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3D Cad News

17 Feb 2022

Digitalization: From Stem to Stern, Ship Design in 3D Digital

Image Courtesy of Robert Allan

3D digital design can save ‘dollars on the deck plate’ during construction while maintaining safety, says to Patrick Ryan, Senior Vice President, Global Engineering and Technology, ABS.Last year ABS, Robert Allan, Signet and USCG collaborated on a project that would be the first commercial vessel in U.S. history to be produced using only 3D models in design and construction for all structures. While the process used to deliver this RAL-designed Advanced Rotortug (ART) is historic…

29 Jun 2020

Navalrocha Shipyard Active Despite COVID-19

(Photo: Navalrocha Shipyard)

Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard is reporting a flurry of activity in 2020 as it navigates the COVID-19 outbreak and prepares for a packed order book in the coming months.Navalrocha commercial director Sergio Rodrigues said the shipyard had recorded several landmarks during a highly memorable period in its history, completing its first multimillion Euro refit for a seismic survey vessel before managing its first ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installation.The projects were accompanied by a series of other deals involving bunker tankers…

03 Apr 2020

HydroComp Launches PropCad 2020

(Image: HydroComp)

HydroComp launched its new PropCad 2020 software for the geometric design of marine propellers. PropCad automatically prepares 2D drawings, 3D CAD models and much more.All HydroComp 2020 products have been upgraded with a new internal code-and-control set. This has increased the speed and stability of the program across existing Window’s platforms. These changes are largely behind the scenes, but users will notice some visual changes in PropCad and HydroComp’s other programs.The Propeller CAD Import utility includes algorithm revisions to greatly increase the supported file-size…

18 Dec 2019

BWTS Retrofits Drive Navalrocha Biz

Paxoi bunker tanker, managed by MM Marine Inc (Photo courtesy of  Navalrocha shipyard)

Portugal's Navalrocha shipyard reports a strong influx of BWTS (Ballast Water Treatment System) retrofit projects for 2020.The shipyard completed its first ever BWTS installation with technical engineering partner Step Consolidated on the Paxoi bunker tanker, managed MM Marine Inc.Navalrocha Commercial Director Sergio Rodrigues said the contract sparked a series of other deals with five more BWTS retrofit projects scheduled for 2020.“The Paxoi installation process was carried out in the last quarter of 2019 during a 16-day drydocking,” he said.

27 Nov 2019

Realizing Virtual Reality in Newbuild Process

Booth VR demonstration at SNAME 2019 (Photo: Robert Allan Ltd.)

Imagine exploring your vessel years before its keel is even laid. What was once a fantasy is now a possibility thanks to VR (virtual reality) technology.How does one get the true sense of scale, perspective, and immersion inherent to being on board a ‘real’ vessel by looking at a 2D drawing or 3D CAD model? You simply can’t. There’s no substitute for the real thing but VR gets you as close as possible with little relative effort and a lot more flexibility. Now clients and designers…

01 Nov 2019

Interview: Cory Wood, VP, Bristol Harbor Group

“You still have to come up with a concept, and literally it can come to us on the back of a napkin. Wherever the idea starts, it must then be boiled down to the specifics. CAD has obviously helped to speed that process along, but in my mind, the implementation of 2D and 3D CAD hasn’t really shortened the entire design process, but it’s allowed us to get a better product.”
Cory Wood, Vice President, Bristol Harbor Group, Inc.

Born at the University of Michigan in the early 1990s, Bristol Harbor Group (BHG) has grown into a diverse and widely respected naval architecture and marine engineering firm. Cory Wood, Vice President and one of the four co-founders of BHG, discusses the companies past and design drivers to power its future.The University of Michigan runs one of the most prestigious naval architecture and marine engineering programs in the country, but when Cory Wood entered U of M, he did so with the intent of becoming an aerospace engineer.

18 Jun 2019

HydroComp PropCad 2019 Released

New features greatly improve process workflow for propeller designers…HydroComp PropCad 2019 includes several new exciting additions to make PropCad more effective and easier to use – whether you’re extracting design data from full 3D CAD files or you’re inputting your own custom distribution data, these new features greatly improve the workflow process for propeller designers, manufacturing engineers, and marine researchers.Full-Screen Mode for 2D Drawings, 3D Models, and ReportsTo support the continuing trend of larger screens and multiple monitors, PropCad has been extended to support a dockable and fully sizable display window. To access this feature…

15 Nov 2018

Digital Feature Extraction with PropCad Premium 2018

A new utility automates feature extraction from 3D CAD data.Marine propellers can last a long time – it is not uncommon to find a vessel running on its original set of propellers. Sometimes, these propellers even outlive the companies that produced them. For example, some large volume propeller manufacturers have permanently closed their doors and patterns, molds, and design data have been scattered to unknown corners of the globe. It’s fair to say that while the propeller manufacturing industry has seen growth…

02 Oct 2018

Exploring Class Approvals, Supported by CAD

ABS software supports designs across most vessel sectors. This pilot project focused on tug and barge designs, producing promising results.Jensen Maritime, the naval architecture and marine engineering arm of Crowley Maritime Corp, and ABS have completed a precedent-setting pilot project using three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) models to support plan reviews for class approval.In what is believed to be an industry first, the innovative pilot was not proprietary to specific brands of CAD software, allowing designers to use the versions with which they are most familiar, or those that are best suited to the design project.Saving Time and MoneyIn eliminating the need to create 2D drawings to submit for the class design-review process…

21 Sep 2018

HydroComp Upgrades PropCad Premium Feature Set

(Image: HydroComp)

The latest release of HydroComp's PropCad 2018 Premium Edition includes a new utility to simplify the extraction of propeller features from full 3D CAD files, drastically reducing the time and effort needed to recreate an existing propeller or product model.HydroComp, a Durham, N.H. based maritime software and consultancy services provider, released the new utility as part of the PropCad Premium feature set. The Import CAD File utility provides a way to reverse the propeller design process, allowing for the rapid extraction of propeller design data from 3D geometries.

22 May 2018

Interview: Darren Larkins - CEO, SSI

Darren Larkins (Photo: SSI)

SSI CEO Darren Larkins, together with President & CTO Denis Morais, acquired ownership of the shipbuilding software development company from founder Rolf Oetter effective March 1, 2018. The two longtime employees have been managing SSI for the past seven years and have been entrenched in all aspects of the company’s day-to-day operations for even longer. Larkins, SSI’s fifth employee in 1999, said that through the years he and Morais have done “pretty much everything that SSI does at some point.” He added…

11 Sep 2017

3D Printed Ship’s Propeller Prototype Produced

(Photo: Damen)

A prototype of the world’s first class approved ship’s propeller manufactured using 3D printing techniques has been produced by a cooperative consortium of companies that includes Damen Shipyards Group, Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing LAB (RAMLAB), Promarin, Autodesk and Bureau Veritas. The 1,350mm diameter propeller – named WAAMpeller – was fabricated from a Nickel Aluminium Bronze (NAB) alloy at RAMLAB in the Port of Rotterdam. The propeller was produced with the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) method using a Valk welding system and Autodesk software.

31 Aug 2017

Damen Begins New Tug Build for Saqr Ports

(Photo: Damen)

A keel-laying ceremony was held on August 28 at Damen Shipyards Sharjah for a new ASD Tug 2913 for Saqr Ports, part of Rash Al Khaimah (RAK) Ports. Damen will deliver the vessel to RAK Ports next year, in time for the opening of a new bulk terminal at Saqr Port, the main bulk-handling port in the Middle East. RAK Ports required a tug that was both compact and powerful, in order to handle the large carriers that will call at the port. The keel-laying was attended by Captain Brand…

07 Aug 2017

Photogrammetry Accelerates Creation of Marine Enclosures

Photo of pattern imported into PhotoModeler

Costa Marine Canvas specializes in producing high end, custom marine furniture, soft goods, enclosures and covers. One of the most difficult of those tasks is creating windscreen enclosures for large and complex fly-bridge structures. A typical flybridge enclosure might have five 5-foot tall panels, ranging in various lengths, and combined to be 20 feet or more. While basic in appearance, each panel consists of 20 or more complex pieces of various materials fastened together by adhesives and sewing to fit and fasten to the bridge structure.

05 May 2017

CFD Simulation of a Fully Featured Offshore Platform Model

(Photo: Hydrocean)

CFD simulations of offshore oil and gas platforms are used to predict the maximum wind loads acting on the structure of the platform topsides (the upper half of the platform, above sea level and outside the splash zone, including the oil production plant, the accommodation block and any drilling equipment). The wind loads are used as waves and current loads to design the mooring of the structure, and can be significant in specific ocean areas. Because platform topside geometries were traditionally considered too complex to mesh in high detail…

06 Mar 2017

ShipConstructor Drives Automatic Welding Robots

The last barrier to robotic shipbuilding has just fallen. What comes next will be truly exciting. It wasn’t too long ago that SSI and Wolf Robotics demonstrated some co-development which automatically drove a fully autonomous welding robot to weld several ship panels. SSI develops Autodesk based solutions for the shipbuilding and offshore industry including ShipConstructor software, an AutoCAD based CAD/CAM product line; and EnterprisePlatform, a tool for sharing product data model information. For its part, Wolf Robotics has been integrating robotic welding and cutting systems since 1978. The collaboration was part of a National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Computer Aided Robotics Welding (CAR-W) project with U.S. shipyards.

09 Feb 2017

ClassNK Updates PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) Software

ClassNK has released the latest version of its design support software PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) Ver.4.0.0., developed in response to the IACS Common Structural Rules for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers (CSR BC & OT). The new version incorporates the latest rule amendments to CSR BC & OT and in order to speed up design evaluation, shortens the calculation times in the prescriptive calculation software and offers a new function to preview reports in the direct strength assessment software, improving overall performance and usability. The new version, PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) Ver. 4.0.0., builds on ClassNK’s existing software by enhancing a number of features.

20 Oct 2016

Overcoming the Propeller Supply Bottleneck

Image: Hydrocomp

Hydrocomp’s ProCad facilitates in-house Process Control of Propeller Design and Manufacture. Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. (MARTAC) is a Florida-based company building next-generation unmanned vessels for military applications. In preparation for the “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) military exercises in Pearl Harbor this last July, MARTAC needed a new propeller design for their MANTAS series high-speed vessels. Unfortunately, their current supplier was not meeting delivery schedules for the high-quality surface-piercing propellers that they need…

06 May 2016

BMT Delivers CFD Study for FPSO

BMT Fluid Mechanics (BMT)

BMT Fluid Mechanics (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd., completed a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study for an oil major operating offshore Nigeria. BMT reports that its scope of work included an assessment of the current loading to which the FPSO hull is subjected to, which has enabled the oil major to ensure its mooring systems are fit for purpose. “CFD is becoming more commonplace in the oil and gas sector with many customers recognizing it to be an effective tool for solving challenges the industry faces in a less conservative and more efficient manner…

02 Feb 2016

Creating Patterns with PropCad Premium

Pattern Corrections is used to expand and thicken propeller designs to create machining models and casting patterns. Individual control is provided for separate blade parameters. (Image: HydroComp)

HydroComp announced its PropCad software for the geometric modeling of marine propellers has receieved an upgrade. Now, PropCad Premium introduces another powerful feature, the Pattern Corrections tool. HydroComp’s Pattern Corrections tool reduces manipulation of the propeller design within a 3D CAD tool. Pattern Corrections allows users to directly specify machine stock and shrinkage to create machining models, casting patterns and mold geometries. An advantage is that these corrections are applied directly to the propeller parameters…

18 Jan 2016

ClassNK: New Software System for Container Carriers

(PRESS RELEASE) ClassNK released its new structural design support system PrimeShip-HULL for Container Carriers to correspond with its latest rule amendments. To promote container carrier safety, ClassNK released amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships on December 25, 2015. The amendments, based on findings from ClassNK’s investigation into a large container carrier casualty, include updates to independent longitudinal strength requirements and reflect the new IACS Unified Requirements (UR) S11A and S34. These amendments will apply to container carriers contracted for construction on or after 1 April 2016, three months before the application of the IACS UR S11A and S34.

25 Nov 2015

SSI Hires Holder for US Sales

SSI has hired CAD/CAM specialist Robert Holder as part of its sales force in the U.S. market. According to SSI, the hiring is intended to meet the expanding demand for SSI's design and manufacturing solutions in the shipbuilding and offshore industries. Holder, SSI's new Sales Account Executive for Enterprise Solutions, will help businesses assess SSI’s expanded capabilities, including the expanded ShipConstructor CAD/CAM product line, EnterprisePlatform product line and new pricing options that SSI now offers. He will be based in the Gulf Coast Region but will provide technical consultation to the shipbuilding and offshore industry throughout the United States.

23 Nov 2015

Cadmatic Used for Alaska Ferry Design

The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) has awarded the Alaska Class Ferry project to Vigor Alaska shipyard in Ketchikan, Alaska, where construction is currently underway. Providing production design for the ferry is Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy Glosten, who along with Vigor Alaska, are two of Cadmatic’s newest customers in the U.S. Delivering its design in the imperial unit versions of both Cadmatic Hull and Outfitting, Glosten’s production design of the Alaska Class Ferry represents the premiere application of Cadmatic 3D CAD/CAM engineering software in the northern U.S. The 280-foot, 300-passenger, 53-vehicle Alaska Class Ferry will primarily transit the Lynn Canal and shorter AMHS routes in Southeast Alaska.