colibri 1, on order from Indonesia’s Baruna Raya, have recently been delivered ahead of schedule by Strategic Marine’s Singapore yard. Owner    PT. Operator    PT. SART    McMurdo SART radar transponder. 9ghz. A.I.S.

Formation Design Systems has updated its Maxsurf suite of naval architecture software. The new version 13 release adds new functions for analysis of existing vessels and generation of vessel structure. The new features in version 13 of Maxsurf will help both monohull and multihull designers. They include automated fitting of existing designs, enhanced stability criteria, motions prediction of catamarans and improved generation of hull structure.

Scheduled for a September 2003 release, the next major revision of the 3-D product modeling software for shipbuilding and offshore platforms from Albacore Research Ltd., ShipConstructor2004, will include a full Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning module (HVAC). HVAC is a fully integrated member of the ShipConstructor suite of Structure, Automatic and Manual Nest, NC Code generation, Outfit, Pipe, Fairing, and Lofting tools. To facilitate automatic report generation, HVAC makes full use of ShipConstructor's SQL Server product database. As with all ShipConstructor modules, HVAC is a full 3-D modeling package; this reduces drafting errors and time-to-production. With ShipConstructor, HVAC ducts are full-featured AutoCAD entities.

Albacore Research Ltd. (ARL) and Australia’s Formation Design Systems (FDS) announced that FDS has become an official dealer of ShipConstructor, ARL’s 3D Product Modeling tool for ships and offshore structures of all sizes and complexities. Rolf G. Oetter, President of ARL, and Philip Christensen, Managing Director of FDS, say that this decision developed as a result of an already-established successful business relationship between the two companies. Mr Christensen explains, “Formation Design Systems currently supplies initial design software to a large number of naval architects and shipbuilders in the Asian and Australian regions.

The idea of a ferry going over the sea to Skye is not a new one, although with the Skye bridge opening a few years ago, it is not an adventure many people undertake these days. A small car ferry operates in the south of the island, and a large car ferry takes people over from Uig in the north west corner of Skye to the Outer Hebridian islands of Lewis and Barra. There had however, long been talk of a possible passenger service linking the North of Skye to the Scottish mainland at Gairloch. A feasibility study was carried out by the local council, after which some local businessmen pulled together to form a new company in 2003 called West Highland Seaways Ltd., trading as 6° West.

Autoship Systems Corporation (ASC) has developed a complete CAD/CAM suite to meet the CAD/CAM needs in marine vessel design and construction, including two key programs in the CAD/CAM suite: Autostructure 3.0 and Production Manager 3.0. Autostructure and Production Manager are key components in the Autoship CAD/CAM suite, offering shipyards complete solutions in structural design, pre-construction drawing preparation and part nesting. Autostructure is used to create a 3D model of a vessel structure and to output the parts of that model in CAD format. The CAD representation can be used either to prepare construction drawings or for input to NC cutting processors.

ShipConstructor Software Inc. (SSI) launched its shipbuilding platform. ShipConstructor 2008 delivers a new standard in advanced AutoCAD-based, three-dimensional product modeling and production planning software. To accomplish these goals, the SC 2008 design team enhanced the parametric modeling functionality introduced in the SC 2006 version, incorporated key data from customer needs analyses, conducted extensive beta testing by long-term users, and undertook a rigorous quality assurance process. In addition, SC 2008 leverages the wealth of AutoCAD capabilities which significantly reduce the time it takes to migrate to a ShipConstructor solution and simplify data exchange with other parties.

Incat Australia Pty. Ltd. is widely regarded as a premier builder of high-speed ferries, and that reputation was enhanced with the production of three wave-piercer catamarans, which hold the distinction of being the fastest ships ever to cross the Atlantic. The two latest, the Catalonia and the Cat-link V are from Incat's line of 299 ft. (91 m) wave-piercer class of fast-ferry vessels. They made their individual record-breaking journeys across the Atlantic within weeks of each other, at the average speeds of 39 knots and 41 knots, respectively. The wave-piercer fast-ferry vessels have been launched from Incat docks in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, since September 1997.