Best Marine Design Software for Hull Modeling? (2006)

Rhino is the best!

 

Good news free ship will implement IGES,it's a very good program,Rhino is great and will have good 2d tools in next release 4.

 

FREE!ship, now on version 2.5, has indeed implemented IGES (and it works pretty well!) along with a few more features.... http://www.freeship.org/

 

If I'm not wrong it does export to iges but not import...next step?

 

any ideas where I can Find Freeship

 

sorry found it looks good

 

Import Autocad To Freeship

just get mad previous day for importing cad file to feeship , after various try, i tink you can export cad file to rhino then export it as .vrml then import in freeship
or, for chines and clean design, once imported geometry to rhino and extracted rappresentative point, export them as text file , import then in excell using koma for tabulatures, then copy and paste to a new txt file. you have to make this for each chine to obtain the right design in feeship , is usefull expecially if you have lot of points ...
so good work ...

 

SolidWorks?

I use Rhino and RhinoMarine now and I love them. Lately, I've been tinkering with SolidWorks and it has some very interesting features that I think will come in handy

 

SolidWorks

Hi guys,

I am an applications engineer for a SolidWorks reseller. Naturally, I will have a bias towards this software. I'm also enrolled in the Yacht Design program at Westlawn. I'm still in the beginning phases of the program and have had my hand slapped a couple of times for bringing up SolidWorks' capabilities. Believe me, it's difficult to keep the reigns pulled back and follow the required 'old skool' methods. I believe it is important to understand these methods so I don't use SolidWorks on the assignments...at least not the assignments I hand in.

There are some major advantages using SolidWorks vs. the hodge-podge that is currently used, it seems, in the industry.

SolidWorks, aptly named, deals with 'real' solids. This means when you build your models, they are not simply shells. They have thickness and hence physical properties just like the real thing. In fact, it is entirely possible to build (simulate) a lamination schedule in SolidWorks that would match with the way your hull would be built.

And, since everything is a solid, you can assign mass properties. All the parts in an assembly can be analyzed and accurate mass calculations produced with one click. These mass properties include very useful information such as moments of inertia and accurate CG placement.

The surface modeling takes some advanced talent to master, but it's not any more difficult than Rhino.

In addition to this, the 2D stuff is matter-of-fact. SolidWorks generates 2D drawings automatically. That includes section views, details, etc. These drawings are completely compatible with AutoCAD (if you MUST).

However, the real power of this is the associativity. For example, if you build rules into your model, you can make a change, say to the LWL, and it will propogate through the entire model, updating all features based on the rules you build. In addition to this, you can build multiple configurations of a part while maintaining only one model. This associativity applies to the drawings as well. Make a change to a part, or change a major dimension and the 2D drawings, details, sections, etc. update automatically. Thus, producing fully accurate 2D information. Compared to other 2D packages where you may make a change in the overall model but neglect to update dimensions on section or detail views.

SolidWorks retails for $3995 for the base package. This also include a basic FEM package that can be used on individual bodies. This is comparable to buying the 'suites' of sofware mentioned above and you don't have to keep bouncing back and forth.

If anyone is interested in seeing some of the stuff I've done in SolidWorks, let me know. I know there are manufacturers using SolidWorks for hull design and others have brought it up before.

I will say that it's not an end-all, be-all software. At least not yet. I would not want to design a large vessel with EVERY nut and bolt using SolidWorks. It would probably work, but the current state of hardware...even with the latest, fastest computer...would make this unrealistic. In addition, there are limitations with flattening non-developable (i.e., curves in multiple directions) surfaces. This is mainly an issue for those wishing to design for metal and only an issue if you need to derive flat patterns of these elements. To make this work, you need an add-in like SurfaceWorks Marine. For developable survaces (i.e., curves in one direction), SolidWorks built in functionality will flatten these without a problem.

Of course, the technology is improving and SolidWorks would work fine for small vessels (~ 50 ft).

Cheers,

Rick

 

I'm not neutral either
Alibre Design does practically the same as Solid Works and Autodesk Inventor at a fraction of the cost and with a better user interface (my opinion .

www.alibre.com

 

When the only tool you know how to use is a hammer, all of your problems tend to look like nails.

 

Macsurf "rules"

Surely you would find the hydro capabilities of some thing like macsurf to being an absolute must.
I then switch across to Rhino for presentation and a bit of solid modeling.

I guess you get used to what you have....give me macsurf and the associated packages anytime

(Do I get a free "T" shirt now Andrew????)

 

Andrew, perhaps you should give Jonsailer a T-shirt, so he can remember how to spell Maxsurf ;-)

 

Mac on the brain

I guess after having a little 512K macintosh way back in 1986, I have it inprinted on my brain on which I was running MAXSURF for years.

Probably just get a cheap Formation "T" shirt now

 

AutoCad

Does anyone know how I can take an IGES file in Rhino Marine and seperate the parts (ribs and keel, transom) and save the parts in dwg. for Autocad. When I save the whole thing I get a lot of polygons which makes seperating the components difficult in AutoCad.

Thanks

Ray

New to Rhino