South African company KD Marine Design has selected SSI’s ShipConstructor software for use with Nautic Africa. A key reason for this is the appreciation of ShipConstructor’s associativity.
Division of Work
Nautic primarily builds aluminum high speed vessels for West Africa such as escort and patrol vessels for oil rig security, plus some boats for the South African Navy. Nautic Africa is working in conjunction with KD Marine Design. Nautic is in charge of systems, nesting and production drawings while KD Marine Design does the hull and structure modeling.
Different Companies, Different Software
This division of work is common in the industry and it is common for different organizations to use different computer programs. Unfortunately, this can lead to inefficiencies and quality control becomes more challenging. It is particularly problematic when change occurs or when wanting to reuse work.
Unified Solution
Keith Davies of KD Marine Design saw that SSI’s ShipConstructor software provided a way to unify workflows and link various disparate processes and drawings. ShipConstructor lets you start with a hull and then build a virtual 3D model of the ship in the background containing all the information required for various engineering disciplines such as structural and outfitting modeling. From the 3D model, ShipConstructor then can generate AutoCAD based DWG drawings (in 2D or isometric view) to be used as either Assembly or Class Approval drawings. The best part of all is that all drawings and all parts of the program are associatively linked so that if part of the design changes, everything is updated. This leads to huge improvements since rework and duplication of effort are eliminated.
Continuous Improvement
Davies is also appreciative of ShipConstructor’s continued enhancements. “ShipConstructor has continued to improve in leaps and bound,” he says. Furthermore, in comparison with other software he has used, he notes, “Things are so much faster in ShipConstructor.”
ShipConstructor making inroads in South Africa
From SSI’s perspective, this recent investment by KD Marine Design is part of an exciting trend. “With developments like Project Hotel and Biro, a lot is going on in the maritime sector in South Africa,” says Darren Larkins, SSI CEO. “It is exciting to see that well-regarded companies such as KD Marine Design and Nautic Africa are starting to use SSI’s software.