Design Software Question ...

I'm looking for 3D software that will allow me to enter a table of offsets, observe the design in 3D and investigate different cabin profiles and interior layouts. I already have my design (Ted Brewer) but would like to make some adjustments to cabin and interior layout? Any ideas?

 

Most of the software's can do such but not as straight forward as having a "spreadsheet like" and input the offset table, besides you may or may not need a surface (that represents the hull), which represents extra work, so is not as easy as it should be...

Have a look at:

http://www.polycad.co.uk/hullsurfacedesign.htm

Software like Rhino, touchcad and viacad (similar to rhino and low cost) these can help you modeling the interior in 3D

Also have a look at Archimedes is for stability but it has a interface similar t9o a spreadsheet where you input the coordinates of your hull sections and once you have the model you can save it as DXF (i think you can) an open it on any 3D modeling software.

Maybe touchCad has what you are looking for...

 

ViaCAD seems to be sold under other brands as well, such as Concepts Unlimited and Vellum. On a first glance they seem virtually identical, but a closer look indicates that ViaCAD seems to be stripped of certain key features. You can for example create NURBS curves and loft them into NURBS surfaces, but once there you can't edit them. In Concepts Unlimited, you have standard editing handles, similar to many other programs. It is therefore a good idea to check if it actually does what you expect it to do.

 

TouchCAD imports TEXT based XYZ coordinates in TAB format, and it is easy to extract curves from it and loft it, especially since TouchCAD controls are located on the curve/skin and not vaguely beside it. It also comes with an easy method to re-distribute control points in such a way that a lot of the tensions disappear, which you often get in NURBS curves when you import 3D models based on offsets or lines.

TouchCAD also imports and exports standard GHS files to and from Achimedes if you prefer it.

 

Does Rhino imports TEXT (or Excel) based XYZ coordinates?

jpb

 

Hi jpb,
Yes. Select File->Open and select "Points File" as the file type.

You can write a script to do something fancier than just import points if the points are ordered in some fashion like station coordinates. People also write scripts that directly communicate with Excel.

Thanks,
-Steve

 

Hallo Steve,

thank you!

jpb