Hull plate development

[scormack]

I have been using maxsurf and workshop for 7 years now and plated around 100 boats with great success. At my last company I had Workshop Pro but now only Workshop/p (plating only). I thought this would be fine as we use solid work or VX Works for hull internals which allows a lot greater detail then full workshop. The big problem I have is that I used to use stringers in workshop pro to produce curved plate edges. Since switching to workshop/P I had to start modeling surfaces in maxsurf to intersect the hull in the desired curve or use my old, now un licenced version of worshop/pro, to do the plating. This is now causing problems and I decided I would have to get a new copy of workshop pro. I am now reconsidering as it is an extra £2000 just to get curved plate edges which I believe should be a basic function of the plating software.

Does anyone have any suggestions of other plating software either including modeling packages or which can import Maxsurf IGES files? Or a cracked up to date version of workshop pro. I would normally not entertain such a consideration but I have asked Formation to allow curved plates to no avail and I cannot justify another £2000 on top of the £11,000 I have already paid for the software which allows you to plate a boat like a brick house.

[Andrew Mason]

Simon

I appreciate that you don't have access to the stringer paths as plate boundaries in Workshop/P, however you have a lot of other options for plate boundaries.

Were you aware that in addition to using surface edges, sections, waterlines, buttocks and diagonals for plate edges, you could also use the suface's iso-parametric lines, intersection lines with other surfaces, as well as completely arbitrary inclined planes (using the inclined sections option).

These give a large number of options for creating plate seams and butts, so there should be no need to plate your boat like a brick wall.

regards

Andrew

[scormack]

Andrew,

Thanks for your reply. I am aware of the flexibility offered by the various contours. I can create plates edges as I want by creating surfaces in maxsurf and using the intersection lines. The problem here is when I get it wrong and have to go back to maxsurf move the surface then back to workshop and the result is I do not tailor the plates as well and the final result is not as good.

The reason the flexibility offered by the stringers is so important to me is that I detail kits for other designers who give very little leeway on hull lines modification so I am for example plating a non-developable bulbous bow on a 15m boat which has to be formed and fitted by a yard with a simple set of inline rolls.

Example of the tight bow to be formed in single rolles:
http://www.parkol.freeserve.co.uk/co...eye%20view.jpg

I can use inclined sections for round chines etc. with good effect but genuinely find it more effiecient to use my old workshop Pro for doing the bow and then use a copy of the model in the current workshop/P for the rest of the plating.

I wouldn't get too worried though I will probably end up shelling out for the full version as I have seen nothing which can do what I want and trust enough to chop up someone else's steel. It just seems a lot for this wee bit of extra flexibility but possibly I'm the only person who wants to do it.

[CICCIO]

hi ,
rhinoceros reads maxsurf formats, now the version 3 has a small bug to unroll surfaces, today i read they are working to perfezionate that function in version 4 that is coming out...
Francesco

[scormack]

Thank you for your reply. I experimrnted with Rhino a year ago and compared plates from maxsurf and Rhino and found them to be significantly different and I know the Maxsurf ones work. I also don't think Rhino offeres the flexibility of plate definition that I am looking for.

[Cian Groves]

Simon,

there is a plugin for Rhino called EXPANDER done by Albacore http://www.shipconstructor.com/expander.html which maybe of help.

Cian

[lazeyjack]

try looking up bos and carr boatbuilders in NZ.
they have done some darn complex compound in maxsurf .
they used to work for me, until they started on their own, I would rate them as the best metal boatbuilders in NZ now, they do not use stringers, all transverse framing