Best Marine Design Software for Hull Modeling? (2007)

"Q) Im familar with 3d modeling and engineering processes. But Im just an amateur boat builder and I want to design my own runabout. Which software is good for that? I just want to model a boat and have it crap out some prints for me such as ribs and dimensional data........"

A) Especially if you are thinking of building your runabout out of sheet metal, I would recommend using the Maxsurf Suite since it combines hull design and plate developement. You would need Maxsurf and Workshop for this. You can probably get away with using the lower cost limited editions of these applications: Maxsurf/T and Workshop/S
See: http://www.formsys.com/support/know...dgebase/faq/maxsurf5#id8jZXacxHvFj0h14krj56GA
and
http://www.formsys.com/support/know...gebase/faq/workshop3#idjhsCvEOm_nf4vGFsnwbcng

Both these applications can export 2D&3D DXF (or points if you really want to, but why?) of frame shapes (sections) through the hull surface. From Maxsurf you can also export a 3D Mesh or IGES which could be used for CNC milling machines.

Maxsurf also allows you to quickly calculate hydrostatic data such as LCB, Cb, Cp, Displacement & produce curve of areas graphs. If you need further Hydrostatic analysis capabilities you can easily add Hydromax to your Maxsurf suite later on.

 

Develop metal boat parts with Workshop?

You want to develop the hull plates with Workshop?
Well I have a question for Mr Mason.
If I designed a small (20ft) planing hull in Maxsurf. The chine and keel would run parallel (14 deg dead-rise mid-ship to aft). The keel is parallel to the base.
If I develop the bottom hull plates in Workshop, it produces patterns with a curved line along the keel?
Yes the chine is curves but the keel line should be straight.

I'm not baging your program but I don't believe it is suitable for developing small boats, it has too many bell & whistles for the small boat-builder.
I have tested a number of design programs and nearly all have this same development problem.

 

Don't know if this helps, but in TouchCAD you have an interaction between the 3D model and the flat panels, and you can even move 3D points and instantly see the result in the Unfold view. This five dimensional approach often helps to fix such small problems.

www.touchcad.com

 

Jbaker I think you might be misinterpreting the situation, have you tried to make a model of this to see if it fits. Aft sections rolled out could be straight but forward sections must be curved to match the 3D curvature of the bow sections. An extreme example is of a pipe cut at an angle, if you unroll the pipe surface you get a bell curve edge to match the 3D points of the straight cut.

 

Rhino, Older Newer

I could not open a file sent from later Rhino, in my VS 2, Why did the rhino gurus decide upon this tack?

 

As new geometry types and features are added to Rhino there is no way for the older version of Rhino to understand these geometries that didn't exist when that version was written. For example, Rhino 4 has nested layers and clipping plane objects. These didn't exist in Rhino 3.

You should be able to run File->Save As... in Rhino 3 or 4 and select Rhino 2 model.

Thanks,
-Steve

 

well thats what I,m asking how would I save in 3-4 if I have only 2?
thanks for explanation, I guess is an Extraction tool? for dollars

 

I'm confused. Are you unable to open a file created by Rhino 2 in Rhino 3/4 -or- are you unable to open a file created in Rhino3/4 in Rhino 2?

If you are unable to open a file created by Rhino 2 in Rhino3/4, this sounds like a bug and I need to figure out what is going on.

If you are trying to open a file created by Rhino3/4 in Rhino 2, then the user of Rhino3/4 needs to save the file as a Rhino 2 file.

Thanks,
-Steve

 

thanks Steve, I can see how I confused you, I confuse even moi, but I understand now

 

yikes, the rhino software is very expensive according to what's in my wallet! All I want to design is a bow with shelving inside it. The bow would be hung on the wall. The front of the bow would open like a door, lets say the bow is 4' tall, so about 8" down and 8" up from top and bottom and maybe 10" back on each side is the door, so it's like a v shaped door that opens up. I want 1/4" thick planking on the sides and a bowsprit that sticks out the top, so if the bow is 20" deep, the bowsprit would be around 40", hopefully a bit less. I'm guessing a few ribs, a nice thick exposed beam curving the keel up to the top and a matching thick bowsprit. Like a pirate ship is crashing through my house, that's what I really need. Any suggestions on software or how I can design that on a cheap budget? If the weight is fractionally unbalanced, it won't matter

 

ViaCad form PunchCAD is similar to Rhino for 100 US, or use moi3D for free while in beta, also for that there are free low cost polygon modelers that may work, go to polyloop.net an dlook for amapi v5 or v6 is free.

all have some learning curve but should work for what you want to do

 

Hi,

If the question is : what's the best software to draw a hull ? . The answer is all softwares can do that ! but few do a good hull , well faired .

But , if the question is: what's the best sofware to draw a boat ? the answer could be RHINO or CATIA v5 , for a small boat. It depend the time , the money and the knowledge you have to design this boat. It depend also if it's for a large production yard like BENETEAU or just a ONE-OFF.

For my part , I actually use CATIA v5, RHINO 4 and SOLIDWORKS 2007, pro-line 98 too. I've worked for the new OCEANIS range for BENETEAU under CATIA v5 , I designed megayacht for Mr ESPEN OEINO under rhino3 and now multisailing boat for ALLIAURA MARINE under SOLIDWORKS and RHINO 3 . ALL are differents , all bring new or differents posibilities like CFD , renderings , 2d drawing , PLM , associative works and many more .

I think results are the same but it could take more or less time between those softwares . And when you think about the difference between what you draw and what is really build !

Sincerely

JD

 

CATIA is a powerful program for a major design office, yes. But don't you think it's a bit expensive for what it is, especially from the perspective of a typical designer who isn't making $180k a year?

 

hi Mr marshmat,

what sort of do you design ?

It really depend on what do use 3d for .But if you take one license of SW 2007 plus one license of full AUTOCAD 2008 , you will be in the price of CATIA v5 with a correct license ( it's about 9000 € + 2000 €/year).

jd

 

Has CATIA come down in price then, or is it just cheaper over there? (France is its home turf after all.) Last I checked it was on the order of $20,000+ Canadian (14,000 euro at yesterday's rates).