Need CAD type program

[Ab Hoving]

He sends you his best wishes and if there are any questions...shoot.

 

[CDR_Ret]

With regards to DELFTship, I am using the program to determine the true deck line along the bulwark of Galilee's hull plan reconstruction. I thought it might be useful for those trying to learn the program if I did a mini-tutorial as I worked on the problem. The first post of the tutorial starts here. I'm including lots of discussion on program features that are really glossed over or ignored in the program manual.

 

Please let me know what you think of the presentation and suggest anything that could be improved upon.

 

Thanks!

 

Terry

[Ab Hoving]

Hello Terry,

 

My compliments for your research and vast report on your activities. You are doing great.

I am afraid you estimate me higher than I am. As for Delftship I have never had the intention to work with the program, having already so much help from my talented and enthusiastic friend Rene Hendrickx. So in a technical way I am not the one who can add something to your considerable efforts.

I will send this thread to Rene though, but don't expect too much of it. Not because Rene is unwilling, but because being Belgian his command of English is at a lower level than his Dutch (or Flemish) and French. Maybe he will pass some remarks about your work through to me and in that case I will certainly keep you posted.

 

Keep up the good work,

Ab

[bruce d]

Ab and Rene have been very generous so far but I am hoping for some more help with a basic step in DELFTSHIP.

How do I add a background image and make it line up with the model?

I have tried until I accept that I am not going to figure it out within this decade. The model I am starting with is Number 9, the schooner. I want to use a JPEG image of my subject as the background. I open the JPEG with DELFTSHIP and then use 'edit background picture' to replace the existing background. OK so far.

Of course the image does not line up at this stage and I see from the DELFTSHIP manual that I should be able to reposition it by grabbing the centre-point and/or dragging the corner cursors: I cannot find how to get the image to display with the cursors and centre-point like the example in the instructions. Both the model and the background image are displayed together.

By using 'scale' it is possible to make the background image the correct size but it is not aligned. Without accessing the cursors and centre-point I am stuck. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance, I have no doubt it is simple but sometimes so am I.

 

Bruce

[rshousha]

Bruce,

 

I'm not sure how Delftship works but you hint at something when you say "...both the model and the background image are displayed together...." In Solidworks, you insert the background pictures on different planes so you can fiddle with the sketches (the models) and the images separately.  When you insert the image in Delftship, I would think you should be inserting in a place that is not connected to the model. It should be in a separate space, behind or in front of the model. They should be independent. 

 

I've checked the Delftship forums and they are pretty good; as you said, this should be pretty easy. 

 

 

[bruce d]

16 minutes ago, rshousha said:

you should be inserting in a place that is not connected to the model.

I agree, and no doubt when it is shown to me it will be obvious. There are quite a few online tutorials but so far none I have found explain this probably absurdly simple step. 

Hopefully the cavalry is on the way.

 

[rshousha]

I really like what I see when I look at the Delftship tutorials and forums. The world of Solidworks is much bigger and, when you pay for the support, the cavalry is at your fingertips in minutes. 

 

However, the library of hulls to start designing with is most interesting in Delftship.  The program is definitely on my "gotta have" list for 2021. It sure would be nice to take a course through Delft University, as well. 

 

 

[Ab Hoving]

Patience Bruce, Rene is preparing another tutorial.

Ab

[bruce d]

I will wait for the cavalry. Many thanks.

By the way, I have spoken with other people using DELFTSHIP and we do not all have the same models in the database. I originally had none, then I reloaded the software and now have 257. Another person has eight models in his database even after reloading. I am not complaining, after all I have 257 designs to choose from, but it seems odd.

 

Bruce

[Ab Hoving]

OK Bruce, here it comes:

Start a new project

Insert measurements and control point.

Choose front view wireframe

Open body plans and find your chosen draught

Click to select your draught to become yellow.

Click and drag the draught to the centerline and base line.

Click and drag the top right corner of the draught for the right dimensions.

Click and repeat the last step until a perfect fit it reached

Click on image red arrow and control net black arrow.

Now you can drag the control net points until the frames of both drawings are identical. This takes some exercise.

 

Extra example hulls can be downloaded from the Delftship site, where they are selected by ship type.

 

Hope this helps, good luck from Rene.

Ab

 

[bruce d]

Ab, thank you and please pass on my gratitude to Rene' (again).  It will be tomorrow before I can sit down to the task, and whatever happens I will report.

Regards,

Bruce

[CDR_Ret]

For the DELFTship fans out there, I've posted my latest project in my main plans research thread showing some of the things you can do with the program.

 

Terry

[bruce d]

Update: the tutorial from Ab and a very detailed off-board lesson from Terry are being digested. I hope to have a four hour slot to sit down at the computer and do both exercises properly later today.

[bruce d]

My brain hurts.

I have now, thanks to the help received from Ab, Rene' and Terry, imported the background image I wanted into the Delftship workpiece and adjusted it to the correct size.

 

This absolutely basic step is now complete and I can plug away to get a good result. The learning process also illuminated a number of the features within the software and I can see how some of the other stages will be more straightforward now. Delftship is no doubt a marvellous tool for modellers with the patience to learn the techniques peculiar to this software and I can only hope that one day there will be a  'DELFTSHIP LITE' version without the sophistication of the professional ship-designers requirements. It sounds odd but I believe the complications I encountered could be eliminated if the advanced features were stripped away. It would be of more use to modellers with only the basic tools to produce detailed drawings, not the 'real' shipbuilders' calculations and options. I would pay for a version tailored to that narrow specification. Also, a tutorial for a 'draw only' edition could be much more focussed and I believe could make the product commercially viable.

 

Perhaps I am a dinosaur and more nimble minds would have danced through the steps that defeated me, but we shall see what happens now that I am up and running (well, not running but moving along anyway).

Many thanks to all concerned, especially Terry who stepped in to shine further light on the subject. 

Regards,

Bruce

[Sailor1234567890]

I'm about to start lofting my boat, a 57 foot schooner I have the original plans to and was planning to use Delftship. Seems like the most appropriate program for what I am doing. Looking forward to any updates if they're coming Ab. Any word on Rene getting the next bit done? You're both incredibly generous with your time and it's greatly appreciated by me (and likely a lot of others out in internetworld). 
Thanks,
Daniel

[Ab Hoving]

Hello Sailor1234567890,

Am I correct if I suppose that you want a tutorial about the way you copy the shape of your model from an existing plan?

Ab

[Sailor1234567890]

When I posted that I thought that was what I wanted. After playing around last night, I realized that at this point, I'm simply trying to get Delftship to run on my Mac. Once I figure that out, I hope to loft her out completely. I have the plans which include the Table of Offsets so I think it shouldn't be too hard to do. Scale won't matter I don't think as I'll draw it 1:1 and can simply scale it down for model building when the time comes. Or just keep it 1:1 and add detail with my product being a digital model. That way I can include all sorts of details. Design the interior cabinetry down to the dovetails, hull framing, deck framing, cabin side construction, transom framing etc. 

[CDR_Ret]

Here is the official answer to the Mac question:

 

Looks like you need a Windows emulator or whatever is available for Macs.

 

Not a Mac user.

 

Terry