When
designing in Maxsurf, a naval architect has several options to choose from:When
designing in Maxsurf, a naval architect has several options to choose from:
§ Use a similar existing design and modify it to design requirements
§ Start from a new design scratch
Which of these options is most cost efficient is difficult to predict and dependent on:
The required hull shape;
The Maxsurf Sample Designs directory contains a wide range of hull forms that can be used as a starting point. If the shape of the intended design is close that of one the sample designs, it will save you a lot of time if you use the sample design as a starting point. It is definitely worth while familiarising yourself with the sample designs in: c:\program files\Maxsurf\Sample Designs.
The purpose of the surface model;
In case your model is used for production purposes then the user will have to think carefully about the surface topology of the intended design before starting. The reasons for this are explained further in the intermediate section of this training manual. If the model is intended only for hydrostatic, resistance and Seakeeping prediction, the hull shape can often consist of only one surface and it does not take that long to model an accurate shape out of a single surface when you start from scratch. That said, it is probably equally efficient to look for a similar hullshape in the sample designs directory and use that as a starting point.
The user’s experience in Maxsurf;
An experienced user may get to a good starting point for a hullshape much faster than a new user. A new user to Maxsurf may feel more comfortable starting with a similar existing design, while a more experienced user can make a design completely to his own liking by starting from scratch.
Note that the dimensions and the design category (eg leisure vs. commercial etc) are not in the above list. A sailing boat hull shape may offer a good starting point for a frigate for example. Maxsurf offers a range of tools to quickly resize surfaces. In Maxsurf Pro there are even tools to change design coefficients such as LCB, Cb and Cm etc. Let’s first get an idea of what is involved in starting a Maxsurf design from scratch.
Let’s get started! Go to the Starting a Design from Scratch section.