Presentation gives an overview of uses and advantages of computer aided design.

The paper discusses a number of facets of Computer-Aided Ship Design and Construction (CASDAC) in which the writer has been involved. A brief history of computers in the Navy is given, some notes on the CASDAC project, the flavor of two recent programs, Navy planning and philosophy in detail design. and construction, some notes on the Computer-Aided Piping Design and Construction (CAPDAC) project, and finally some notes on the increasingly important role of computer science. The U.S. Navy has a long history in the use of computers in shipbuilding. In May 1944 the first computer came into operation at Harvard, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator -- the Harvard Mark I. This was designed and constructed by Professor Howard Aiken -- at that time a Commander in the United States Navy. It was the Bureau of Ships which first sponsored the operation of this calculator and some of the first problems attacked originated from the Bureau. In 1952, the Applied Mathematics Laboratory was established at the now David W. Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center (DTNSRDC) to initiate computer service to the Navy. For this installation the Univac's 6th computer was installed in 1953. Early work included shaft vibrations, shell stiffening, propeller design, underwater sound intensities, pipe stress analysis, and nuclear reactor design. Within a year, this computer was operating around the clock. By 1958, clients included personnel from the naval shipyards processing programs associated with their ship construction program. By 1960 naval shipyards possessed their own computers and programs were in operation for tank capacity tables, hull deflection, voltage drop, shock mounts, sound isolation, mast calculations, weights and moments, propulsion shaft bearing reactions, pipe bend calculations and pipe stress analysis.

A growing amount of attention has been turned to Group Technology which deals with the area of batch-type manufacturing for those who are engaged with small lot sizes and a variety of products. Development and implementation of integrated computer aided manufacturing (ICAM) will lead to rapid changes in U.S. manufacturing industry. It has been recognized that Group Technology is an essential element of the foundation for the successful development and implementation of ICAM through the application of the part-family concept.

Proceedings of the REAPS Technical Symposium. Paper No. 25: Integrating Shipyard Design and Manufacturing Functions into an Existing CAD/CAM System.

The computer graphics technology is now developed far enough to be applicable in CAD systems for use in the shipbuilding industry. Computer graphics implies on-line access to the computer system, and will give the users a more direct contact with the computer assisted design process. Graphical presentation of the contents of the database will make the database more user-oriented.

Proceedings of the REAPS Technical Symposium. Paper No. 1: Alternatives for Effective CAD/CAM Utilization.

The use of computers has made a tremendous impact on the ship design and the ship building processes in recent years. Designers utilize special programs to optimize their design according to economic and performance requirements. for a certain type of vessel in a certain type of service. From this iterative process, the optimum parameters are obtained and the preliminary design carried out.