Gonzo,
Not sure if this helps, but in my case, I cannot afford the more expensive packages.
I design my hulls, superstructures, fins, rudders, and bulkhead placements in Delftship and Free!ship and export the model to dxf polylines and dxf 3D mesh.
I import them into Punch! ViaCAD Pro. (2d/3d will do the same, IIRC) and continue my modeling. In DS/FS, can see CGs for the parts, but not moments.
I am one of those who at all costs avoids drawing the ship at random locations in a 2D file with X and Y in a 2D position. I always want X, Y, and Z, and so my ship's origin (in my case, the bow, not the FP, but the extent of the prow/bow/bullnose, and that is to the left on screen, from 0,0,0, going to, not originating from the right, since i don't count or measure from the right), and since it is mass, I want it counted by its distance from amidships, not between FP and AP.
When I want the CG or the moment of any specific item, I just need to make sure it's a solid (plate, sphere, stringer, girder, whatever), and that solid, for me, has to be approximately the shape it is going to be, not just a block or sphere or cylinder, though that is good for most people in the initial stages.
VCP won't give waterlines and floatation information, but I could in any case select the solid, hit my shortcut, and see the moments and CGs info. If I want it all, i can just export it as a delimited file and bring it into my spreadsheets and database apps. But, the ideal solution is one of those expensive apps that has it all built in.
The tedious part is when I decide to further fair the hull, or do something that breaks the relationship between where the deck plate meets the hull sideshell plate. If it were simple surfaces, VCP would regenerate things automatically, but some things need to be redrawn. But, most of the tools make it easy.
As for dragging things around, the app instantly knows where the mass properties are, but the interface doesn't show it during the dragging action.
Cheers!
08-12-2011, 08:01 AM
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