Cut your ship manufacturing cost by 90% through Collaborative VR
Overview
Ship building is a tough task on its own. And depending on 2D designs for final design review does not help the process. Taking CAD to VR can help the matter in ways described below. Let’s see the process and challenges that need attention.
The process of ship building has similar stages as AEC. Now is the time to look at it:
The stages of ship building are bidding, requirement gathering, hull design, design reviewing etc.
2D Shipbuilding design
2D Process and instrumentation design on paper (very hard to decipher, no clarity, no 1:1 view, no 3D diagram)
In these times when many of the companies are going digital way, ship building industry is also going the digital transformation way by using CAD software. But, using this also has its challenges. Let’s look at the challenges now :
- Hull design – Hull design Proprietary CAD software don’t have human centric design and they need physical prototype for design validation as well to show the design to clients. Design review is not done in 1:1 scale so there might be loopholes that cannot be seen by humans.
- Review – Review is a huge challenge as the minute details can’t be observed in a traditional 3D CAD review software. The design cycles and iterations are long and ineffective as the majority of people face challenges in seeing the 3D data. There is no interaction with the model in the desktop screen. Ergonomics analysis is also not done during review.
- Production – Major cost escalations are there as the design has not been validated properly. It leads to escalation in cost. It can cause major delays in production. Time is money. It is not sensible to increase the time to market.
- Showcase – There is no technology to showcase the 3D data. The data is also very poorly presented. There is less user involvement before purchase. Also, data is showcased on 20:1 scale which do not give an idea of the whole picture.
- Maintenance – Training is non-interactive and standalone. Final design data is not used for training as we saw in our previous blogs about the AEC industry. Effectiveness of training is poor owing to the different versions of designs sent by different stakeholders (MEP – Mechanical, electrical and piping; HVAC – Heat, ventilation, air conditioner; & the design company)
The Solution
Digital transformation has changed the way we do our ship building reviews and it has gone to the next level by our flagship product, Exxar.
Exxar comes with myriads of positives to negate the above challenges.
- CAD to VR conversion happens in real time – Now, you can see the 3D model in an immersive environment. It happens in a single click and takes less than a minute. Compare it with other software which take hours and hours to take CAD to VR.
- Complete digital mock-up functionality in 1:1 scale – You can see the digital model in virtual reality in 1:1 scale. This is a big boon for the design review and the people who are doing it. (in this case the project co-ordinator)
- Multi level validation – Validation is done via collaborative VR on the same model. Any change in design in CAD software is instantaneously visible in Exxar CAD to VR. Travel costs are cut down as stakeholders can review it in their homes using CAD to VR conversion.
- Natural interaction and ergonomics with full body tracking – You can enter the virtual reality by using the human module of Exxar that creates an avatar of your body. You can easily check if the assemblies are accessible.
- Intuitive tools for analysis and feedback – Annotation feature is present in Exxar CAD to VR to make comments like you do in MS Office. It can later be resolved when the corrections have been made / action is taken.
