Digital Mock-Ups See What You Mean
Among the many customers are the likes of Beneteau,
Jeanneau, Cranchi, Hallberg-Rassy and Elan Marine in the
small yacht space. In the superyachts market shipyards like
Heesen Yachts, Timmerman Yachts and CMN, and engineering
and design companies such as Berret-Racoupeau Yacht
Design, Vaton Design, LNM, Rivoyre Ingénierie and Humpreys
Yacht Design are among Dassault Systèmes’ valued maritime
clientele. At the latest Monaco Yacht Show one of the world’s
premier luxury yacht designers, Arthur M. Barbeito &
Associates Inc., announced it had chosen Dassault Systèmes’
CATIA design authoring software as its primary design
platform.
Flexibility to CreateBarbeito & Associates specializes in highly customized 50 to
160 m superyachts with luxury interiors. The company will use
CATIA for every aspect of yacht design including hull design,
steel structure design, piping and interior design. CATIA will
offer in one environment the functionality Barbeito’s engineers
now struggle to access by switching between several different
applications. RAND North America, Dassault Systèmes’
partner, worked in close consultation with Barbeito to find the
solution that best streamlined Barbeito’s design and
manufacturing planning processes. “Barbeito’s designs have to
combine space-age engineering with elegant aesthetics.
CATIA’s integration and range of functionality will give
Barbeito’s staff more flexibility to create innovative designs that
meet their clients’ expectations,” said Dan Smith, vice
president business development of RAND North America.
Efficiency GainsBarbeito & Associates also plans to use Dassault Systèmes’
DELMIA digital manufacturing solution for communicating
production information with the shipyards that build Barbeito’s
designs. The designer recently partnered with Wuhan Nanhua
High-Speed Ship Engineering Co., a Chinese shipyard that
uses CATIA design authoring software. The single platform
collaboration between designer and shipyard, a result of the
shipbuilding industry’s continuing adoption of Dassault
Systèmes’ advanced PLM technology, is anticipated to yield
significant efficiency gains.
Orders of Magnitude“We were wasting a lot of time going to one application for
conceptual surface design, then another for the steel detailing,
and another for the piping and equipment,” said Arthur
Barbeito, company founder and president. “The different
systems also multiplied the time it took to modify a design
because a change in one system had to be manually repeated
in the others. With CATIA, we have all of our essential
functionality in one system. We expect CATIA’s combination of
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Photo courtesy of CMN/
PG, CMN140’ CMN/
Bretecher ‘Heloval’
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Digital Mock-Ups See What You Mean
With a multitude of designs, construction models, cabin arrangements,
materials, and complex products, the yacht building industry needs scalable
software solutions, able to address different and complex topics seamlessly.
Today over fifty companies in the yachting industry are using Dassault
Systèmes’ design authoring and product lifecycle management solutions.
advanced design functionality and scalability to make us more
efficient by orders of magnitude.”
Profound Changes
The yacht building industry as a whole is undergoing profound
changes. For the past decade it has seen annual growth
percentages of up to 15% and this number is expected to even
soar in coming years. To keep up with orders and gain a more
competitive edge, naval architects, designers, construction
shipyards and suppliers are beginning to adapt new work
methods, replacing 2D sketches with digitalized 3D models.
Dassault Systemès’ 3D and product lifecycle management
(PLM) software solutions motor this industry shift, not only
enabling small yacht producers to release product series
much like in the automotive industry, but also give superyacht
manufacturers the power to shorten their long waiting lists and
boat-refitting to burgeon.
Real-Life AccuracyPrior to physical production, the true complexity of a yacht can
only be clearly understood by interacting with its 3D digital
mock-up, which provides real-life accuracy down to the
smallest decorative detail. It allows architects and designers to
integrate detailed engineering early on in the design phase and
refine it progressively. A digital mock-up allows users to
navigate between 3D views and the Bill Of Materials (BOM),
making every step of the project comprehensible for any
stakeholder. With this virtual-life, inside-out view of an entire
vessel, designers and engineers can detect glitches in shape,
system integration, look-and-feel, etc. that would otherwise
only come apparent after producing a costly, full-scale physical
mock-up. Project teams can make adjustments early on and
repeat this until they reach perfection, saving resources as well
as speeding up the creative and detailed design phases. With
CATIA design authoring software yacht professionals can
choose an appropriate package dedicated to their specific line
of business.
World Renowned ReputationsThe luxury superyacht industry has in terms of order portfolio
more than doubled in the last six years. Superyachts are avidly
sought after, making patience a virtue for those eagerly
awaiting their yachts to be inaugurated. Typically the naval
architect’s 2D drawings are the shipyard’s inspiration on how
the boat will actually be built during construction. World-
renowned reputations are built on the shipyard’s detailed
design and engineering knowledge. But the time it takes to
decide on how to proceed – considering that also every single
change order must be digested, approved and interpreted –
makes for a lengthy time-to-market.
Embedding KnowledgeConstruction of custom or semi-custom yachts begins with the
hull structure, while the engineering department creates
drawings to describe systems and interior details. This
definition – generally made up out of 2D drawings – is not only
time consuming, but provides only approximate descriptions.
At the same time construction progresses increasing the risk
for error. The results can be catastrophic, causing numerous
coordination mistakes between a yacht’s structure and its
interior, ultimately forcing shipyards to make a lot of costly
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With 3D PLM the definition of assembly details is anticipated in
the engineering office and linked with project planning. The
engineering office can rapidly design thousands of components
thanks to the reuse of templates embedding shipyard
knowledge and experience. In other words, the engineering and
construction detailing is generated and derived directly from the
3D functional design. This allows shipyards to fulfil orders faster,
while shaving off significant waiting time for customers.
Sharing ResponsibilityAnother way to gain efficiency is for shipyards to outsource
segments of construction. Traditionally, the only way to build a
superyacht was from the bottom up, starting with the keel and
then gradually filling in layers, beginning with equipment like
engines and tanks, followed by decks, electronics, interior
amenities and final definitions. Tomorrow – and already starting
today – some superyachts will be built in horizontal segments
by shipyards dispersed globally. This is only possible thanks to
3D digital mock-ups and collaborative product lifecycle
management solutions.
Built on an open architecture, Dassault Systèmes’ PLM solutions
enable a seamless flow of information across all stakeholders in
the yacht building chain, from naval architects, engineering
consultants to equipment suppliers and the shipyard itself. In
this collaborative environment, stakeholders work concurrently
and can be more responsive by making adjustments based on
customer preferences and market drivers.
Another face to outsourcing is contracting out the entire
construction to a less known shipyard. Emerging markets like
China are home to new superyacht construction facilities that
may not currently posses the experience or pedigree of many
of the European Yacht shipyards. But by working with
aerospace industry-like project managers and using digital
mock-ups, the emerging-market facilities will provide
customers and vendors with a cost effective alternative without
compromising quality.
RefittingNot only the newbuild yacht market can reap the benefits of 3D
design authoring and product lifecycle management. Until now
full-scale guttings, refits and renovations were no easy task for
the same reasons as newbuilds can take years to deliver. But
superyachts originally built with 3D digital mock-ups, can be
completely ‘stripped’ of their interiors – leaving only the keel
– before the owner’s eyes. Refitters can play with various
concepts by importing components from the shipyard’s digital
design warehouse, modifying shape, materials, textures and
colour until the customer is satisfied with the outcome. As
detailed engineering is included in the digital mock-up,
construction crews know straight away how to proceed with
refitting.
Hit the Water Older boats that do not have digital mock-ups can still reap the
same advantages with Dassault Systèmes’ technology. First
the shipyard physically strips the boat, leaving it empty. Using
laser scanning technology the structure of the ship can then be
digitized into a 3D format and imported into CATIA. Now the
digital structure of the boat is available, design and engineering
can start from scratch or by importing pre-defined parts and
sub-assemblies, making adjustments later if necessary. Either
way, the finished project hits the water faster and its 3D digital
mock-up is ready to be used for the next refit.
Improving BusinessMany types of shipbuilding companies, such as naval
architects, small/large yacht shipyards and suppliers across
the globe are benefiting from Dassault Systèmes’ shipbuilding
and yacht solutions, helping them to transform their business
and gain competitive advantages by improving key business
parameters in product innovation and customer demand
fulfilment. A recent example how even smaller shipbuilders can
benefit from digital PLM solutions, is demonstrated by
traditional Dutch sailboat manufacturer Blom. Blom’s traditional
steel sailboats are built from similar structures and designs but
that vary in dimensions.
Into the FutureTo ease design and manufacturing complications, Blom
decided to use DS’s solutions to implement a parametric
definition of its traditional sailboats and digitally prepare their
manufacturing. By capturing Blom’s artisan craftsmanship
knowledge in a digital shipbuilding solution, the company is
able to deliver boats quicker. “The complexity of our hull
shapes with double curvature and recovery of the plates is the
mark of tradition of our boats, but something painful to define
manually. Designing a parametric model that is directly
transformed into production data is a big step forward for us,
allowing us to drastically shorten the manufacturing
preparation,” said Mr. Dink Blom, owner of Skipshelling Blom.
“It also helps us to significantly improve the accuracy
necessary to easily assemble hull steel parts. We think that
Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA and its integrated solution for steel
manufacturing is our way into the future.”
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