To be at the cutting edge of shipbuilding and technology, we need to be aware of what is on the horizon for the future of our industry. The articles and papers below are how we share our findings to the rest of the industry through technical magazines and academic conferences. Read for yourself what the future holds.
Democratization of Virtual Reality in Shipbuilding
In theory, 3D Virtual Reality (VR) models provide numerous benefits to shipbuilders. Many authors have highlighted potential use cases including design review, customer review, supply chain collaboration, project scheduling and shop floor 3D. However, in practice the technology, including generation of the virtual models from existing CAD tools, is too costly, complex, and rigid to be implemented across all segments of the industry.
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CAD ERP Integration
Shipbuilding CAD/CAM systems are a rich source of data that can be consumed by other business processes. In shipbuilding, managing and tracking the procurement and consumption of materials via an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a critical portion of a shipyard’s overall IT infrastructure.
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Industry and Government
This paper will explore the role of industry, navies, and government in implementing industry-wide changes to shipbuilding software tools in an effort to reduce fleet acquisition costs. The results achieved through a series of collaborative US Navy National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) projects involving many US shipbuilders will be highlighted.
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2D in a 3D World
Classification drawings have traditionally been developed in 2D software (e.g. AutoCAD) but separate applications are used for the development of a 3D design and engineering model. This results in duplicate effort, rework and error. To try to solve this problem, several shipbuilding specific software packages now can generate class approval drawings from the 3D model. However, these programs lack the detailing capabilities offered by AutoCAD so in practice, AutoCAD is still used as well.
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Cutting Edge Technology
Despite being an industry full of bright and qualified people, the shipbuilding industry is often slower to adopt and develop new technologies compared to other sectors such as the plant, aerospace and automotive industries. This paper will explore the trends in the relative adoption of a number of technologies including laser scanning, digital prototyping and shop floor 3D.
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Best of Breed Software
The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits and challenges inherent in a recent shift in how Integrated Shipbuilding Environments (ISEs) are created and deployed amongst the world’s leading shipbuilders, offshore experts and marine-focused software vendors. This paper will also outline a case study in which this approach has been employed.
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Automation of Oil Rig Fabrication
Despite worldwide financial crisis, a significant amount of oil rig fabrication work continues to prosper due to the huge order book backlog. Whilst some projects have been canceled or delayed because of financing, the on-going projects are now under bigger pressure to save time and cost of fabrication.
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A Scalable Approach to 3D Visualization
There are advantages to having an accurate and detailed 3D visualization model of a vessel available throughout every stage of the shipbuilding process. However, many approaches are too costly, complex, rigid or difficult. For instance, shipbuilding specific 3D visualization technology is often limited compared to solutions from major CAD vendors that are targeted at a wider audience.
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Empowered Engineering
Shipyards use multiple computer applications to create and process information but sharing data between programs is problematic. Attempts have been made to solve this problem via manual processes or costly, yet incomplete, service based integrations. Other times, a monolithic, single-vendor approach has been tried but inadequacies of the component parts have led to other challenges.
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Leveraging Engineering Information
Every piece of information created during the engineering of a vessel can be leveraged elsewhere in the shipbuilding process but varying representations of the data are required for different software applications and business processes. Unfortunately, overcoming that challenge is usually costly and cumbersome.
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