well I might have something to say about this,
but for some strange reason,
Im drawing a blank…
Sorry to those who clicked on my post but still learning to fly this site!!!
I have spent the last few nights catching up on gos in the epoxy sandwich\machine shaping posts great read!!
I am based on the Gold Coast with a company called “Shapetec” with Dale Chapman we use ProE and have designed a machine capable of all the features of Miki’s machine and more!!
The secret to a good machine shape is only part the machine, the software opens the real door to a innovative future.
regards David
hi david, are you also the distibutor for boardworks? http://www.boardworkssurf.com/html/distributors.html
I’ve used ProE, but found Solidworks to be more inviting and just as robust as ProE. Also messed around with catia.
I would say they are the top three parametric softwares out there.
I am currently working on design tables for various shapes in solidworks.
In that way one file can contain countless shapes.
Is ProE open source - freeware?
Hi Dave
No not us Shapetec is part of chapman factory at Burleigh
ProE Wildfire 2 is about $30gs Aus$ of secure service licenced software maybe older version possibly
regards David
thats ok. i just did a quick background check online and your name came up on a list of boardworks distributors. anyway…
so im curious as im always looking for better tech, from industry sources here on the coast your machine is $200,000 approx and your previous post says an old version of software is $30,000? where does the better part come in. i have glassed boards directly out of mikis machine and it costs a boatload less. what practical features can it provide the everyday competant surfboard designer?
Shapetec has developed a similar surfboard model which we have created over 300 unique designs from the base model which has parametric and relational control driving its shape. We can undercut rails inset flyers,channels,swallow tails,deck and fin plugs basically any thing that is manually done to boards now.
As I have mentioned before the edge is in software powerful enough to create what ever the designer\shaper desires.
Regards David
Not sure where your info on my involvement with “Boardwalk” comes from but its not me!! Our software and machine may have a higher setup cost but we are capable of manufacturing not only surfboards but also sheet foams.plastic,skis,paddleboards,hull and mould designs for industry not just dedicated board and software only systems. I the real world you need to be multi tasked to develop a good future for your company.
Regards David
“baordworks” sorry
Hey Harpoon,
youre using SW to make 3D surfboard solids?
you must be real good at CAD…im a novice and I have tried on SW and its seems very challenging with all the compound curves.
I used proE professionally back in 97 and hated it…I hear wildfire is much more user friendly.
i guess my background helps out alot in this. Trained as an architect in undergrad and now I find myself in a product design/engineering of sorts graduate program. Lucky for me, I am exposed to alot of different softwares in our lab…on the university tab of course. So basically 2d and mainly 3d cad softwares have been around me for about 8 years now. I’m still learning some of the tricks, but have a good handle on the methods of building. I and a partner are using our time here to do research involving surfboard shape design, while everyone else here is figuring out the future of building constructability. Fun stuff…for me!!!
Hi Meecrafty,
You are indeed correct. Creating “good” shapes using any parametric CAD software (UG, CATIA, IDEAS, PRO-E, SOLIDWORKS, etc) is indeed a challenge. These packages are all built for mostly “engineering” type work and contain only basic “surfacing” modules. But I guess sometimes “basic” can be good, or even better than overly complex curve and surface generating operations/controls, if it’s used correctly. It’s not impossible to create “good” surfaces with these parametric CAD packages but it certainly isn’t easy either - a lot of experience is normally required. This is why the surfaces for most “styled” products these days are created using surface specific packages such as ALIAS and ICEMSURF. These surface specific packages allow “good” surfaces to be created/modified more easily and visualised much more accurately. If you create what you think is a “good” surface in CATIA, etc sometimes you get a bit of a shock when you get that shape cut into foam, wood, etc. Then you see what you couldn’t see on the computer screen when you created it. ALIAS, ICEMSURF, etc will give you a much more accurate visualisation on the screen and much more rigorous surface analysis tools (if used correctly). “Good” curves will normally lead to “good” surfaces. Spend the time and get the curves right and the surfaces will follow.
Cheers
Rohan