ABSTRACT
Existing CAD systems present some limitations concerning thegenerationof product datamodels. Generic CAD systems can produce a geometric model at the cost of extensive interactive work but without all the associated product data. Another category of systems such as IntelliShip and CATIA Ship Structural Detail, result from the development of tailor made customisations of generic mechanical CAD systems applied to shipbuilding. These systems although in principle able to be used on the basic design, in practice are generally used on the detailed design and are reported to originate large data files due to the conversion process used. On the other hand, specific PDM systems used in shipbuilding such as TRIBON Hull (AVEVA Group), FORAN (SENER Engineering), NUPAS-CADMATIC (Cadmatic Oy) and NAPA Steel (NAPA Oy), are mainly oriented to production and must provide high accuracy and therefore demand a lot of detailed and extensive input. These systems are not compatible neither to the time constrains nor to the degree of design development for their application during the basic design stage. More recently a new type of systems for hull design is being developed by some classification societies such as American Bureau of Shipping (SafeHull Express), Bureau Veritas (VeriSTAR Hull), Det Norske Veritas (Nauticus Hull), Germanischer Lloyd (Poseidon), RINA (Leonardo Hull). Typically these systems integrate a 3D modeller that is mainly a pre-processor for FE analysis and an rules compliance checking module. Some of these systems apply only to a limited set
of hull types (for example, bulk-carriers and tankers) or to a limited part of the hull (cargo area). In addition, although oriented for the basic design stage, these are generally closed systems, i.e., they provide limited or inexistent data exchange capabilities and therefore they do not provide easy access or reuse of the developed 3D model or of the associated product data.
