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04 Jan 2021
Propeller Considerations for Inland River Pushboats
Inland river pushboats operate in a harsh environment. Transiting our rivers, bays, lakes and inland waterways, these vessels push barges between hubs of commerce. Swift currents, trash and debris, heavy traffic and narrow waterways are day-to-day realities for these vessels and operators.Pushboats have two typical modes of operation: steady-state (long haul running) and transient-dynamic operations (backing, maneuvering and acceleration).
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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.
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20 Oct 2016
Overcoming the Propeller Supply Bottleneck
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.
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19 Feb 2015
Propellers: One Size and Shape Does Not Fit All
Hydrocomp’s newest release of PropCad incorporates 3 years of enhancements. Propellers are surprisingly complex devices, especially considering most are a solid piece of metal with no moving parts. The variation in vessels and operational requirements leads to wildly different designs, from noise-sensitive propellers for luxury cruiseliners to wide-blade sets for tugs. With different combinations of diameters…