CAD SYSTEM DISTINCTIVE FEATURES IN SUBMARINE DESIGN

Abstract

Although the object of surface ships and submarine industries is the same (a floating artefact aimed to comply with a particular function), the particularities of this same function, the ways for achieving it, the costs involved, and the metrics used to analyse results are so different that in fact make both industries different, usually considering that tools and processes used in both should also be different. This includes CAD Systems, although in this case the dichotomy was not established in the very beginning, but formed as the processes in submarines and surface ships diverged with the pass of the time. In fact, CAD Systems were first conceived for solving problems in other sectors like aerospace/defence, as these industries had the resources to invest in such advanced technology. Submarines has been often perceived as a product with more similarities with hi-tech industries than with traditional shipbuilding. However, the impressive growth of surface ships and its requirement for reducing costs and delivery time made shipbuilding CAD Systems suppliers focus their attention in it as a source for obtaining incomes, developing, and adapting systems to this particular industry. General CAD Systems took advantage of the situation to implement themselves in submarine, where they remained (still remain) for many years. But the requirements for reducing costs also catch up with submarine, so in many cases they decided to put forward the replacement of general purpose CAD Systems with shipbuilding specific ones, and this produced an automatic reaction of shipbuilding CAD Systems suppliers that have devoted more effort to try to solve particular submarine problems. In order to check the convenience of the use in submarine of shipbuilding CAD Systems, nowadays focused in surface ships, first of all it should be studied the differences between both surface ships and submarines. Once established them, we would be in position to propose a suitable solution. As summary, this paper covers the differences between surface ships and submarine as well as provide a series of recommendations toward the design of current and future CAD Systems.