Digital Mock-Ups See What You Mean

Among the many customers are the likes of Beneteau,

Jeanneau, Cranchi, Hallberg-Rassy and Elan Marine in the

small yacht space. In the superyachts market shipyards like

Heesen Yachts, Timmerman Yachts and CMN, and engineering

and design companies such as Berret-Racoupeau Yacht

Design, Vaton Design, LNM, Rivoyre Ingénierie and Humpreys

Yacht Design are among Dassault Systèmes’ valued maritime

clientele. At the latest Monaco Yacht Show one of the world’s

premier luxury yacht designers, Arthur M. Barbeito &

Associates Inc., announced it had chosen Dassault Systèmes’

CATIA design authoring software as its primary design

platform.

Flexibility to CreateBarbeito & Associates specializes in highly customized 50 to

160 m superyachts with luxury interiors. The company will use

CATIA for every aspect of yacht design including hull design,

steel structure design, piping and interior design. CATIA will

offer in one environment the functionality Barbeito’s engineers

now struggle to access by switching between several different

applications. RAND North America, Dassault Systèmes’

partner, worked in close consultation with Barbeito to find the

solution that best streamlined Barbeito’s design and

manufacturing planning processes. “Barbeito’s designs have to

combine space-age engineering with elegant aesthetics.

CATIA’s integration and range of functionality will give

Barbeito’s staff more flexibility to create innovative designs that

meet their clients’ expectations,” said Dan Smith, vice

president business development of RAND North America.

Efficiency GainsBarbeito & Associates also plans to use Dassault Systèmes’

DELMIA digital manufacturing solution for communicating

production information with the shipyards that build Barbeito’s

designs. The designer recently partnered with Wuhan Nanhua

High-Speed Ship Engineering Co., a Chinese shipyard that

uses CATIA design authoring software. The single platform

collaboration between designer and shipyard, a result of the

shipbuilding industry’s continuing adoption of Dassault

Systèmes’ advanced PLM technology, is anticipated to yield

significant efficiency gains.

Orders of Magnitude“We were wasting a lot of time going to one application for

conceptual surface design, then another for the steel detailing,

and another for the piping and equipment,” said Arthur

Barbeito, company founder and president. “The different

systems also multiplied the time it took to modify a design

because a change in one system had to be manually repeated

in the others. With CATIA, we have all of our essential

functionality in one system. We expect CATIA’s combination of

114 | SuperYacht Indus t r y | Vo lume 2 | No . 6

3D DES IGN

Photo courtesy of CMN/

PG, CMN140’ CMN/

Bretecher ‘Heloval’

Dassault.indd 114 10-12-2007 14:23:19

>

Digital Mock-Ups See What You Mean

With a multitude of designs, construction models, cabin arrangements,

materials, and complex products, the yacht building industry needs scalable

software solutions, able to address different and complex topics seamlessly.

Today over fifty companies in the yachting industry are using Dassault

Systèmes’ design authoring and product lifecycle management solutions.

advanced design functionality and scalability to make us more

efficient by orders of magnitude.”

Profound Changes

The yacht building industry as a whole is undergoing profound

changes. For the past decade it has seen annual growth

percentages of up to 15% and this number is expected to even

soar in coming years. To keep up with orders and gain a more

competitive edge, naval architects, designers, construction

shipyards and suppliers are beginning to adapt new work

methods, replacing 2D sketches with digitalized 3D models.

Dassault Systemès’ 3D and product lifecycle management

(PLM) software solutions motor this industry shift, not only

enabling small yacht producers to release product series

much like in the automotive industry, but also give superyacht

manufacturers the power to shorten their long waiting lists and

boat-refitting to burgeon.

Real-Life AccuracyPrior to physical production, the true complexity of a yacht can

only be clearly understood by interacting with its 3D digital

mock-up, which provides real-life accuracy down to the

smallest decorative detail. It allows architects and designers to

integrate detailed engineering early on in the design phase and

refine it progressively. A digital mock-up allows users to

navigate between 3D views and the Bill Of Materials (BOM),

making every step of the project comprehensible for any

stakeholder. With this virtual-life, inside-out view of an entire

vessel, designers and engineers can detect glitches in shape,

system integration, look-and-feel, etc. that would otherwise

only come apparent after producing a costly, full-scale physical

mock-up. Project teams can make adjustments early on and

repeat this until they reach perfection, saving resources as well

as speeding up the creative and detailed design phases. With

CATIA design authoring software yacht professionals can

choose an appropriate package dedicated to their specific line

of business.

World Renowned ReputationsThe luxury superyacht industry has in terms of order portfolio

more than doubled in the last six years. Superyachts are avidly

sought after, making patience a virtue for those eagerly

awaiting their yachts to be inaugurated. Typically the naval

architect’s 2D drawings are the shipyard’s inspiration on how

the boat will actually be built during construction. World-

renowned reputations are built on the shipyard’s detailed

design and engineering knowledge. But the time it takes to

decide on how to proceed – considering that also every single

change order must be digested, approved and interpreted –

makes for a lengthy time-to-market.

Embedding KnowledgeConstruction of custom or semi-custom yachts begins with the

hull structure, while the engineering department creates

drawings to describe systems and interior details. This

definition – generally made up out of 2D drawings – is not only

time consuming, but provides only approximate descriptions.

At the same time construction progresses increasing the risk

for error. The results can be catastrophic, causing numerous

coordination mistakes between a yacht’s structure and its

interior, ultimately forcing shipyards to make a lot of costly

adaptations for everything to fit in correctly. >SuperYacht Indus t r y | Vo lume 2 | No . 6 | 115

3D DES IGN

Dassault.indd 115 10-12-2007 14:23:24

116 | SuperYacht Indus t r y | Vo lume 2 | No . 6

3D DES IGN

With 3D PLM the definition of assembly details is anticipated in

the engineering office and linked with project planning. The

engineering office can rapidly design thousands of components

thanks to the reuse of templates embedding shipyard

knowledge and experience. In other words, the engineering and

construction detailing is generated and derived directly from the

3D functional design. This allows shipyards to fulfil orders faster,

while shaving off significant waiting time for customers.

Sharing ResponsibilityAnother way to gain efficiency is for shipyards to outsource

segments of construction. Traditionally, the only way to build a

superyacht was from the bottom up, starting with the keel and

then gradually filling in layers, beginning with equipment like

engines and tanks, followed by decks, electronics, interior

amenities and final definitions. Tomorrow – and already starting

today – some superyachts will be built in horizontal segments

by shipyards dispersed globally. This is only possible thanks to

3D digital mock-ups and collaborative product lifecycle

management solutions.

Built on an open architecture, Dassault Systèmes’ PLM solutions

enable a seamless flow of information across all stakeholders in

the yacht building chain, from naval architects, engineering

consultants to equipment suppliers and the shipyard itself. In

this collaborative environment, stakeholders work concurrently

and can be more responsive by making adjustments based on

customer preferences and market drivers.

Another face to outsourcing is contracting out the entire

construction to a less known shipyard. Emerging markets like

China are home to new superyacht construction facilities that

may not currently posses the experience or pedigree of many

of the European Yacht shipyards. But by working with

aerospace industry-like project managers and using digital

mock-ups, the emerging-market facilities will provide

customers and vendors with a cost effective alternative without

compromising quality.

RefittingNot only the newbuild yacht market can reap the benefits of 3D

design authoring and product lifecycle management. Until now

full-scale guttings, refits and renovations were no easy task for

the same reasons as newbuilds can take years to deliver. But

superyachts originally built with 3D digital mock-ups, can be

completely ‘stripped’ of their interiors – leaving only the keel

– before the owner’s eyes. Refitters can play with various

concepts by importing components from the shipyard’s digital

design warehouse, modifying shape, materials, textures and

colour until the customer is satisfied with the outcome. As

detailed engineering is included in the digital mock-up,

construction crews know straight away how to proceed with

refitting.

Hit the Water Older boats that do not have digital mock-ups can still reap the

same advantages with Dassault Systèmes’ technology. First

the shipyard physically strips the boat, leaving it empty. Using

laser scanning technology the structure of the ship can then be

digitized into a 3D format and imported into CATIA. Now the

digital structure of the boat is available, design and engineering

can start from scratch or by importing pre-defined parts and

sub-assemblies, making adjustments later if necessary. Either

way, the finished project hits the water faster and its 3D digital

mock-up is ready to be used for the next refit.

Improving BusinessMany types of shipbuilding companies, such as naval

architects, small/large yacht shipyards and suppliers across

the globe are benefiting from Dassault Systèmes’ shipbuilding

and yacht solutions, helping them to transform their business

and gain competitive advantages by improving key business

parameters in product innovation and customer demand

fulfilment. A recent example how even smaller shipbuilders can

benefit from digital PLM solutions, is demonstrated by

traditional Dutch sailboat manufacturer Blom. Blom’s traditional

steel sailboats are built from similar structures and designs but

that vary in dimensions.

Into the FutureTo ease design and manufacturing complications, Blom

decided to use DS’s solutions to implement a parametric

definition of its traditional sailboats and digitally prepare their

manufacturing. By capturing Blom’s artisan craftsmanship

knowledge in a digital shipbuilding solution, the company is

able to deliver boats quicker. “The complexity of our hull

shapes with double curvature and recovery of the plates is the

mark of tradition of our boats, but something painful to define

manually. Designing a parametric model that is directly

transformed into production data is a big step forward for us,

allowing us to drastically shorten the manufacturing

preparation,” said Mr. Dink Blom, owner of Skipshelling Blom.

“It also helps us to significantly improve the accuracy

necessary to easily assemble hull steel parts. We think that

Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA and its integrated solution for steel

manufacturing is our way into the future.”

i. www.3ds.com

<

Dassault.indd 116 10-12-2007 14:23:37