Warship Technology eNews January 2021
The use of 3D models in ship design and class review is expanding to include military vessels, writes Dan Cronin, ABS Vice President, Standards and Digital Class.
Vessel designers and shipyards are increasingly looking for ways to innovate and adopt digital tools in support of measurable efficiency gains. It’s a trend recognised by ABS and one it has supported through initiatives to streamline the approval workflow process, using digital technologies to reduce project risk, save cost and increase efficiency.
“The appetite in the industry to embrace change is reflected in the stakeholders already engaged in moving the 3D class process from the pilot to production,” said ABS. “In time, we expect 3D models to replace 2D structural drawings but before that happens, designers and shipyards need to achieve a level of confidence in the process.”
At present, close to a dozen ABS clients are engaged in pilot projects for class approval of vessel designs using 3D models. This includes plan review using 3D models of a 45-metre multi-mission Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) designed by Israel Shipyards.
ABS says the project seeks to reduce the total number of 2D drawings and paper-based documentation for class review of the OPV design and replace those documents with the original 3D computer-aided design (CAD) model. This streamlines the communication of the design intent from the shipyard to the Class society, which reduces cost and waste and improves communication clarity and therefore review quality.
ABS is also involved in advanced 3D Model class projects with key partners in Korea, China and the US, among others.
How quickly 3D models will be adopted across the defence industry is hard to predict. The first live projects should be in place over the course of the next 12-24 months and if the trend mirrors the commercial marine industry, could rise to 50% of projects using 3D submittals by 2024.
