Best Marine Design Software for Hull Modeling? (2008-09)

[CGN]

Powershape??...i tried the free version nothing but crashes, memory hog and feels like is not finished or polished, reminds me of ashlar vellum.

If the cost is close to catia does not means is good IMO it's almost as stealing

[Protosys]

hi CGN,
i am not saying its the best software ever. but i work with it almost for 5 years and i think is far best that most in the list above. example: to make fillets in a complex hull for CNC machinning i take about 15 min. in rhino or most softwares its a matter of days... but i must aggree that its not the most stable platform in the world

[Rick Willoughby]

I use Godzilla for underwater hull generation to specified constraints; Michlet for performance determination; Delftship/Freeship for hull rendering and hydrostatic calculations.

I also make use of Excel for more flexible transfer and manipulation of data.

I have found a very useful little program for viewing different 3D formats called PS-Exchange. The software allows me to view different file formats and a pay-for-use conversion to another format.

Rick W.

[PI Design]

We're about to start using Paramarine.

[CGN]

Rick, how much they charge for translation of a file?

What files you translate?

[Protosys]

this are the files Ps exchange can translate from-to:

ACIS
AutoCAD
CATIA
Cimatron
Cimatron Elite
DGK
DMT
I-DEAS
IGES
Inventor
Parasolid
PowerShape Parts
PDF
Pro/Engineer
Rhino
SolidEdge
SolidWorks
STEP
STL
U3D
Unigraphics
VDA-FS

the price is 50€ per translation. if you are interested please let me know.

[CGN]

Thanks i was asking rick because maybe Viacad can work for him for 100us it can read and translate most of the neutral files

[masalai]

The apps rick uses are open source or freeware - I have them too...

[CGN]

No the PS-Exchange, you can install it and use it as a viewer but when you need to translate a file then you need to pay, all i was suggesting is that for neutral formats (read-modify-write) viacad can be an alternative instead of paying for translation Viacad cost about 100 bucks and does the job.

[masalai]

Ahhh so... Thanks, that was understood.

[Rick Willoughby]

Originally Posted by CGN

Rick, how much they charge for translation of a file?

What files you translate?

The download is free and this allows you to view the files and print images from the screen dump. I have not yet needed to convert a file. You can set up an account on the web.

It handles about 20 different formats. I have found a couple that it does not look at but it does most of the common CAD formats.

Rick

[nautique210]

so why no Alias users? I find it so much better for surfaces and visualization than Rhino, but it seems to be so popular here.

[CGN]

I will guess mainly because the cost and is quite prohibitive among user in the forum, I know is good with surfacing and visualizations but i don't think it has all the tools and specific plug ins that may attract users to switch to Alias also IMO seems like a memory hog compared with Rhino and another reason may be that the interface is similar to AutoCad and i know for my experience was very easy to start using it (rhino)

Not a bad product at all but IMO rhino is "leaner" and easier to learn for newbies, and in regard of visualization i don't think it matters that much, all you need your renderings are to sell the idea and/or present a concept,

For general ideas "in the fly" like "how do you like this arrangement?" why would you waste the client time and specially money presenting elaborated rendering for simple concepts that all they need is an screen capture of a 3D mock up, I mean it will be nice to have it all in one click but is not happening like that in an affordable way.

[nautique210]

hey, i agree totally with what you say. just with the visualization, i mean in creating a higher quality surface and associated tools to help achieve that, all long after the concept is finalized.

[3dyachts]

Sorry, but since the question concerns "hull design software", I think it should mention Fastship (or Fastyacht), which is not part of Rhino but of Rhino Marine bundle.
Rhino is not - and not intended as - a hull design software per se, although using the same NURBS as Fastship/ yacht, since it lacks the basic hydrostatic calculations. Moreover, Fastship/ yacht will ensure more fair shape than Rhino, the control points system being different.
So, sorry floks: I cannot vote...!