Strategic applications of design and planning software to key shipbuilding areas, including surface preparation and coating

This project evaluated the feasibility of developing software to address the following problems: (1) analysis, simulation, design and planning of insulation, surface preparation, and coating of ships, and (2) integration of automatic planning and design tools with the popular Ship Constructor CAD package. Tools to support estimating and planning of shipboard surface preparation and coating have not kept pace with computer-based design practices and just-in-time manufacturing requirements. The result is higher than necessary ship construction costs. For Naval vessels, a large number of surfaces must be covered with thermal and/or acoustic insulation. This requires additional more specialized tools to support estimating and planning. Small yards cannot afford to pay for custom software integration. In order to bring the benefits of automatic construction planning software to small yards, this project proposes to interface the popular low cost ShipConstructor AutoCAD based package with SmartPlan-Ships™, an automatic planning and design detailing software engine for ship outfitting. ShipConstructor is used by most second tier shipyards in the U.S., and by a number of yards worldwide. ShipConstructor is also being used by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems on the Coast Guard deep-water program and is being used on the LCS program.