3D Design or 2D

[stonecutter]

Hi,
New to this forum and wanted to do a quick straw poll on design.
Are people designing completely in 3D (ie Modeling hull, general arrangements, structure etc in 3D) or are people Modeling hull in 3D but then reverting to 2D for the GA's etc...

[maodou]

Initial design use 2D,product design use 3D and 2D,low people can use 3D design and revert to 2D for approve,because building 3D is long time,no one can do it truley for once

[magwas]

I design in 3D with FreeShip, then move to 2D by exporting the plate developments and linesplan. I add build-related details (like stitch hole positions) in 2D.
Drawings for scantling purposes are made in 2D.
But I do not count as I am just a hobby builder who only built models yet.

[bhnautika]

Stonecutter I do a 3d model of the complete boat then take 2d drawings from that. In the process of doing the 3d model I also use 2d drawings (example, interior lay) as the start of some of the 3d modelling.

[LyndonJ]

If you use CAD you'd be bonkers to not use a 3D package.

The best one for boat design is Rhinoceros reffered to as Rhino. You'll get lots of help here using that application. Theres's also basic hydrostatics included.

[marshmat]

I start with pencil, paper and calculator until the general idea is fleshed out. Sometimes I'll go even more primitive and use a slide rule (yes, I know they went the way of the dodo ten years before I was born).

Once I have some idea what the solution is going to look like, I'll switch to 3D CAD (Rhino's my favourite, but I also use Freeship, SolidEdge and several others). The speed and accuracy alone make it worthwhile; being able to place virtual people in the model, directly verify sight lines and clearances, find odd pockets of space to use more efficiently- all that is a bonus.

I've dealt with a few shops that like to fabricate directly from 3D models on CNC equipment, but even the most high-tech of them still want 2D drawings. And, of course, annotating 3D models with callouts, references to spec sheets, etc. is tedious and doesn't work too well unless the guy on the shop floor is wearing VR goggles everywhere he goes. So once the model is roughly complete, I prefer to do final detailing in 2D CAD.

I should note that marine design is not my profession, just a hobby- my "real work" lies elsewhere.

[Willallison]

I would run with both bhnautica's and Matt's comments. I do all my preliminary sketches using old fashioned paper & pencil (I would definitely draw the line at using a slide rule though!!:p )
I then make a 3D model of the hull, move that to Rhino and complete the 3D modelling there. 2D drawings are taken from that.
The extent to which you model in 3D depends somewhat on 1) the construction techniques and 2) the client - some require the production of 'pretty' looking 3D pictures, others don't.
Full 3D models are definitely becoming more common

[xy2010]

I think wheter 3D is advanced,the accurate 2D drawing is pre-requisite