Fast Ferry Builders Automate With Workshop Construction Software.

4 December, Fremantle, WA - The world's leading designers and builders of fast ferries continue to adopt cutting edge CAD/CAM technology to optimise their new designs. Helping to provide the software tools necessary to support design optimisation is Graphic Magic, the Fremantle based developers of the Maxsurf range of marine CAD software. One of the leading suppliers of CAD/CAM software to the shipbuilding industry worldwide, Graphic Magic has recently announced further enhancements to its ship construction software.

Workshop, the newest module in the Maxsurf range, is a construction software module which forms a key part of the Maxsurf range of marine design, analysis and construction software. It provides construction detailing capabilities such as frame, stringer and plate generation, for designers and builders of all types of marine craft. First released in 1994, Workshop is now in use around the world by builders of oil tankers, fast ferries, yachts and barges.

The enhanced Maxsurf range is now in daily use at two companies at the forefront of the fast ferry industry. Austal Ships and Wavemaster International have both integrated Graphic Magic's CAD/CAM technology into their design and build operations as part of their on-going efforts to stay ahead in this highly competitive industry.

Graphic Magic Managing Director, Mr Philip Christensen, describes the choice of Workshop by Austal and Wavemaster as " a significant endorsement of Workshop and the entire Maxsurf range of marine software. CAD/CAM automation is now a strategic technology in the extremely competitive fast craft construction business and we are very pleased that Workshop is helping to lead the way in improving design and construction productivity."

Workshop is the only parametrically based marine constructionsoftware system specifically designed for use by the small shipyard. Parametric modelling is an approach which links part shapes to parameters in the underlying hull surface. When the hull shape changes during design, parts can be automatically recalculated from their original definition. Graphic Magic Technical Director, Mr Andrew Mason describes how this approach allows design changes to "flow through" to automatically update the generation of parts, even late in the design process. "Workshop's parametric methods let designers continue to explore design refinements even after hull construction has commenced. The ability to continually refine the design and to concurrently engineer the design during construction allows for more optimisation, a key factor in the extremely competitive fast ferry market".

Austal Ships and Wavemaster International use the full range of Maxsurf software in their highly successful fast ferry design and construction operations. The launch this year of the one of the world's largest aluminium vessels by Austal Ships, designed and analysed using the Maxsurf range of software, shows just how far the Maxsurf range has come in supporting the state of the art in small ship construction.

Workshop forms part of the Maxsurf range of marine design, analysis and construction software. Other modules in the Maxsurf range include; Maxsurf - 3D hull modelling, Hydromax - hydrostatics analysis, and a range of plotting, input and performance prediction utilities.

Graphic Magic Pty Ltd develops and sells computer aided design software for the marine industry. Its product range includes the Maxsurf range of marine software and Multiframe, a three dimensional stress analysis software system.