ShipConstructor Talks to Brazilian Shipbuilding and Offshore Leaders
08 July 2009
ShipConstructor Software Inc, in conjunction with its local affiliate, Sincronia, has delivered a presentation to key figures in the Brazilian shipbuilding and offshore industry regarding best practices in detail design.
Representatives from Petrobras, Sinaval, ABIMAQ, the Brazilian Navy and UTC Engenharia were in attendance while officials from software, design and shipbuilding firms such as FormSys, INACE, Guido Perla and Estaliero Atlantico Sul (EAS) also shared their experiences working with ShipConstructor's innovative technology.
Ricardo Barcellos, coordinator of modelling for EAS, the largest shipbuilder in the southern hemisphere, noted the importance of two critical factors affecting his company, as well as others in the Brazilian market.
"We need the ability to train people quite quickly," Mr Barcellos said. "Since ShipConstructor software is based on the AutoCAD platform, drafters and designers can quickly learn on the job since the majority of them already know AutoCAD."
He said the software's seamless integration of engineering design with modern production practices was vital.
Darren Larkins, chief technology officer for ShipConstructor, explained how his company's Associative DWG technology facilitated this linkage.
He said: "Our software uses an AutoCAD interface to create and define parts of ships and offshore structures in different engineering disciplines (for example structure, pipe and HVAC etc). These parts are then linked together in a relational database using our patented DDROM™ technology, which creates a three-dimensional marine information model.
"From the model we can automatically output DWG-based production packages including nest, spool and assembly drawings as well as the NC-Code for cutting machines. All the drawings are associative. That means they can be updated on demand without losing any customisations done by the drafter. In fact, ShipConstructor will tell you when a specific drawing needs to be updated due to design changes. All this saves time and reduces costly errors that could show up during fabrication."
Mr Larkins said Associative DWG technology allowed the shipbuilding and offshore industry to fully realise the power of concurrent engineering.
Industry officials seemed impressed. Representatives from ShipConstructor followed up this group presentation with individualised talks with several Brazilian companies over the following days, demonstrating the growing importance of the Brazilian market to ShipConstructor's business strategy.
