Intergraph Expands Capabilities For Ship Design And Production CAD/CAM Systems
Intergraph is one of the world's largest corporations dedicated to interactive computer graphics, and has been supplying computer graphics (CAD/CAM) systems to the shipbuilding industry since the late 1970's. Independent researchers have consistently ranked Intergraph number one in customer satisfaction. One of the reasons for this success is a continuing focus on providing real-world solutions to realworld problems.
In the mid-1980s, Intergraph began to apply its experience in shipbuildingto anew generation of hardware and software technology. This development resulted in a suite of products that provide an Integrated Ship Design and Production (ISDP) environment.
The Intergraph ISDP environment provides systems and services to support the design, construction, maintenance, overhaul, alteration, repair and refurbishment of ships and shipboard systems.
With these products, Intergraph successfully competed in the U.S. Navy Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA) $362 million CAD II procurement. This contract was awarded to Intergraph in June 1991, and since then more than $60 million worth of systems and services, including more than 1,000 workstations, have been installed within the NAVSEA community.
Intergraph has also been expanding into the worldwide shipbuilding community. Two European shipbuilders who are key users of Intergr aph's new system are Yarrow Shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland, and Stocznia Gdansk Shipyards in Gdansk, Poland.
The 3-D Product Model The ISDP system is built around the concept of the 3-D Product Model, where graphics and database attributes are integrated to maintain a fully associative relationship between all components in the design.
The 3-D product model concept allows users to operate in a manner more closely related to their normal workflow.
The core product in this suite of tools is the Vehicle Design System (I/VDS). I/VDS is layered on top of Intergraph's Engineering Modeling System (EMS) and provides the foundation for all ship-structural and distributive systems applications. EMS is a feature-based, variationalgeometry driven, solids modeling system. It contains a common, easyto- use graphical user interface (GUI) that provides a consistent look-andfeel across the complete range of system functions; reducing training time and increasing operator proficiency. Incoordination with EMS, I/VDS provides the features required to model the ship's basic molded surfaces (i.e., hull, deck, bulkheads, superstructures, etc.), as well as functions to create distributive systems components, mechanical equipment, and furniture libraries, based on parametric part families. Outfittings and furnishings can also be designed in place, or created with components generated from online, user definable, parametric libraries. Space design and management, or compartmentation, is another capability of 1/ VDS. Compartments can be defined within the hull form, basic design layout performed, and e q u i p m e n t placed. General arrangement drawings and m a c h i n e r y drawings can then be created. I/VDS provides a specification driven, constraint- based design environment controlled by a user definable rulesbase. In conjunction with EMS, a fully associative, intelligent database is created. Intergraph's unique Reference File capability also allows concurrent use of all the data in the ship model.
All components can be viewed in multiple representations. Components can be viewed as 2-D or 3-D detail geometry models, symbolic representations, or as "soft" envelopes for interference or access analysis. Creating The Structural Model Structural modeling within the IDSP system is accomplished with the I/STRUCT product. I/STRUCT includes capabilities for modeling and detailing longitudinals, beams, plates (decks, platforms, flats, etc.), stiffeners, connection brackets, stringers, cut-outs, openings, endtreatments, etc. Full associativity between model elements is maintained throughout the design and modification.
Drawings for structural layout, fabrication and assembly can be extracted directly from the 3-D model.
Fully associative shell expansion drawings are another output. Based - H I iMi L op m ••• ~r l "^SjjjijrJ tiljB "V: I"1 Multiple windows of a ship model during various phases of the design process.
on recognized industry standards, components can be created using parametric libraries containing structural shapes for steel, aluminum, and other materials. A complete range of capabilities is available within the system to solve problems for structural analysis, mechanism analysis, marine engineering, visualization, animation, and simulation. Working directly from the 3-D structural model, automated routines create analysis input data with a variety of options. Engineers can apply constraints and forces directly to the geometric model for finite element (FEM) analysis. A FEM model can then be solved directly using Intergraph's built-in solver or by using thirdparty analysis programs. The system also provides interfaces to various marine engineering programs for stability analysis and other requirements. Using -data from the structural model, fabrication engineers can generate developed plate (shell) surfaces, place mold and control lines on the surfaces, create lofting templates, define edge prep conditions for welding and fabrication, define jig pin placement, create nested flat patterns on stock, and generate toolpaths to drive flame cutters and other manufacturing devices.
Distributive Systems Modeling I/ROUTE is a comprehensive, multi-descipline, dynamic, 3-D distributive routing package that enables users to design HVAC, piping, and electrical system networks. Online, specification driven, parametric libraries for components and equipment facilitate routing and construction of fully associative 3-D systems models. Design rules are input by the user to provide constraint- based interference checking between equipment, distributive, and structural systems. This helps early recognition of potential problems. "From-To" list generation, output to piping spoon drawings and analysis routines, and other engineering and manufacturing applications are supported by the system. P&ID creation is provided to facilitate the design of piping systems.
Managing The Product Design Enviroment Managing the 3-D product model environment and the design workflow are both critical to the success of the shipbuilding process, from its initial product conceptualization and design to construction, and throughout a ship's life-cycle. Intergraph's Product Data Manager (I/PDM) is a data management system tightly integrated with the product model. I/PDM provides part, catalog, assembly, product and project management capabilities in a distributed database enviroment. It is designed to manage the product's workflow across a distributed systems environment based on the world's leading Relational Data Base Management Systems (RDBMS) such as Informix, Oracle, Ingress, DB2, etc.
I/PDM is part of a complete set of Technical Information Management (TIM) solutions from Intergraph. TIM solutions cover everything from the generation of Parts Lists and Bills-of-Material to providing management control systems, archiving and query functions, data exchange, engineering data administration, etc. Intergraph's TIM tools are designed to handle the management of ship and ship systems data throughout its complete life cycle.
Designed To Support The Fleet Of Tomorrow Shipbuilding is one of the most complex engineering, manufacturing and management challenges ever undertaken by mankind and is inherently a concurrent engineering and data integration process.
The ISDP system is a complete suite of products supportingthe complete ship life-cycle, from conceptual design, through production, maintenance and modernization. It is a constraint-based system, providing a true concurrent engineering environment customized for the shipbuilders of the world. The system runs on Intergraph's state-ofthe- art hardware and software systems environment, which enable customers to concentrate on what they do best: design, build and operate the most sophisticated fleet of ships the world has ever seen. Intergraph is committed to providing the world's best technology to the shipbuilding industry and enabling the continued growth of one of the most important elements of world stability and commerce... the creation and operation of the world's fleets
