STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan 15, 2021 – High-tech engineering group Sandvik has acquired a minority stake in the privately owned American company Oqton, a leading provider of AI-powered manufacturing solutions that allow manufacturers to manage, optimize and automate their manufacturing workflows.

Oqton provides a secure end-to-end, cloud-based platform that links data across the manufacturing ecosystem – from design, to production, to logistics – to help users understand, optimize and drive these highly interdependent, but traditionally siloed, processes. This open cloud platform combines order tracking, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), scheduling, manufacturing execution systems (MES), Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and production traceability into one platform, enabling manufacturers to operate agile factories that manage complex product mixes, with lower inventory and a simplified supply chain.

The company was founded in 2017, with a corporate base in San Francisco, USA and three R&D centers located in Belgium, Denmark and China. Oqton’s founding team includes Samir Hanna and Ben Schrauwen and several angel investors, including former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, Dries Buytaert from Drupal and Acquia, and Peter Mercelis from Layerwise. The management team welcomes the transaction, which will provide Oqton with a strong industrial partner that will accelerate opportunities for growth. The financing will be used to further develop Oqton’s platform, while expanding its commercial partnerships in multiple domains and verticals, such as additive manufacturing, robotic welding and CNC machining.

Sandvik’s customers – regardless of their size – share similar challenges in manufacturing. Striking the difficult balance between flexibility, effective machine use and minimizing waste, all while facing a lack of manufacturing insights, can restrain productivity.

Oqton’s solution targets inefficiencies and waste in processes throughout the manufacturing workflow. It is unique in that it combines several manufacturing software capabilities (CAD, PLM, CAM, IOT, MES, QMS) into a single platform, enabling an unprecedented degree of AI-powered automation and optimization. Users can automatically capture expert knowledge and eliminate repetitive tasks, access technologies remotely and across multiple sites, and optimize production planning to improve utilization and quality.

Being fully integrated, users can also link the platform to their traditional technologies, such as CNC, welding, and post-processing machines for a truly end-to-end manufacturing solution, making their processes faster, more adaptable, and more cost-effective.

“This investment is in line with our strategic agenda to broaden our offering in digital manufacturing. We are looking forward to working with Oqton and finding ways to expand our offering for increased customer productivity by creating new products that take advantage of Sandvik’s extensive know-how about manufacturing processes and Oqton’s AIpowered manufacturing solutions”, says Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik.

“Sandvik will help us scale globally with both a direct and indirect sales approach. We truly think time has come for the manufacturing space to embrace the cloud and we are working hard to facilitate this,” explains Ben Schrauwen, CEO, Oqton.

“Oqton’s solution targets inefficiencies and waste in the manufacturing workflow. We believe that our relationship with Oqton will give us further opportunities to define and reduce waste throughout the entire manufacturing process. We share the same desire to automate workflows and make our customers more efficient”, says Mathias Johansson, President of the Design & Planning Automation division in Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions.

“I am looking forward to integrating Oqton’s AI technology with Sandvik’s products and together helping customers worldwide increase their manufacturing efficiency and flexibility” says Samir Hanna, Chairman, Oqton.

The relationship with Oqton will be managed by Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions’ division Design & Planning Automation, within the business area Sandvik Manufacturing and Machining Solutions. The amount of the in-vestment was not disclosed.

To learn more about how Sandvik is shaping the future of digital manufacturing, visit https://www.home.sandvik/en.

About Sandvik Group

Sandvik is a high-tech and global engineering group offering products and services that enhance customer productivity, profitability and safety. We hold world-leading positions in selected areas – tools and tooling systems for metal cutting; equipment and tools, service and technical solutions for the mining and construction industries; products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as products for industrial heating. In 2017, the Group had approximately 43,000 employees and sales of 91 billion SEK in more than 150 countries within continuing operations.

About Oqton

Oqton develops AI-powered manufacturing solutions to allow manufacturers to manage, optimize, and automate their additive manufacturing workflows. Their FactoryOS is a secure, cloud-based platform that links data across the complete manufacturing ecosystem – from design to production to logistics. Founded in San Francisco, Oqton is based in Ghent, Belgium, with offices in the US, China, and Denmark. To learn more about Oqton, visit www.oqton.com or contact info@oqton.com.

Invitation

ANN ARBOR, MI, USA, Jan 15, 2021 – CIMdata, Inc., the leading global Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) consulting and research firm, announces its 2021 PLM Market & Industry Forum schedule and theme. For 2021, these events will be held virtually over the course of three half-days.

The first session will take place in April with coverage over five time zones. This session will consider the current economic climate, leading trends, and their effects on the PLM economy. There will be a detailed look at the state and trends of current and future PLM markets and the eagerly awaited first public release of CIMdata’s 2020 PLM market analysis results. Update sessions are scheduled for June and September.

The theme for 2021 is “Resilience in the Face of Crisis: Bouncing Forward.” The PLM Economy was poised for another strong year in 2020 when COVID-19 stopped the world in its tracks. Companies in a wide range of industries had to immediately adapt to support working from home, remote collaboration, and many other scenarios. The PLM Economy responded and showed their ability to deliver value to their customers. Presentations will show how the PLM Economy and its many customers have chosen to thrive in these uncertain times.

According to Stan Przybylinski, CIMdata’s Vice President, “CIMdata believes that times like these are ripe for boldly going where organizations have not gone before. Applying the right technology and processes to help define a new normal for a product or manufacturing process is often part of PLM’s goal. We will use this forum to explore the resilience of and innovation by the PLM Economy and their industrial clients.” Mr. Przybylinski added, “There have been some great examples of bouncing forward, creating new products, new business models, and new services. What have we learned? What changes might be permanent, and which ones might spring back to the pre-COVID-19 status quo? What new business opportunities arose during the pandemic, and which ones will stand the test of non-COVID-19 time?”

We will cover the following topics during the first session:

1. The current state of PLM
2. PLM global market analysis for the 2020 calendar year
3. The Resilience of the PLM Economy
4. Industrial Resilience in the Face of Crisis

For more information on the presentations, please visit https://www.cimdata.com/en/education/plm-market-industry-forums.

Participants will gain a solid understanding of the current and emerging PLM market, the dynamics impacting it, and the expectations for its continued evolution. Attendees will also learn more about opportunities and approaches they can use to navigate the PLM Economy in the year to come.

To learn more or register for a 2021 PLM Market & Industry Forum event, please go to https://cimdata.com/en/education/plm-market-industry-forums.

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI, USA, Jan 14, 2021 – CCE, a leading provider of advanced CAD interoperability technology, announced immediate availability of the Beta version of EnSuite-Cloud ReVue, a secure peer-to-peer CAD collaboration solution that works directly on the browser without the need for any software installation or CAD licenses.

EnSuite-Cloud ReVue is a revolutionary CAD collaboration product that provides users a secure platform for collaboration while maintaining complete control of their intellectual property. Participants can conduct engineering design reviews using 3D multi-CAD data from all major CAD systems like CATIA, NX, SOLIDWORKS, Creo, Inventor… directly in the browser.

Some of the key capabilities of EnSuite-Cloud ReVue include:

1. No software installation or browser extensions required
2. Collaboration using 3D multi-CAD data – no CAD licenses required
3. No uploading of the native, proprietary design data
4. No data footprint left after collaboration
5. Integrated conference call facility
6. Well-defined roles & privileges for participants for data protection

“We are extremely excited for this first big product announcement of the new year. Our team started working on this collaboration technology early last year when it was clear that the COVID crisis would force all of us to get innovative with remote collaboration methodologies. Our goal with EnSuite-Cloud ReVue is to provide engineering teams with a secure alternative over typical screen-sharing apps for CAD collaboration. Users have complete control of their intellectual property and do not need to upload their proprietary data to discuss with others on the team. As a result, everyone will be empowered with access to high quality secure 3D CAD collaboration technology regardless of their location,” said Vinay Wagle, CCE’s V.P. of Sales & Marketing.

EnSuite-Cloud ReVue has significant advantages over typical screen-sharing apps, widely used for engineering collaboration today.

EnSuite-Cloud ReVue supports all major CAD formats, including CATIA V5, CATIA V6 (3DXML), SOLIDWORKS, NX, Creo, Autodesk Inventor, Solid Edge, JT, IFC and glTF, among others.

Users can visit the EnSuite-Cloud ReVue page with immediate effect and start collaborating with their team.

About CCE

Incorporated in Michigan, CCE has more than 25 years of CAD/CAM/CAE software development experience, as well as an extensive background in related services. Since 1989, CCE’s focus on CAD technology & application development has spearheaded its mission to deliver customers value through innovative, disciplined, and communications-focused technology products and services. CCE has offices located in Farmington Hills, Michigan and Fort Lee, New Jersey. For more information on CCE’s products and services, visit www.cadcam-e.com.

PARIS, France, Jan 14, 2021 – ESI Group, global player in virtual prototyping for industries, is to develop lightweight, recyclable and cost-efficient aluminum solutions for the automotive market along with Constellium, Groupe Renault, Institut de Soudure (Welding Institute) and the University of Lorraine within the ISA3 project.

Project ISA3 aims to further lightweight vehicles by accelerating automakers’ transition from steel to aluminum. The project will focus on alloys and solutions that enable closed loop recycling.

“We are very excited about Project ISA3 and the opportunity to further demonstrate Constellium’s commitment to providing sustainable solutions to its automotive customers. We believe this project will advance aluminum’s position in the automotive market as manufacturers seek to reduce carbon emissions and expand their electric vehicle offerings. This partnership with a strategic customer allows us to explore solutions that can apply to a wide range of vehicles and deliver both environmental and economic benefits,” said Jack Clark, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Excellence and Chief Technical Officer. “Further, working with our partners on end-of-life recycling is an exciting opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of the entire automotive aluminum supply chain.”

Patrice Belliard, Expert, Flat Products at Groupe Renault, added: “We need to reduce the cost per kilogram saved on automotive parts, especially aluminum parts. The ISA3 project aims to reduce the price per kilogram by half on aluminum doors. This is essential to continue to lightweight vehicles by using aluminum in the future.”

Pierre Culière, Pre-Certification & Validation Outcome Director, ESI Group, commented: “To enable faster and more accurate development, the ISA3 project will rely on ESI Group’s solutions and team of experts. Thanks to our ‘Pre-certification & Validation’ and ‘Smart Manufacturing’ solutions, we will help to develop and validate the design and manufacturing of the aluminum doors without the need for physical prototypes.”

Project ISA3 focuses on the design and development of aluminum automotive doors that would be 15% lighter than current average aluminum solutions, more efficient to produce, and recyclable at all stages of its life cycle. This €7 million project is to further lightweight vehicles by accelerating automakers’ transition from steel to aluminum. Scheduled to run through 2023 and is partially funded by Bpifrance, it will focus on alloys and solutions that enable closed loop recycling.

About Constellium

Constellium (NYSE: CSTM) is a global sector leader that develops innovative, value added aluminum products for a broad scope of markets and applications, including aerospace, automotive and packaging. Constellium generated €5.9 billion of revenue in 2019.

About ESI Group

Founded in 1973, ESI Group is a leading innovator in Virtual Prototyping solutions and a global enabler of industrial transformation. Thanks to the company’s unique know-how in the physics of materials, it has developed and refined, over the last 45 years, advanced simulation capabilities. Having identified gaps in the traditional approach to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), ESI has introduced a holistic methodology centered on industrial productivity and product performance throughout its entire lifecycle, i.e. Product Performance Lifecycle, from engineering to manufacturing and in operation.

Present in more than 20 countries, and in major industrial sectors, ESI employs 1200 high level specialists. In 2019, its turnover was 146M€. ESI is headquartered in France and is listed on compartment B of Euronext Paris.
For further information, go to www.esi-group.com.

Camarillo, California (January 14, 2021) – ESPRIT, the industry’s most trusted CAM software for CNC programming, optimization, and simulation, announces the debut release of its on-demand training platform, ESPRIT Learning Center, to the general public.

Traditionally, ESPRIT’s applications engineers lead in-person trainings in ESPRIT offices and also on-site at customer facilities around the world. While application engineers offer some of the best CAM courses in the industry, the ESPRIT team understands that not everyone who needs software training has the resources to travel to an ESPRIT office.

To support customers throughout the pandemic, ESPRIT began conducting instructor-led, online training sessions in early 2020. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. To further satisfy users’ growing appetite for high-quality online training, ESPRIT now introduces the ESPRIT Learning Center to the general public.

The ESPRIT Learning Center is an online training platform with on-demand, self-paced training courses created specifically for ESPRIT CAM programmers. ESPRIT’s top engineers and instructors have poured a huge amount of effort and energy into creating these courses. The first learning paths to be released are “New User Milling,” “New User Turning,” and “New User Mill-Turn.” Each learning path includes five to seven training courses that guide users through several different machine models and part models to introduce different machining processes in ESPRIT.

The main purpose for creating discrete online learning paths is to replicate what a student can learn from an on-site training class. Users may take the course anywhere, and at any time. ESPRIT customers can learn at their own pace while saving the time and cost associated with traveling. Each learning path also comes with one ESPRIT student license for each learner, so users can take the courses at home or in their free time, without interrupting their daily programming or production work.

“ESPRIT Learning Center gives us the exact learning experience that we’ve been looking for. The courses are very thorough, wasting no time getting to the point. Having all the supplied files and models within the course window makes access quick and convenient.” said Scott Hornbeak, programmer at Cassavant Machining. “This online training will not only make it easier for existing ESPRIT users to transition to the new ESPRIT—it will also help our new programmers rapidly get familiar with ESPRIT, without the need to travel to a training site.”

“ESPRIT Learning Center is a game-changer for our customers who want to learn ESPRIT,” says Yijun Fan, Director of Product Marketing at DP Technology, the makers of ESPRIT. “Our end goal is to make high-quality ESPRIT training courses more accessible to our global customers. We want to share our best practices with users so they can optimize their machine programming to reduce the cycle time, machine setup time, and machine downtime. We want our users’ machines to start running as soon as possible and keep running at the highest efficiency. And that’s always going to be our priority at DP Technology.”

To learn more about the ESPRIT Learning Center, please visit: https://www.espritcam.com/learningcenter

About ESPRIT and DP Technology Corp.

DP Technology Corp. is a leading developer and supplier of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. ESPRIT®, DP Technology’s flagship product, is a powerful CAM system for CNC programming, optimization, and simulation—supporting the entire manufacturing process. With factory-certified post processors delivering machine-optimized G-code and ESPRIT’s ability to solve unique challenges with automation solutions, ESPRIT is the smart manufacturing solution for any machining application. With world-class technical support, ESPRIT empowers you to get started quickly and keep running at top efficiency. ESPRIT is the only CAM system you’ll ever need.

DP Technology reinforces its commitment to technical excellence by dedicating nearly 20 percent of its annual revenue to ongoing research and product development. This long-term focus has produced powerful technological innovations that have placed ESPRIT in an industry-leading position since its market launch in 1985.

For additional information about DP Technology and ESPRIT, call +1 805 388 6000, email esprit@dptechnology.com, or visit www.espritcam.com.

WESSLING, Germany, Jan 13, 2021 – OPEN MIND Technologies AG drives innovative functions for mold making and mill turning with the latest 2021.1 release of its hyperMILL CAD/CAM suite. The new 2021.1 version of the hyperMILL CAD/CAM suite offers a wide range of new functions for even higher surface qualities primarily in tool and mold making. In mill turning, OPEN MIND now offers an option for simultaneous turning and HPC machining. In addition, a new function available in hyperCAD-S allows you to easily align stock and model data, which is particularly useful before reworking additively manufactured stocks.

The 5-axis Radial Machining function makes programming easier while delivering top surface quality. This new strategy allows toolpaths for bottle shapes, for example, to be calculated much more quickly using a radial projection method. An indexed tilt per cut allows each step to achieve the best possible surface quality. In addition, the standard integrated “High-precision surface mode” (for ultra-precise surfaces in the µm range) and “Smooth overlap” strategies are available in transition areas.

Best possible surface quality

The new XY Optimization in 3D Profile Finishing function, which improves machining with X or Y axis infeed strategies, hones the “Smooth overlap” strategy to perfection. If an area cannot be optimally machined in the X-orientation on a steep wall, for example, it is automatically machined in the Y-orientation in order to maintain a constant infeed. The optimized blending in the overlap area makes changes to the machining direction invisible on the workpiece.

Edit toolpaths interactively

hyperMILL 2021.1 from OPEN MIND provides a new, extremely convenient and intuitive option for subsequently editing toolpaths. The “Edit toolpath” Interactive mode gives you great flexibility, for example, to select and remove existing toolpaths at selected points and curves or entire toolpath sequences between two G0 movements.

hyperMILL adds turning to its repertoire

With the optional hyperMILL MILL-TURN Machining module, OPEN MIND once again demonstrates that it’s a leader in the field of multi-axis machining strategies, and now applies its milling expertise to turning: To combine all the advantages of HPC turning and simultaneous turning, the high-performance mode has been integrated into 3-axis Simultaneous Roughing. This makes it very easy to use high-performance toolpaths with an optimized approach and retract movements during simultaneous turning. Simultaneous roughing is enhanced with the advantages of HPC turning at the push of a button, so combining both technologies with maximum user-friendliness. The benefits include not only shorter machining times, but also increased process reliability, a longer tool life, and the option to use shorter clamped tools.

Ensures a perfect fit

The integrated hyperCAD-S CAD software provides a new function, which is particularly helpful when the workpiece to be milled differs only slightly from the stock. In cases where a high-precision pre-cast part or an additively manufactured workpiece needs to be reworked, the “Align Best Fit” function ensures that the CAD model of the workpiece fits perfectly in the stock’s model. CAD model data can be aligned with each other on the basis of defined pairs of points. An algorithm automatically calculates the best possible alignment. The user can use various parameters to control exactly how the alignment should look. They can lock translation and rotation axes as well as define a weighting between the individual pairs of points. This allows, for example, meshes of stocks or welding areas to be optimally and quickly aligned in relation to the actual CAD model.

About OPEN MIND Technologies AG

MONHEIM, Germany, Jan 13, 2021 – At the turn of the year, EPLAN, the engineering solutions provider, started its Partner Network (EPN). It provides a framework for existing and new partnerships to jointly develop and market interfaces. The EPN partnership is based on common binding goals for enhancing and supporting interfaces. This commitment both increases customer benefits and enhances quality.

EPLAN Partner Network pools the expertise between cooperation partners with defined development goals.

Maximum advantage via perfect interaction

EPLAN CEO Sebastian Seitz explains: “Aside from using EPLAN software, our customers also use a variety of other software applications from various manufacturers in the ERP, PLM, PLC and simulation environments to name just a few. The effective interaction of these various applications is especially important to them. As part of the EPN, we will therefore be focusing on joint development of integrations as well as quality assurance and support.”

Integration is everything

Asked about the motivation to found the new EPLAN Partner Network, the company’s Senior Vice President Strategy & Corporate Program Marco Litto says: “The professionalisation of our network systematically increases the benefits for end users.” As Litto explains, the goals are ambitious: “The connectors between our systems should be planned, developed, tested, supported and marketed with the same rigour and soundness that we are accustomed to with our own solutions. Together with our EPN partners, it will allow us to achieve a completely new level of customer focus.” Open interfaces and modern integrations will create a wide range of opportunities that users of the various software solutions will benefit from, not to mention the partner companies themselves.

“The effective interaction of various applications is particularly important for our customers. As part of the EPN, we will therefore be focusing on joint development of integrations as well as quality assurance and support,” says EPLAN CEO Sebastian Seitz.

“The professionalisation of our network systematically increases the benefits for end users,” says EPLAN Senior Vice President Strategy & Corporate Program Marco Litto.

Prestigious companies on board

Global key players of automation including Bosch Rexroth, B&R, Endress+Hauser, Festo, ifm electronic, Mitsubishi Electric, Phoenix Contact, Pilz, Rittal and Rockwell Automation are already taking part in the initiative. Software partners – for example configit, Contact Software, encoway, Gain, ISD, ISG, keytech, machineering, Procad, Quanos and SAE – are also participating in the new network. Both German and international companies are being approached to participate too, and EPLAN is currently in talks with many of them. For instance, UDMTEK in Korea was the first Asian company to seal the membership deal – others are certain to follow.

The best of all worlds

Rockwell Automation/USA Vice President Global Business Development Tom O’Reilly says: “A digital thread of data within and across organizations is one of the key requirements to bringing the Connected Enterprise to life. Together with EPLAN, we support companies through their digital transformation by enabling data consistency, improving efficiency of engineering processes and shortening time-to-market.”

Also Bosch Rexroth got involved right at the network’s start. As the company’s Vice President of Sales Steffen Winkler explains, “Configuration of automation solutions and the dynamic provision of exact device data are essential with regards to Industry 4.0. The Bosch Rexroth ctrlX Configurator enables easy configuration of complete ctrlX AUTOMATION solutions. By directly integrating our configurator into the EPLAN Platform, users will receive all device data of the configured system topology including detailed product lists and CAD data at the touch of a button. This integration ensures full data consistency and reuse of product data throughout the entire digital design phase.”

In Korea, UDMTEK CEO Gi Nam Wang also has good reasons for joining, saying: “We have decided to partner with EPLAN through EPN to leverage our industry-leading offerings and combine them with EPLAN’s best-in- class engineering platform. We are excited to partner with a world-class company as we embark on our next phase of growth and innovation.”

For more information, visit www.eplan-software.com/partner.

About EPLAN

EPLAN provides software and service solutions in the fields of electrical, automation and mechatronic engineering. The company develops one of the world’s leading design software solutions for machine and panel builders. EPLAN is also the ideal partner to streamline challenging engineering processes.

Both standardized as well as customized interfaces to ERP and PLM/PDM systems ensure data consistency along the whole value chain. Working with EPLAN means boundless communication across all engineering disciplines. No matter whether small or large enterprises: Customers can apply their expertise more efficiently. EPLAN wants to grow further with customers and partners and pushes integration and automation in engineering forward. Worldwide, EPLAN supports over 58,000 customers. “Efficient engineering” is the focus.

EPLAN was founded in 1984 and is part of the owner-operated Friedhelm Loh Group. The Friedhelm Loh Group operates worldwide with 12 production sites and 96 international subsidiaries. The entire group employs 12.100 people and generated revenues of around €2,6 billion in 2019. For the twelfth time in succession, the family business has won the accolade “Top German Employer” in 2020. In addition Friedhelm Loh Group was recognized as “Top vocational trainer” according to a study of Deutschland Test and Focus Money. For more information, visit https://www.eplan-software.com.

HELSINKI, Finland, Jan 13, 2021 – NAPA pleased to announce the availability of the second NAPA Release of 2020, NAPA Release 2020.2.

What’s new in NAPA Release 2020.2:

Geometry Modeling in NAPA Designer

Multiple Views

NAPA Designer 2020.2 enables the use of multiple views for geometry modeling. The views can be divided either vertically or horizontally by the user. The multiple views can be used with any geometry, such as structures with NAPA Steel or compartments, and are especially advantageous when modeling the hull surface.

Arrangements

NAPA Designer has been amended to support also reference surface arrangements, which can group any kind of planes, surfaces and surface objects together, and can be applied, for example, in the compartment modeling. NAPA Designer can also manage several different types of arrangements at the same time. This is beneficial in instances such as when exporting the compartment and structure geometry simultaneously to another software.

Arrangements in NAPA Designer

Hull Form and Compartment Modeling

Many significant improvements have been made to the surface and compartment modeling in NAPA Designer. For example, the additional dialogues, to affect curve and surface parameters, mean that it’s now easier to control the curve shapes and definitions, and surface orientations. The compartment parameters can be managed directly in NAPA Designer with the table editor. The compartment visualization opacity can be controlled, for example, when comparing the compartment and structure geometry.

Hydrostatic and Stability Calculations

Intact Stability Code Amendments

A new Intact Stability Check Manager application has been introduced to verify the rule compliance of loading conditions and produce the operational limit curves (minimum GM and maximum KG). The application also supports the latest amendments to the Intact Stability Code, related to the rule compliance checks for anchor handling, towing and lifting operations according to the MSC.415(97) resolution.

SOLAS 2020

NAPA PROB Manager and Statutory Compliance Manager applications have been amended to support the latest SOLAS II-1 amendments. The PROB Manager application previously supported the amendments to an extent in former NAPA versions. The amendments mean that support for Regulation 12 has been added together with some important improvements, regarding the output and calculation options. The Statutory Compliance Manager application for cargo vessels now supports the intermediate stage calculation for vessels equipped with cross-flooding devices and the renewed trim handling in accordance with the SOLAS II-1 amendments.

More information on hydrostatic and stability calculations can be found in NAPA Release Notes 2020.2.

Structural Design with NAPA Steel

Structural Modeling

A range of structural modelling improvements have been made to NAPA Designer to increase productivity and enhance the efficiency of inputting details in the model. The new features include the new bracket tools for defining stiffeners on brackets and intuitive definition of inserting plates on structures amongst other functionalities. The improved handling of the persistence of structures will help survival in the accidental or unintentional failures of surface geometry.

Improved Create Stiffeners dialog

FEM

FEM meshing in NAPA Designer comes with many new tools and features for creating good quality mesh refinements. Among the features, is the smoothing algorithm, which improves the mesh quality especially at the free boundaries of mesh. The same target is in the improvements of creating well-structured mesh layers on the boundaries of openings. The new automatic and semiautomatic features are supported and completed by the advanced interactive tools such as FEM traces at stiffener and bracket surface meshes.

OCX Interface

The neutral OCX (Open Class 3D Exchange) export functionalities have been improved to support a full export of the NAPA Steel structure model. The OCX files, originally exported from NAPA Designer or from other CAD systems, can be also imported to NAPA Designer. The OCX import functionality supports the import of geometry, panel, plate, opening/hole and stiffener data. The import will create directly a NAPA Steel structure arrangement in which all structure types are automatically mapped to NAPA structure types, according to the OCX catalog.

NAPA model (left), exported in the OCX format and visualized in DNVGL Nauticus Hull (right)

NAPA Viewer

A new application, NAPA Viewer, has been published as a beta version. The application is intended to share the NAPA model geometry with a larger group of stakeholders, including the ones without having access to NAPA software otherwise. NAPA Viewer works directly on a web browser and can be accessed with any device.

Note: NAPA Viewer is not a part of the official NAPA Release 2020.2 however is available for testing as a beta version. To obtain a test version and for more information, please contact NAPA Customer Service.

Drawings with NAPA Drafting

NAPA Drafting has more efficient options for creating structural detail views, directly from a 3D model. The new options make it possible to obtain more detailed drawings without overloading drawings with too much data, whilst maintaining efficient updates for the drawings. Our experts have also made significant improvements to structural details, compartments, and surfaces, which will increase the efficiency and quality for users when working with NAPA Drafting.

More information on NAPA Steel, FEM and NAPA Drafting can be found in NAPA Release Notes 2020.2.

About NAPA

In its 30 years of operation, NAPA has become a global leader in software, services and data analysis for the maritime industry; providing best in class data-led solutions for safety, efficiency and productivity in both ship design and operations.

NAPA operates globally, with 11 offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas supported by its Helsinki headquarters. To date, NAPA has 420 user organizations for its design solutions and over 2,500 installations onboard vessels. For more information, visit www.napa.fi.