The body plan window displays the transverse sections as seen from aft of the model. Starboard is on the right of the centreline. Working in the Body Plan view window is different to working in Plan or Profile because in Body Plan you are looking down the length of the vessel which can appear quite messy. In Plan or Profile you are looking from the bottom or starboard respectively and this usually does not look quite as confusing:

In the image below, 22 sections are displayed in one 2D window. Even though the eye of the naval architect is trained in interpreting images like this and translate this into a 3D shape, it can sometimes be difficult to establish the longitudinal position of a particular section along the length of the hull. This is why the Body Plan window has an extra feature built in: the Control Box. This powerful tool allows you to select the station you would like to display or the column of control points you wish to modify. This enables you to do some useful modelling in the Body Plan window and manipulate the shape by working one section at a time. In the procedures below we’ll have a closer look at this control box.

Tip: As with most Windows in Maxsurf, but especially in the Body Plan view, it is important to make sure you display only the data that you need using the Contour display dialog or toolbar buttons.

 View a video that will show you the different view options in body plan such as Show/Hide Net, Display/Hide Sections and how to use the control box to switch between sections or switch your active column of control points.
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Introduction to the Body Plan view window

Ø  Open the Maxsurf Sample_Trawler.msd sample file from the c:\program files\Maxsurf\Sample Designs directory

Ø  Maximise the Body Plan view:

Ø  Display only the Edges and the Sections

Ø  Select Display | Half or use the  toolbar button

Using the Control Box

Ø  Switch the sections off

You should now see just one section displayed on your screen:

The control box is a miniature view of the plan shape of all currently visible surfaces – in this case just the one surface modelling the trawler’s hull.

At the top of the control box several short vertical lines are drawn. These are the section or station indicators; there is one indicator for each of the sections specified in the Grid Spacing dialog.

Ø  Click in the control box near the stern of the ship:

The current section marker line shows which section is currently displayed. When a point in the control box is clicked, the nearest section will be selected. Notice how in the Body Plan window the current section has changed:

After clicking in the control box, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through the sections. The right arrow displays the next station forward and the left arrow displays the next station aft.

Ø  Use your keyboard keys to scroll through the sections of the trawler model

Half Display

When working in Body plan you will usually toggle the section display on/off to visualise the effect of a change to one section on the 3D shape. When all sections are displayed simultaneously, the display can be a bit messy. The Half display can then help to clean the display up.

Ø  Switch Display of sections off

Ø  Switch Display | Half off

Notice how the section is now mirrored to the other side of the centreline. Also notice how the control box current section marker is now drawn across the centreline.

Ø  Switch display of section on

Notice how the control box now displays all sections with the current section marker drawn with a thicker line:

Control box with all sections displayed and half hull display off

Ø  Switch Display | Half on

Control box with all sections displayed and half hull display on

When Half hull display is switched on, Maxsurf automatically determines which sections will be displayed on the right and which on the left of the centreline. There is a way for the user to overrule this default split location on a surface-by-surface base. This is not covered in the LearningMaxsurf training manual.

Note:

When the cursor is within the control box the horizontal cursor coordinate at the bottom of the Body Plan window refers to the cursor’s longitudinal position within the control box.

For the control box to work correctly it is important that the Frame of Reference is setup correctly. You will learn about this later; just remember this at this stage.

Continue with the section on Zoom, Shrink and Pan.