Newbie designer needs advice on proper software

Hi everyone, and thank you for this great forum.
I have been lurking for a very long time and decided to finally join.

I am a passionate sailor, originally from France, and spent a big part of my youth sailing in the Mediterranean with my parents. I was trained as an industrial designer and interior architect, and made a strange transition to videogame then later movies as an art director now in LA which is my current profession designing sets. I understand construction, composite (I used to build my own windsurfs and wakeboards as a kid and teenager), and basics in hydrodynamics.
I have decided that it is time to merge two of my passions, and entertain the dream to maybe one day design my own sailboat. I am not in a hurry, and methodical, so it may take ages for it to happen if ever.

Anyway, I am wondering what may be the best way to test hulls when it comes to softwares. I am a PC guy, and use 3DS max to 3D model (for the last 15 years), which supports IGES exports. I am planning on designing a trimaran cruiser in the vein of the Farrier22/27/24 series and dragonfly 28. So far it seems that Delftship maybe my best option, and I also assume that model making may also be the best solution to test prototypes anyway, but softwares maybe a safe way for me to jump in without too much financial damage.
Thanks for your help on deciding on the proper software.
David

 

If you had AutoCAD you could have got the free version of ARQN by TANSL of these forums.

I mention it only because it isn't unusual to see people who are really into their CAD have more than one, doing certain aspects in one and then finishing off in another (not that I'm a CAD expert).

 

vyleart rather than starting at the beginning with modelling software think about the end product, how is it going to be built, what information is needed to do this. How do I get it out of the box on the desk and on to the shop floor? Will the modelling software do this or do I need an intermediate step. Delftship then on to cad 3d/2d, has worked for some, the choice is up to you.

 

Rhino3D is design software which is very popular for marine design. Rhino3D is NURBS based and has many uses besides marine design. Other popular uses include architecture, jewelry design, shoe design, and design of many other products. Rhino should be quite useful for set design. www.rhino3d.com Rhino3D can be downloaded and used for 90 days without purchasing.

Orca3D is a plug-in for Rhino3D which assists with many boat design tasks and analysis. www.orca3d.com Orca3D can be downloaded and used for 15 days without purchasing.

 

Hi vyleart

I'd second Daivid's suggestion. Rhino is a better true 3D NURB modeller than 3DS, plus it has a shed load of translators. You will also need some 2D software because it is not the greatest at producing 2D drawings, although it will export accurately whatever shapes you need. If you have an understanding of the naval architecture basics it can give you good hull shapes. As usual with any 3D program, getting all the nuances, takes a little time but it is pretty easy to learn, with decent interface. It would allow you to get some stuff CNC (3,4 or 5 axis) cut or 2 and 1/2 axis routed from 3D files.

This is useful because it lets you create proper 2D drawings to say build bulkheads or frame stations correctly. Also there are still quite a lot of 2D things, like floor plans etc thta you will need.

It can be used perfectly well for set design and other design projects including architecture and industrial design. Whilst it may not give the quality rendering of 3DS, it is in many ways a more capable program for the creation of real objects.

 

If you want a more parametric software than Rhino, try MultiSurf.

 

What problems have you found ? I have never had any problems, and the printing options are terrific

 

It is just not a professional drafting tool. It is fine for limited work but too slow and inflexible for quick quality drafting. Like parts with say three primary Datums, tolerances to thousandths of a mm in places. Something like Autocad and similar are much better in this scenario. Dimensioning and notation and ability to create good GA drawings etc are faster and higher quality. This is after all what the higher end 3D packages do well, that's a not insignificant part of their appeal along with the parametric ability.

2D drafting is still pretty useful for certain things, like extrusions, some sheet metal, a lot of turned items and 2 1/2 axis parts. Also useful to work out some of the mechanisms, geometry for 3D modelling. That is one of the good things in Rhino, it's ability to let you use the input directly rather than have it as a background as in other programs. I must have drafted way over one million pounds (sterling) worth of injection moulding parts in tooling terms, in 2D only. Some of these were complex too. Probably done more in 3D with support 2D drawings though, one set of tools alone were over 300k.

 

You are being a bit picky there if you do high end "thousandths of a mm" jobs.

For house plans, boat plans, trailer design, and the 95% of day to day items, I think Rhino is much more than adequate, and totally capable of doing 2d.

Saying that Rhino doesn't do 2D well, is like saying that a Toyota landcruiser doesn't do off roading well, compared to an army specced HumV.

And more importantly, it costs $1000 instead of $12,000.

 

An alternative for 2D drafting which may be useful for "refining" 2D drawings from Rhino is DraftSight by Dassault Systemes http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight/overview/ My understanding is the interface is very similar to AutoCAD's interface. The file format is DWG and it is easy to export 2D data in DWG format from Rhino.

Both free and "professional" versions of DraftSight are available, and a comparison of the two versions is at http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight/buy-draftsight-professional

 

I find it hard to identify any really desirable benefits of that package myself. The inbuilt libraries may be good, but these are usually free from a variety of sites.

 

Both versions of DraftSight or the Professional version?

 

I was thinking of both.

For a commercial operator "Drawing Compare: DrawCompare is used to graphically compare entities between two drawing documents." could be great, but thats what version numbers on drawings are about.


Half of the 'features' are just basic software functionality eg

Product upgrades, new releases and service packs that become available during your entitlement period.

Community Resources: Access to online community support and an abundance of learning resources, including our free "Getting Started Guide."

Search in Options: Simply type your search in the box, and you will be provided with the path to the topic in the Options dialog.

iQuestions Integration: Log into the DraftSight online swYm community to search and ask questions in the iQuestions section.