By Albacore

Research Ltd.

Albacore Research Ltd. License Agreement

This is a legal agreement between the end-user and Albacore Research Ltd. By opening this package the user agrees
to be bound by the terms of this agreement. If the user does not agree to the terms he should promptly return this
package including all accompanying items to the place where it was obtained for a full refund.
1. Grant Of License: The licensee receives a license for unlimited use on a single user system.
2. Copyright: The program remains the exclusive property of ALBACORE RESEARCH LTD. and is protected by
copyright laws. You may make copies of the software for back-up purposes or for transfer to hard disks, provided
that one copy is only used at any time. You may not copy the written material accompanying the software.
3. Limited Warranty: Albacore Research Ltd. warrants that the software will perform substantially in accordance
with the accompanying written materials for a period of 90 days from date of receipt. In some countries the warranty
period may be different.
ALTHOUGH THE SOFTWARE HAS BEEN TESTED AND THE DOCUMENTATION HAS BEEN
REVIEWED, ALBACORE RESEARCH LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WITH
RESPECT TO THIS SOFTWARE, ITS QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. THIS SOFTWARE IS SOLD AS IS AND YOU, THE PURCHASER ARE ASSUMING THE
ENTIRE RISK AS TO ITS QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE.
IN NO EVENT WILL ALBACORE RESEARCH LTD. BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER
(INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS
INTERUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS, DAMAGES TO
EQUIPMENT, MATERIAL AND PERSONS) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS
SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
THE WARRANTY SET ABOVE IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHERS, ORAL OR WRITTEN, EXPRESSED OR
IMPLIED.

4196 Kashtan Place

Victoria, BC, Canada V8X 4L7
Phone: 1-250-479-3638
Fax: 1-250-279-0868
e-mail: albacore@direct.ca

Jan-99

Contents
Installation

Requirements .............................................................................................................................1
Installing CAD-Link ..................................................................................................................1
Installing the Hardware Lock (licensed users only) ...................................................................4
Hardware Lock Drivers (licensed users only)..............................................................4
Uninstalling CAD-Link..............................................................................................................5
To Uninstall CAD-Link98 ...........................................................................................5
To Uninstall the Hardware Lock Drivers (licensed users only) ...................................5
Technical Support ......................................................................................................................5

Exploring

Overview....................................................................................................................................7
3D Product Model......................................................................................................................7
Organizing your work and data..................................................................................................8
Projects ........................................................................................................................8
Units.............................................................................................................................8
Planar Group Drawings................................................................................................9
Parts .............................................................................................................................9
Terminology...............................................................................................................................9
Starting CAD-Link.....................................................................................................................9
Checking your system font.......................................................................................................11
Exploring the supplied data......................................................................................................12
The Unit Drawing ......................................................................................................12
Register a 3D Unit .....................................................................................................13
The CAD-Link Navigator ..........................................................................................15
Viewing the 3D unit...................................................................................................20
Shading the 3D unit ...................................................................................................23
Viewing a Planar Group Drawing..............................................................................26
Activate Layers ..........................................................................................................28
Parts ...........................................................................................................................29
Plate Parts ..................................................................................................................30
Stiffener parts.............................................................................................................32
Faceplate parts ...........................................................................................................33
Nesting.......................................................................................................................34
Virtual reality.............................................................................................................35
Creating exchange drawings ......................................................................................35

Tutorial

37

Overview..................................................................................................................................37

Part Detailing

39

Overview..................................................................................................................................39
Planar Group Toolbars .............................................................................................................39

CADLink98

Contents i

Planar Group toolbar..................................................................................................39

Detailing flyout ..........................................................................................................40
Define part flyout.......................................................................................................40
Standard & Outfit part flyout .....................................................................................40
Longitudinal members ...............................................................................................41

Designing Frames

43

Overview..................................................................................................................................43
Opening a frame drawing...........................................................................................43
Marking intersections with structure..........................................................................45
Scallops......................................................................................................................46
ShipReport Profiles & Plates Library ........................................................................49
Cutout and profile insertion .......................................................................................51
Toolpath.....................................................................................................................54
ShipReport Process color setup .................................................................................55
Inserting the manholes ...............................................................................................56
View progress in the 3D unit .....................................................................................57
Plate Solids ................................................................................................................59
Creating stiffeners from flat bar stock .......................................................................60
Defining stiffener parts ..............................................................................................65
Part list dialog ............................................................................................................69
Stiffener marking lines...............................................................................................70
Part Orientation Icon..................................................................................................71
Defining the plate part ...............................................................................................72
Adding entities to an existing part .............................................................................75
Review .......................................................................................................................76
Frame deck girder with faceplate...............................................................................76
2D Group XREF ........................................................................................................78
Marking the inside end of the faceplate .....................................................................79
Marking the outside end of the faceplate ...................................................................81
Faceplate for deck girder ...........................................................................................82
Defining the faceplate part.........................................................................................84
Flanged margin plate..................................................................................................85
Correcting the gap......................................................................................................86
Margin Bracket toolpath ............................................................................................88
Margin bracket solid ..................................................................................................89
Margin bracket mark far side .....................................................................................92
Frame profile..............................................................................................................93
Creating the mirror parts............................................................................................95
Checking group drawings ..........................................................................................97

Center Girder

99

Faceplates.................................................................................................................................99
Copying parts .........................................................................................................................102

Using Standards

105

Overview................................................................................................................................105
Exploring an existing standard.................................................................................105
Creating an out of plane UCS ..................................................................................106
Constructing the bracket insertion point at the top end of stiffener .........................107
Inserting a standard bracket at top end of stiffener ..................................................109
Copying brackets at top end of stiffener ..................................................................111
Checking the unit ...................................................................................................................112
Check the unit drawing ............................................................................................112

Contents ii

CADLink98

Check all group drawings ........................................................................................113

Interference checking

115

Overview....................................................................................................................... .........115
Create the interference drawing ...............................................................................115
Calculating interferences .........................................................................................116

Nesting

119

Overview................................................................................................................................119
Nesting Toolbar .......................................................................................................120
Nesting Preparation................................................................................................................120
ShipReport Nesting Settings ....................................................................................121
Organizing Nesting ..................................................................................................121
Nesting Terminology ...............................................................................................121
Starting to nest .......................................................................................................................122
Opening a nest drawing ...........................................................................................122
Adding a new nest....................................................................................................123
Inserting parts into the nest drawing ........................................................................124
Inserting Parts ..........................................................................................................125
Align Function .........................................................................................................126
Snap Function ..........................................................................................................127
Slide Part function ...................................................................................................129
Move & Rotate function ..........................................................................................131
Assigning parts to nest .............................................................................................132
Checking Nests and creating BOMs ......................................................................................133
Running Nest Check ................................................................................................134
Nest BOM count standards ......................................................................................136
Checking for not nested parts ..................................................................................137
Plotting the nests ....................................................................................................................138
Exporting to NC-Pyros...........................................................................................................139
Remnant Control ....................................................................................................................140
Creating a Remnant .................................................................................................140

Assembly Drawings

143

Overview................................................................................................................................143
Assembly Drawing Steps .......................................................................................................143
Preparing Assembly Templates ...............................................................................144
Assigning Assembly Templates...............................................................................144
Creating Assembly Master Drawing........................................................................145
Checking the Assembly Master ...............................................................................145
Creating Individual Assembly drawings..................................................................147
Annotating Assembly Drawings ..............................................................................149
Copy Annotations ....................................................................................................154
Inserting CG position...............................................................................................154
Rotating for assembly position ................................................................................155
Annotating Higher Assembly Ranks........................................................................156
Plotting Assembly Drawings ...................................................................................157

Reports

159

Overview................................................................................................................................159
Structural Reports ....................................................................................................159
Condensed Assembly Report...................................................................................160
Detailed Assembly Report .......................................................................................161

CADLink98

Contents iii

Profile Report...........................................................................................................161
Standard Parts Reports.............................................................................................163
Nest Reports...........................................................................................................................164
Nests Dialog.............................................................................................................164
Condensed Nest Reports ..........................................................................................165
Detailed Nest Reports ..............................................................................................166

Command Reference

167

Overview................................................................................................................................167

CAD-Link Menu

169

Overview................................................................................................................................169
Navigator Dialog....................................................................................................................170
3D Unit tab ..............................................................................................................170
2D Group tab ...........................................................................................................171
Using existing 2D drawings in CAD-Link...............................................................173
Properties .................................................................................................................174
Nest Tab...................................................................................................................175
Assembly Tab ..........................................................................................................177
Standard Tab............................................................................................................179
Interference Tab.......................................................................................................180
Piping Tab................................................................................................................182
Workshop Tab .........................................................................................................183
Nest Templates ........................................................................................................185
Orientation Icon templates.......................................................................................186
Export Tab ...............................................................................................................186
Project Sub-Menu...................................................................................................................187
New Project .............................................................................................................188
New unit...................................................................................................................192
Project Settings ........................................................................................................192
Activate ShipReport.................................................................................................193
Lock and Unlock Files ............................................................................................193
Select View..............................................................................................................193
Planar Group menu ................................................................................................................195
New Planar Group ...................................................................................................195
Transfer Entities to Group .......................................................................................195
XREF Visibility ......................................................................................................195
Visibility ..................................................................................................................196
Layer Off .................................................................................................................197
Curved Group menu...............................................................................................................197
New Curved Group ..................................................................................................197
Insert Curved Plates .................................................................................................198
Check Interferences .................................................................................................199
Check sub-menu....................................................................................................................201
3D Unit DWG..........................................................................................................201
Planar Group DWGs...............................................................................................202
Inactive Parts............................................................................................................204
Toolbars sub-menu................................................................................................................204
About .......................................................................................................................205

Planar Menu

207

Overview................................................................................................................................207
Toolpath...................................................................................................................208
Select Process .........................................................................................................209

Contents iv

CADLink98

Solid Sub-Menu ................................................................................................................. ....210

New Plate.................................................................................................................210
New Face Plate ........................................................................................................211
New Stiffener...........................................................................................................213
Curved stiffeners......................................................................................................218
Flange Plate .............................................................................................................218
Edit Stiffener............................................................................................................220
Endcut Stiffener .......................................................................................................221
Part Sub-Menu .......................................................................................................................221
Define Part ...............................................................................................................222
Undefine ..................................................................................................................227
List Parts ..................................................................................................................228
Deactivate ................................................................................................................229
Reactivate Part .........................................................................................................229
Add Objects .............................................................................................................229
Mirror Part ...............................................................................................................230
Edit Properties .........................................................................................................230
Piecemark ................................................................................................................231
Mark With OOP Text ..............................................................................................231
Insert Standard .......................................................................................................................232
Detailing Sub-Menu ...............................................................................................................232
Break Intersection ....................................................................................................233
Break Distance.........................................................................................................234
3D to 2D Poly ..........................................................................................................234
Mark Group with drawings......................................................................................235
Insert Stiffener Cutout..............................................................................................236
ShipReport Profile Library ......................................................................................237
Creating your own profile stock...............................................................................237
Profile library drawing.............................................................................................237
Cutout library drawing.............................................................................................237
Creating a new profile stock record .........................................................................238
Cutout and profile insertion .....................................................................................239
Replicate to other groups .........................................................................................240
Scallop .....................................................................................................................241
Remove vertices below tolerance ............................................................................242
Setup Sub-Menu.....................................................................................................................243
Insert Orientation Icon .............................................................................................244
Activate UCS ...........................................................................................................244
Xref Groups .............................................................................................................246
Check Current Group DWG ....................................................................................247
List Unused Geometry .............................................................................................248
Hide .........................................................................................................................249
Unhide All ...............................................................................................................249
Utilities Sub-Menu .................................................................................................................250
Create Bevel Text ....................................................................................................250
Layer menu ..............................................................................................................250
Show extended data .................................................................................................252

Assembly Menu

253

Overview................................................................................................................................253
Assembly Templates ..............................................................................................................254
Assembly Template menu........................................................................................254
Investigating the supplied template..........................................................................254
Creating an assembly template ................................................................................255
Set Viewport Keymap..............................................................................................255

CADLink98

Contents v

Inserting Keywords..................................................................................................256
Assigning Assembly Templates...............................................................................256
Navigator................................................................................................................................257
Navigator - Update Master.......................................................................................257
Navigator - Open Master .........................................................................................258
Navigator Open Assembly....................................................................................259
Navigator New Assembly .....................................................................................260
Assembly Visibility .................................................................................................261
Annotation Sub-Menu............................................................................................................262
Create Annotation ....................................................................................................263
Quick Annotation.....................................................................................................264
Copy Annotation......................................................................................................264
Mark Endcuts...........................................................................................................264
Icons menu .............................................................................................................................265
Assembly / Icons / Orientation.................................................................................265
User Icon..................................................................................................................266
CG Point ..................................................................................................................266
Flip UCS ..................................................................................................................267
Move UCS ...............................................................................................................267

Workshop Menu

269

Overview................................................................................................................................269
Insert Group .............................................................................................................269
Insert Part.................................................................................................................270

Nesting Menu

271

Overview................................................................................................................................271
Nesting Preparation................................................................................................................272
ShipReport Nesting Settings ....................................................................................272
Organizing Nesting ..................................................................................................272
Nesting Terminology ...............................................................................................272
Nesting Menu.........................................................................................................................273
Nesting Toolbar......................................................................................................................274
Navigator Nest Tab ................................................................................................................274
Open.........................................................................................................................275
New..........................................................................................................................275
Nest Sub-Menu.......................................................................................................................276
New Nest .................................................................................................................277
Delete Nest...............................................................................................................278
Rename Nest ............................................................................................................278
Change Stock Plate ..................................................................................................278
Plot Nest...................................................................................................................279
Remnant Sub-Menu ...............................................................................................................280
New Remnant .........................................................................................................280
Delete Remnant........................................................................................................281
Part Sub-Menu .......................................................................................................................281
Insert Part.................................................................................................................282
Reinsert Part.............................................................................................................284
Unnest Part...............................................................................................................284
Slide Along ..............................................................................................................284
Move & Rotate.........................................................................................................286
Align ........................................................................................................................286
Snap .........................................................................................................................287
Rotate Shortest Dimension ......................................................................................288

Contents vi

CADLink98

List Parts ..................................................................................................................289

Assign to Nest..........................................................................................................289
Un-assign from Nest ................................................................................................290
Layers Sub-Menu ................................................................................................................ ...290
Layer Visibility ........................................................................................................290
Activate All..............................................................................................................291
Flip NC-Pyros ..........................................................................................................291
Insert Keywords.......................................................................................................291
Check Nests and BOM.............................................................................................292
Update Nests and BOM ...........................................................................................292
NC-Pyros Sub-Menu..............................................................................................................292
Export to NC-Pyros .................................................................................................293
Import from NC-Pyros.............................................................................................294

Standards Menu

295

Overview................................................................................................................................295
Defining structural standards .................................................................................................295
Navigator / New Structural Tab .............................................................................................296
Define Standard .......................................................................................................297
Rename Standard .....................................................................................................298
Undefine Standard ...................................................................................................298

Piping Menu

299

Overview................................................................................................................................299

Outfitting Menu

301

Overview................................................................................................................................301

Index

CADLink98

303

Contents vii

Contents viii

CADLink98

Installation

Requirements
To use CAD-Link98, you will need the following:

IBM PC or compatible, minimum Pentium 133, recommended PII 266

Microsoft Windows 95 or better, or NT 4.0 or better, we recommend NT

AutoCAD R14

Microsoft Access 97

32 MB RAM of memory, 64 MB RAM is recommended. Large models and shading will process significantly
faster with 128 MB or more RAM.

30 megabytes of free disk space

a 100 MB/S network if you plan to share data of large models among several users

Installing CAD-Link
1.

Place the ShipConstructor CD in the CD ROM drive.

2.

Select Install CAD-Link98. If you do not see the CD startup window, start the program SETUP.EXE located
on the CD in the CAD-Link folder.
The CAD-Link setup startup screen shows the following window. To continue with the installation click on
Next. To cancel the installation at any time click on Cancel.

3.

CADLink98

Installation 1

4.

Setup asks you which type of installation you want.

5.

Server or Stand-alone installation installs the entire CAD-Link program and demo project. Use this option
if you are installing CAD-Link for the first time. Use this type of install if you intend to run CAD-Link in a
network environment or a single-user environment.

6.

Client installation installs the necessary components on the current workstation for CAD-Link to be run from
a server. This type of installation must be run only after CAD-Link is installed on the server.
Next, the program needs to know in which directory to install CAD-Link. The default directory is C:\Program
Files\ShipConstructor\CAD-Link98. To change this enter a new directory name or Browse for an existing
directory. Once a directory has been selected click on Next.

7.

2 Installation

CADLink98

8.

Next the program asks for the location to install the sample project and the project templates.

9.

The install program now requests the name of a Program folder to store the program icons. Click Next.

10. The program files will then be copied to your hard drive.
11. Finally setup informs you that the installation is complete. Click View Read Me to see the latest notes about
the program. Click OK.

CADLink98

Installation 3

Installing the Hardware Lock (licensed users only)

A hardware lock is shipped with the licensed software to operate the program. Without the hardware lock the
program will run in demo mode.
The hardware lock plugs into the parallel port of your computer. The lock is a pass-through device, which allows you
to keep other devices connected to the parallel port (printers, etc.). Attach the end of the lock labeled
COMPUTER to a parallel port. Tighten the screws to connect the lock securely to the port.
If you have multiple locks connected to the same parallel port, make sure this lock is the last lock in the chain
(farthest from your computer).
Turn ON all devices that are connected to the lock. A device connected to the parallel port that is switched OFF
prevents the proper operation of the hardware lock.

Hardware Lock Drivers (licensed users only)

You must install a device driver if you are running Windows NT. Windows NT requires a special device driver to
enable CAD-Link98 to access the hardware lock.
Windows 95 users do not have to install the supplied Windows 95 device drivers. However, if problems accessing
the hardware lock occur, then installation of the Windows 95 device drivers is recommended.
If you have any problems installing the device driver, read the README.TXT file located in the
\ARL\LOCKDRIVER directory on the ShipConstructor CD-ROM.
Windows NT
The Windows NT device driver installation is as follows.
1. Insert the ShipConstructor CD into your CDROM drive.
2. Run the program SETUPX86.EXE located in the \ARL\LockDriver\WIN_NT folder on the CD-ROM. A
window with the title bar Sentinel Driver Setup Program is displayed.
3. From the Functions menu select Install Sentinel Driver.
4. Click OK to confirm the location of the driver files.
5. Restart your computer as directed at the end of the installation procedure.

4 Installation

CADLink98

Windows 95 / Windows98
The Windows 95 device driver installation is as follows:
1. Insert the ShipConstructor CD-ROM into your cdrom drive.
2. Run the program SENTW95.EXE located in the \ARL\LockDriver\WIN_95 folder on the CD-ROM. A window
with the title bar Sentinel Driver Setup Program is displayed.
3. From the Functions menu select Install Sentinel Driver.
4. Click OK to confirm the location of the driver files.
5. Restart your computer as directed at the end of the installation procedure.

Uninstalling CAD-Link
To Uninstall CAD-Link98
Follow these basic steps to uninstall CAD-Link98.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click the Start button, select Settings, and click Control Panel. The Control Panel Opens.
Open the Add/Remove Programs control. The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box appears.
In the list of Programs that can be removed, select CAD-Link98, then click the Add/Remove button.
Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove CAD-Link98.

To Uninstall the Hardware Lock Drivers (licensed users only)

Follow these basic steps to uninstall the rainbow hardware lock drivers.
1. Place the ShipConstructor CD in the CD ROM drive.
2. Run the program SETUPX86.EXE located in the ARL\LockDriver\WIN_NT directory (SENTW95.EXE
located in the ARL\LockDriver\WIN_95 directory for Windows95 users). A window with the title bar Sentinel
Driver Setup Program is displayed.
3. From the Functions menu select Remove Sentinel Driver.
4. Click OK to confirm the removal of the drivers.

Technical Support
Albacore Research Ltd. offers all customers technical support should they run into problems. In some cases our staff
will offer to check out the problem with your data file. In this case it is advisable to compress the data file, for
example with WinZip, and e-mail it to us. We will investigate the problem and forward a solution to you.
Office hours: 8:30 am 5:00 pm Pacific Time
Toll-free:
1-888-210-7420
Phone:
250-479-3638
Fax:
250-479-0868
E-mail:
albacore@direct.ca

CADLink98

Installation 5

6 Installation

CADLink98

Exploring

Overview
This section explains the main concepts of CAD-Link and explores the supplied demo unit. You will investigate
different display options of the 3D unit drawing, learn about parts in a frame drawing and have a quick look at a nest
drawing.

3D Product Model
With CAD-Link any shipbuilder or engineering company, small or large can generate a product model of the ship
economically using PCs and familiar off-the-shelf software, such as AutoCAD and Microsoft Access. AutoCAD

CADLink98

Exploring 7

proficient people are abundant, and a company can utilize the knowledge of existing staff. There is no need to invest
in exotic hardware or extensive training.
CAD-Link provides shipbuilders with an easy-to-use yet powerful tool with which to build a 3D Product Model.

Organizing your work and data

Construction projects generally involve several designers, engineers, planners and drafters. Most companies use a PC
network with a file server and several workstations to perform the many tasks involved in completing a project. It is
good practice to place all project-related files on a server hard drive. It is good practice to have a folder on the server
hard drive called Projects or Jobs.

Projects
CAD-Link follows standard production practices wherever possible. The work within a yard is usually organized in
projects or jobs. For example Project 301, 302 or Job 101, 102. CAD-Link uses the term Project. The CAD-Link
installation program creates a folder named Projects.
During creation of a new project CAD-Link generate a project to store all data files relating to the project.

To organize the data further CAD-Link creates sub-folders for each construction unit and several other project
related data. CAD-Link automatically manages all access to the data files. This overview is helpful in case that you
start looking around on you hard drive and wonder what all the files and folders are.

Warning: Do not rename or delete any of the folders or files manually. You might loose access to the project.
However, you may move a complete project to other drives or folders.

Units
A job is generally divided into units or blocks. CAD-Link uses the term unit. The size of a unit is often determined
by the maximum load the yard can handle. All construction units are linked to the same project database; thus
information for all the units is available in one central location.
All files belonging to a unit are stored within the unit folder. The 3D unit consists of several planar groups.

8 Exploring

CADLink98

Planar Group Drawings

One planar group drawing is created for each major structural plane, such as a frame, deck, or bulkhead. All planar
group drawings are automatically linked by CAD-Link as XREFs to the 3D Unit drawing.

Parts
Each planar group drawing contains structural parts. Each part consists of:

production geometry - regular CAD drafted geometry for NC-cutting;

a solid representing the plate part, stiffener, faceplate, or bracket;

a link to the database data stored in the ShipReport database. ShipReport stores non graphical information
such as part name, part type, stock type, processing type, thickness throw, weight & CG, nesting information and
revision history.

All drawings and the database are updated automatically anytime changes occurs. There is no need to handle
drawing revisions.

Terminology

3D Unit - an AutoCAD drawing linking all planar group drawings in a vessel or construction
module together to a 3D product model.
Planar group - an AutoCAD drawing containing all parts in the same plane, such as a frame,
bulkhead, girder or deck.
Part - an AutoCAD block within a planar group drawing consisting of production geometry, the
solid and a link to the data record in the ShipReport database.
Part Data - data relevant to the part stored in the ShipReport database.
Nest Drawing - an AutoCAD drawing containing nests (stock plates) with nested parts.
ShipReport - this database file stores all non-geometrical data for one project. This includes
stocks, parts, change history and assembly hierarchy.

Starting CAD-Link
The installation program created menus in the Programs menu to start any of the ShipConstructor program modules.
1.

Click the Start menu button and locate Program Files / ShipConstructor / CAD-Link. Do not start
AutoCAD itself to run CAD-Link. CAD-Link has its own AutoCAD profile that will only be loaded when you
follow these steps.

2.

Please verify that the menu now shows the CAD-Link menus and that the CAD-Link toolbars are loaded.
.
See Troubleshooting if any item is not loaded or any toolbar button looks like

CADLink98

Exploring 9

Tip: Arrange the CAD-Link toolbars on the left side of the AutoCAD application window. This way you keep them
separate from any other toolbar you have loaded, which prevents mixing up the buttons. All screen shots in this
tutorial will show the CAD-Link buttons at this position.

10 Exploring

CADLink98

Checking your system font

CAD-Link uses many dialogs to access all drawings and data conveniently. All dialogs are designed to run with the
small system fonts. The system font is commonly used to display the text in menus and dialogs. You might be using a
large system font to improve readability. Some of CAD-Links dialogs will not display properly with a large system
font. Lets find out if your settings are compatible with CAD-Link. We will test it with the dialog that suffers the
most from a large system font, the Select View dialog.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Select View from the menu and choose the 3D tab. The dialog as shown below is
displayed. The first dialog shows it with the small system font. We show the bitmap of a ship in 3D and display
radio buttons at all corners of the ship to indicate the view direction. As you can see all radio buttons are aligned
with the underlying bitmap.

2.

The second screen shot below shows the same dialog, this time with the large system font installed. As you can
see the radio buttons are not aligned with the underlying bitmap.

Changing the system font

1.

From the Windows Start menu select Settings / Control Panel.

2.
3.
4.
5.

In the Control Panel double click on the Display icon.

In the display properties dialog select the Settings tab.
From the Font Size drop down list select Small Fonts.
In many cases you will have to reboot the computer. You might also need the installation CD ready if the small
fonts are not yet loaded on your hard drive. Just follow the on screen instructions.

CADLink98

Exploring 11

6.
7.

Then use the instruction as before to test that the CAD-Link dialogs will work properly.
If the text is too small for you to read, then use a smaller screen resolution. In the Display Properties (See Next
Page) dialog select a lesser desktop area. For example if you are currently using 1280 by 1024, use 1024 by 768
instead. Do not use less than 1024 by 768, such as 800 by 600 if possible.

Exploring the supplied data

The Unit Drawing
We will now open the supplied 3D unit drawing and explore it. Remember that the 3D unit drawing is a link of
several planar group drawings showing a 3 dimensional view. Here we go!
The CAD-Link Toolbar
1.

The CAD-Link toolbar, shown below, provides four buttons. We will be using two of the buttons extensively.
The Navigator button displays a dialog that enables you to register a unit and access any drawings associated
with the unit.

2.

The ShipReport button opens the ShipReport database associated with the unit by starting MS Access.

12 Exploring

CADLink98

Navigator

XREF drawings

New Planar Group

ShipReport
Lock Files

Register a 3D Unit
The 3D unit is the main drawing that shows an assembled view of all planar group drawings in the construction unit.
You have to register the 3D unit drawing at the beginning of a session. The unit remains registered until you shut
down AutoCAD or register another unit drawing.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

3.

In the navigator dialog select the 3D Unit tab.

4.

Click the Register button.

5.

In the Register Unit dialog select the file U12.DWG in the supplied folder
Projects\Demo\Finished\U12. Click Open.

CADLink98

Exploring 13

6.

CAD-Link prompts you to enter a password for the user called DEMO. Use the password demo and click
OK.

7.

CAD-Link registers the unit drawing. The drawing is not actually opened. CAD-Link simply determines which
files belong to the unit. It also establishes a link to the associated ShipReport database.

8.

The Navigator dialog is displayed again. Click the Open button to load the 3D unit drawing. This will take a
short while. Watch the command line display at the bottom of the AutoCAD window. You will see that
AutoCAD is loading several XREFs into the 3D unit drawing - one for each planar group drawing.

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The CAD-Link Navigator

The CAD-Link Navigator gives access to all CAD-Link drawings from one convenient location. The individual areas
of a project are accessed through a tab on the navigator. This makes file access easy. With a little practice you will
be using this dialog with you eyes closed. You will wonder how you were previously ever able to find all the
drawings associated with a project without a navigator.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

to open the Navigator again.

Here is an overview of the tabs and function available in the Navigator.

3D Unit Tab
To register a unit, open the unit drawing, and reload the database file if required.

2D Group Tab
Displays all 2D planar group drawings in a convenient tree dialog. You can open any of the drawings, create new
ones, change the properties, mirror a group, such as a longitudinal bulkhead, unlink (delete) it, or activate the
UCS of it when in the 3D unit drawing.

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Exploring 15

Nest Tab
To open any one of the nest drawings, create new ones, and display a list of un-nested parts.

Assembly Tab
To open assembly drawings, create new ones, update the assembly master, and open the assembly
master if it already exists. Assembly drawings show exactly all parts belonging to a specific assembly. One drawing
for each assembly is created.

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Standard Tab
To open any standard drawing, structural or outfit, or create new structural standard drawings or new outfit
standard drawings. Each standard drawing contains exactly one reusable standard.

Interference Tab
To open or create new interference drawings. An interference drawing allows you to calculate collisions between
structure, piping, outfit and any other solids that you might import from other AutoCAD drawings.

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Outfit Tab
To open or create new outfit drawings. An outfit drawing contains outfitting parts, such pumps, pressure vessels,
and grates. You can have as many outfit drawings per project as you like. Outfitting is still under development. Look
for new features in the near future.

Piping Tab
To open or create new piping drawings. Piping drawings contain CAD-Link piping system. You can have as many
outfit drawings per project as you like. Piping is still under development. Look for new features in the near future.

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Workshop Tab
To open or create new workshop drawings. A workshop drawing shows several group drawings in traditional 2D
fashion. For example several frames are displayed beside a deck and a longitudinal girder. We do not recommend
you use this old fashioned type of information for production. You should use assembly drawings instead. This
function is solely provided as a measure to allow production and engineering a period of transition.

Template Tab
To open or create new template drawings. Template drawings can be created for assembly and nest drawings.
There are also templates for a part direction. You can create as many user icons to be used as you like. These could,
for example, be weld symbols and symbols for edge preparation.

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Exploring 19

Export Tab
To open or create new export drawings.

Viewing the 3D unit

The unit drawing consists of XREFFED group drawings - one for each frame, deck and longitudinal bulkhead.
Each group drawing can be opened simultaneously by a different user. One great advantage of CAD-Link is that the
3D unit drawing is always up-to-date showing all the latest changes made by any users in the team.
Several CAD-Link functions have been specifically designed to enable you to view the unit from all sides and to
control the visibility settings of the unit and/or individual groups.
The Visibility Toolbar
Some of the most commonly used viewing functions are accessed with buttons from the CAD-Link visibility toolbar.

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View Point
Production Layers
Solid Layers
Production & Solid Layers
Layer Off
Layer Visibility
Shade
Layers
CAD-Link implements two main layers in each group drawing, the solid (_SLD) and the production (_PRD) layer.
As the names imply the solid layer holds the solids of the structural parts, while the production layer holds the NC
production geometry of the parts.
The unit drawing should start up with the production layer visible.
1.

Click the Production Layers

the screen shot.

2.

Click the Solid Layers

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button in case your drawing is in a different state. It should look similar to

button. The drawing should change as shown below.

Exploring 21

Views
CAD-Link provides a dialog to set any view point conveniently, using the terms familiar to ship designers and
builders, such as body, plan and profile view.
2.

On the toolbar click the Select View

3.
4.

In the Dialog make sure the 3D tab is selected.

Select the view BODY LOOKING AFT by clicking on the radio button in front of the ship symbol. In the top
left you will see the description display BODY LOOKING AFT.

5.

Click OK. The screen is redrawn with the desired view.

22 Exploring

button.

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Practice: Select different views to get a feel for the dialog, such as PLAN LOOKING DOWN or PROFILE STBD
TO PORT. You can also enter viewpoint positions in the data fields at the top right of the dialog.
Please ensure to select FWD STBD UP as the viewpoint when you are done.

Shading the 3D unit

A 3D wire frame model is generally very confusing to the human eye. You have to perform hidden line removal or
shading to get a clearer image of the structure.
Tip: AutoCAD shading time depends greatly on the available memory in your system. You should have at least 64
MB RAM for decent shading results, better still 128 MB. If you are running Windows NT you can use the Task
manager to check the use of memory in your system. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL and start the task manager. Click on the
performance tab. You can see how much RAM your system has (Physical Memory) and how much AutoCAD is
using (MEM usage and Commit Charge). In the Physical Memory group box find the total installed memory (392612
in this dialog). In this case 384MB = 392612 bytes (1024 bytes in 1KB). Find the Total value in the Commit
Charge group box. If the value gets close or is larger than the physical memory, then you would gain significantly
from installing more RAM. Watch the total commit charge value when you issue a SHADE command later on in this
tutorial.

The unit drawing should have started up with the production layer visible.
1.

Click the Solid Layers

2.

Click the SHADE

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button to make sure the solid layer is active.

button. The Shade dialog is displayed.

Exploring 23

3.
4.

5.

Set the values as shown in the dialog and click OK.

(Watch the task manager if you have it open and see how AutoCAD starts using more memory). The first time
you run the SHADE command, AutoCAD builds a visualization model. This uses a great deal of memory and
takes a long time. Further shade commands on the same drawing will run faster.
The shaded image should look like this.

Tip: Use the REGEN command to enable picking the window again. You cannot select entities in a shaded view.
Group Visibility
This function allows you to set which layer of each 2D group is visible in the 3D unit drawing. A complete structural
model of a unit tends to become quite complex. Often it becomes necessary to switch items off because the drawing
simply gets too busy. The Visibility Tree dialog provides a convenient way to set the visibility for each planar
group drawing in the unit drawing.
For example, in the previous shaded image the main-deck and the tank-top hide the details of the frames and the
longitudinal girder below. We will now create a shaded image that allows you to see the underlying structure.
1.

On the toolbar click the Select View

2.
3.

button. The Visibility dialog is displayed.

On the toolbar click the Layer Visibility
A tree dialog displays all planar groups. Beside each drawing are light bulbs for the production PRD, solid
SLD and revision REV layers. A lit light bulb indicates that the layer is visible, an off light bulb indicates it is
not visible.

24 Exploring

button. Select the view From FWD STBD UP.

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4.
5.

6.
7.
8.

Click the light bulbs off for the solid layer of U12MDCK (Unit 12 Main Deck), and U12TTOP (Unit 12
Tank Top) as shown below.
Click OK

Shade the drawing.

The figure below shows the view shaded and slightly zoomed in.
This shaded view shows clearly that the unit is missing two frames. We will be designing these frames during
the tutorial.

Group DWG Off

CAD-Link also provides a function that lets you switch any group drawing off simply by selecting any entity of it on
the screen. We want to switch some of the forward frames off now to make more of the horizontal girder visible.

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Exploring 25

Instead of selecting the visibility from the tree dialog we will switch the frames off simply by clicking on them in the
unit drawing.
1.

Type REGEN at the command prompt to remove the shading if it is still there.

2.
3.

4.

On the toolbar click the Group DWG Off

button.
Select the most forward four frames by clicking on any entity belonging to it. You can also use a crossing
window. Just make sure you do not inadvertently select any other planar groups. You can of course undo any of
these commands,
Press ENTER.

5.

Shade the drawing.

6.

Be sure to use the toolbar buttons Production Layers

Solid Layers

Viewing a Planar Group Drawing

The unit drawing is assembled from several linked individual planar group drawings, which are sorted by their
structural main function frames, longitudinals, and decks. Another group is curved plate, which represents the shell
plating. Shell plating can be imported from our ShipCAM. The last group type is called arbitrary, which covers
oddly skewed members, such as those found in deck house plating.
CAD-Link provides a sophisticated dialog to give you convenient access to the unit drawings and all linked planar
group drawings.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

6.

Select the 2D Group tab.

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7.

In the tree dialog click on U12F107. The Preview window displays a bitmap of the last saved drawing state.

8.

Click the Open button. Tip: You can also double click on the planar group name in the tree view to open the
drawing.
The planar group drawing is opened.

9.

Working in 2D in a planar group drawing greatly simplifies drafting, compared to working in 3D unit drawing.
All detailing in a planar group drawing is carried out as if working in 2D. Each planar group drawing can be detailed
by another draftsman in parallel, allowing your team to work on many drawings at the same time. Anytime someone
opens the 3D unit drawing it will show the latest revision state of each planar group drawing.

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Activate Layers
The objective in planar group drawings is to define parts for production, visualization, checking, and provide all data
required for production reports and production planning purposes. Each part is represented by:

A solid the solid is used for shaded or rendered views, and virtual reality walk-through animations. The solid
also provides CAD-Link with information about CG, volume, surface area and extents. The solid of a part is
always assigned to the solid (_SLD) layer.

A piecemark The piecemark consists of the name of the part as AutoCAD text and a bubble around it. The
piecemark is always assigned to the production (_PRD) layer.

Production geometry This is standard AutoCAD geometry, such as lines, arcs circles, polylines, required
for producing the part. In the case of a plate part it consists of the outside, and, if present, inside toolpaths plus
any marking. In the case of a stiffener or faceplate there is no production geometry, just a piecemark
Make sure you are still in drawing U12F107.

1.
2.

and Solid Layers

alternately several times.
Click the toolbar buttons for Production Layers
Observe the differences between the representations on the production and solid layers.

3.

SHADE the drawing while the SLD layer is active.

Parts
A Part is a combination of AutoCAD geometry and ShipReport data. Each part is represented in the CAD drawing
by a block. The block name is the same as the piecemark of the part.
CAD-Link supports 3 general structural part types:

Plate parts Plate parts are made from plate stock and are generally flat. Plate parts can also be flanged.

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Stiffener parts Stiffener parts are made from profiles or flat bars. Most stiffeners are straight, but in some
cases are curved, such as for frames that are built up from profiles.

Faceplate parts Faceplates are made from flat bar. They run, generally, along the face of a plate part and
are curved or bent.

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Plate Parts
Plate parts have to be nested, as they will be NC-cut or manually cut from plate stock. To produce the NC-code for a
plate part we need:

One and only one closed outside tool path

One closed inside tool path for each hole.

Marking lines for any markings that the automatic marking unit on the NC machine has to mark on the plate.
Examples are stiffener or bracket locations, an icon to show the part orientation in the unit. Where forward is,
up and outboard in relation to the part.

Text if you want to place the part name and any other text information on the part.

1.

Please zoom into the lower area of the frame drawing as shown in the next screen shot.

30 Exploring

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2.
3.

Alternate between the PRD and SLD layers.

On the PRD layer the plate part is represented by:

Outside toolpath This is a RED closed polyline. It will be used by NC-Pyros to create the NC instructions
for the cutting machine to cut the part out of plate stock with a gas, plasma or laser cutter.

Inside toolpath There are two blue manholes inside the part as closed polylines. They will be used by NCPyros to create the NC instructions for the cutting machine to cut the manholes into the part with a gas, plasma
or laser cutter.

Part Piecemark - There is a large piecemark U12F107-P01. NC-Pyros will later on create NC instructions
to mark the piecemark onto the part with a marking or scribing tool.

Marking lines Several stiffener marking lines with throw indicators at the end. In this case intermittent
marking is used. Only the ends of the stiffeners are marked by short lines.

Stiffener piecemarks Each stiffener on the plate part is identified by a smaller piecemark.

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Stiffener piecemark

Stiffener markings
Inside toolpath

Outside toolpath
Part piecemark

The actual plate part consists of all the production geometry blocked together. The name of the block is the
same as the part piecemark.

Stiffener parts
To simplify drafting CAD-Link has automatically created a UCS in the plane of the frame. To the user it appears that
he is working in 2D. In reality all parts on the frame are drawn in 3D.
Part U12F107-P01 is stiffened by several flatbars. In order to see the flatbars we have to set a 3D view point.
1.
2.

Click the Select View

Activate the solid layer.

3.

Zoom into the lower right part of the frame and SHADE it.

32 Exploring

and select a view point FROM FWD STBD UP.

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4.

REGEN the drawing.

5.

Toggle between SLD and PRD layers. You will see several vertical flat bars on the plate part. Each flat bar has
an end cut where it connects to the longitudinal stiffeners on the shell and tanktop plating.

Faceplate parts
Faceplate parts are made from flatbar stock. They are commonly used inside of through holes, such as manholes, or
on a free side of a plate part to stiffen that edge.
1.

To see a faceplate on this frame click the Select View

dialog enter X=1 Y= - 25 Z=1.

2.

Zoom to the upper portion of the frame as shown in the next figure.

3.

SHADE the view.

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button. In the viepoint filds ont the top of the

Exploring 33

Nesting
To open a nest drawing, use the same navigator dialog that you previously used to open the 3D model drawing and
the 2D group drawings.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Select the Nest tab.

3.

Select the drawing PL10 and click open.

4.

The nest drawing is displayed.

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Please feel free to investigate the drawing. Pay attention to the BOMs and the headers in each template. All variable
data such as nest name, plate size, weights, cutting lengths and estimated cutting time are calculated and updated
automatically by CAD-Link.

Virtual reality
There are several inexpensive 3D virtual reality programs on the market now, such as Autodesks WalkThrough
($US 199) or freeware and shareware VRML browsers to view solid drawings and generate a fly through. These are
a very valuable tool to check the use of the right material (color-coded by CAD-Link), parts that do not match up in
3D, access to tight spaces, or to find any or detailing mistakes that might have been overlooked.
You can also use 3D animation tools such as 3D Studio Max to create digital assembly movies.
This concludes the exploring chapter. Please proceed to the next section to learn how to generate structural drawings
yourself.

Creating exchange drawings

CAD-Link makes extensive use of custom objects. Regular AutoCAD, as well as virtual reality viewers can not
display these objects. You have to use a CAD-Link function to create a drawing that converts CAD-Link custom
objects to standard AutoCAD objects.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Select the Export tab.

3.

Click New.

4.

In the New Export Drawing dialog select the drawings that you want to include in the export drawing. All
drawings with a check mark will be included in the export drawing.

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Exploring 35

5.
6.
7.

Click OK.
In the new Drawing dialog enter a drawing name.
Click OK.

The resulting drawing contains only standard AutoCAD entities, and can be found in the Export folder of the unit.

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Tutorial

Overview
The CAD-Link demo project for unit 12 is partially finished. One of the most time-consuming parts of the
production preparation process is the drafting and definition of all individual parts. For the purpose of this demo we
have finished most of the parts to allow you to carry out all further steps, even if you decide not to spend time to
detail any more parts. However, we suggest that you work through all portions of the tutorial in order to get a good
understanding of the program.
The tutorial is divided into the following main sections:

Part detailing and definition

Unit and Interference checking

Nesting

Assembly drawings

Each of the sections above will take several hours to complete, with part detailing being the most time-consuming
section.

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Tutorial 37

38 Part Detailing

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Part Detailing
Overview
It will take about 4 hours to complete this section. However, it is not necessary to complete it, in order to continue
with later sections. You can simply choose to read it through.
Within this section you will create several parts. In some cases we have prepared the geometry and all you have to do
is the actual part definition. In other cases you will detail the parts from scratch. In particular, you will define frames
112 and 113 from scratch.

Planar Group Toolbars

We will use CAD-Link toolbar buttons on a regular basis. Shown below is the Planar Group toolbar. Please take a
moment to familiarize yourself with the buttons or print a copy of the figure to place beside your computer.

Planar Group toolbar

This is the main toolbar you will use during detailing. The horizontal rows of buttons beside the main column of
buttons are called flyout toolbars. You can show the flyout toolbars by holding down the left mouse button over the
toolbar button that contains the flyout.
Toolpath
Process Color
Plate Solid
Faceplate Solid
Stiffener Solid
Flange
Stiffener Endcut
Edit Stiffeners
Activate UCS
Detailing Flyout
Scallop
Define Part Flyout
Part List
Standard Parts Flyout
Layer Flyout

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Part Detailing 39

Tip: If you have a color printer you can open the document with Adobe Acrobat and print the toolbars in color.

Detailing flyout
These buttons are used mainly during the detailing phase. We will discuss their use later in the tutorial.
Part Orientation Icon
Stiffener Profile & Cutout
Throw Lines
Mark Group Intersections

Convert 3D to 2D
Break @ Distance
Break @ Intersection

Define part flyout

These buttons are used to define and undefine parts. We will discuss them later in the tutorial.
Deactivate Part
Reactivate Part

Undefine Part
Define Part

Standard & Outfit part flyout

These buttons are used to define and insert standard parts such as brackets and also for outfitting parts such as
pumps, fireboxes, etc.

Insert Outfit Standard

Insert Structural Standard

40 Part Detailing

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Unit Design

Let us now discuss the general design of this demo unit. Several aspects of the design of this unit were chosen purely
for teaching purposes. We wanted to ensure that we do not miss any important features you might use during your
daily work. On the other hand, we wanted to keep it simple enough to fit the purpose of a demo.

Longitudinal members
Center girder Along the center of the unit runs a longitudinal girder that penetrates all frames, except bulkhead
106 at the aft of the unit. The thickness of the plate is on both sides of the vessel.
Margin Plate Near the bilge area is another longitudinal girder called the margin plate. It also penetrates all
frames, except F106. The margin plate is oriented approximately vertical to the shell plating in body view. The halfbreadth of the margin plate changes at each frame; it is double skewed.
Tanktop The tanktop plate is horizontal. It is limited on both sides by the margin plate.
Main Deck The main deck is horizontal and flat.
Horizontal girder At approximately half height runs a flanged girder plate. It contains cutouts where the frame or
stiffener profiles penetrate.

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Part Detailing 41

42 Designing Frames

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Designing Frames

Overview
In the first part of the tutorial we will detail frames F112 and F113 as shown in the next figure. All parts in the frame
are symmetrical. We will detail the port side and later create the starboard part by mirroring.
Double bottom panel Each frame has a double bottom panel. This panel consists of a plate part with stiffener
cutouts and two manholes. The panel is bordered below by the shell plating, at the center by the longitudinal center
girder, on top by the tanktop, and to the right by the margin plate. It is stiffened by several flatbars that lap onto the
longitudinal stiffeners running longitudinally on the shell plating and the tanktop plate.

Faceplate
Deck girder panel

Side profile

Flanged margin bracket

Double bottom panel
with manholes and
flatbar stiffeners

Flanged Margin Bracket This is a flanged plate part with a lightening hole. It is welded to the longitudinal
margin plate and lapped with the side profile.
Side Profile The profile is made from a 240x12 bulb flat that is shaped to fit the hull surface. Both ends are
treated with lapped endcuts.
Deck girder panel This is a plate part with cutouts for the longitudinal stiffeners on the underside of the deck
plating. It is stiffened by a faceplate on the underside. The plate part ties into the center girder and is lapped with the
side profile.

Opening a frame drawing

We will now start detailing frame F112.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

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Designing Frames 43

2.

Select the 2D Group Tab.

3.

Select U12FR112 from the tree listing on the left, and click Open. The frame drawing is displayed as shown in
the next figure.

4.

Click the Production Layers

button to ensure that you are working on the production layer.

At present, the frame consists only of the hull trace. In the lower section, cutouts have been inserted into the hull
trace. The frame was imported from ShipCAM in this form, and is based on sections cut through a 3D surface model.
ShipCAM can automatically insert cutouts into frames.

44 Designing Frames

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Marking intersections with structure

The frame is intersected by the tanktop, the main deck, the center bulkhead, and the margin plate. All intersections,
with the exception of the margin plate, are orthogonal, and therefore could be obtained from typical frame drawings
provided by the design department. The margin plate is intersecting under a skewed angle and it would be complex
to calculate the exact intersection location and intersection thickness at each frame. CAD-Link provides a function to
create marking lines at locations where other structure intersect.
Part Orientation Icon
Stiffener Profile & Cutout
Throw Lines
Mark Group Intersections

Convert 3D to 2D
Break @ Distance
Break @ Intersection

1.
2.

Select the toolbar flyout as shown in the figure and click the Mark Group Intersections
The Mark Group Intersections dialog is displayed. Enter the values as shown.

Available Planar Groups The list on the left of the dialog shows all planar groups that intersect the frame.
You can select the groups that you want to mark. By default all planar groups are selected.

Throw Symbols Check this option to create a throw symbol as shown in the figure below. The symbol
indicates the throw direction from the marking lines. The small vertical lines on the side of the symbol indicate
the thickness of the intersecting group. This value is corrected for the intersection angle in case of a skewed
(non-perpendicular) intersection. The size box allows you to set the height to the top of the symbol.

button.

Throw Symbol

Marking Line

Throw Lines Checking this option creates a thickness throw line as shown in the next figure.

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Designing Frames 45

Thickness Line

Group Text Checking this option creates text, to label the line with the name of the group. The size box is
the size of the text that will be created. You also have the option to Strip unit prefix.
Unit prefix removed

Unit prefix not removed

3.

Once all values are entered in the dialog as shown, click OK. The markings are created as shown in the next
figure. All lines are 10% longer than the current extents of the drawing. You will need to trim the lines later to
their appropriate sizes using standard AutoCAD trimming.

Scallops
Note: Before we start the scallop command, please make sure that AutoCAD has the same Osnap options as shown
in the next dialog. During many of our training sessions, we have notice that users have disabled some of the new
features in R14. This is mostly an attempt to make R14 act the same as R12. CAD-Link relies heavily on new R14
features.
From the AutoCAD menu select Tools / Object Snap Settings. In the dialog click the AutoSnap tab. Make
sure that all check boxes are checked as shown.

46 Designing Frames

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We are now ready to start detailing the bottom panel in this frame. The figure below shows the fully detailed panel.
Scallop

Scallop

Scallop

Scallop

Scallops, mouse holes or rat holes are often used in the detailing process. CAD-Link provides a function to draw
these conveniently and fast. The standard scallop size we will use is 30mm. This part requires four scallops as
indicated in the figure above.
1.

Zoom to the lower left area of the current drawing as shown, where the frame trace meets centerline. We need
two 30mm scallops where the frame part meets the center girder.

Scallop required

Tanktop marking

Center girder marking

Scallop required

Frame trace on hull

2.

Click the Scallop

button.

Current radius = 0.0mm

Radius/Lines/<Intersection>:

3.

Enter R to choose Radius and press ENTER.

Scallop radius:

4.

Enter 30 at the prompt and press ENTER.

Radius/Lines/<Intersection>:

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Designing Frames 47

5.

Press ENTER to select the Intersection option. CAD-Link automatically changes the OSNAP to
INTERSECTION.
Pick corner to scallop:

6.

Click the intersection between the hull frame trace and the port side longitudinal girder marking line.
Pick direction of scallop:

8.

In this case, the desired direction is to the top- right, so click anywhere above and to the right of the
intersection.
The scallop is drawn as shown in the next figure.

9.

Press ENTER to start the scallop command again.

7.

10. Press ENTER to select Intersection, the default option.

11. Make another scallop, at the intersection of the tank top and the center girder.
12. We recommend a clean up after work such as this. Please erase the starboard side vertical line indicating the
far side of the center girder. Also erase the upper tank top marking line, and the small lines left over from
the scallop command.
13. The result should look like this.

14. Pan to the right until you arrive at the intersection with the margin plate.

Tank top marking

Margin plate marking

Frame hull trace

48 Designing Frames

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15. Create two scallops at the intersections of the frame hull trace with the margin plate and the tank top with the
margin plate.
16. To clean up, erase the trimmed portions of the margin plate marking line. Be sure to leave the thickness line
of the margin plate alone.
17. The result should look like the following figure.

ShipReport Profiles & Plates Library

In the next step we will insert cutouts at the locations where the stiffeners under the tanktop intersect the frame. The
shapes of the cutouts have been previously defined in an AutoCAD drawing, and set up in ShipReport in the Profiles
& Parts Library.
The ShipReport database file contains pre-defined stock profiles. CAD-Link is delivered with two ready-made
templates with many pre-defined profiles, flatbars and plates. One of the templates is for metric dimensions, the other
for imperial dimensions.
For this demo we started with the supplied metric database and removed all stocks that are not used in the demo. We
will now take a brief look at the stocks defined in the database file.
1.

Click the Activate ShipReport

2.

Click the Profiles & Plates button to display the Stock Parts dialog.

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button. ShipReport will start as shown.

Designing Frames 49

3.

Highlight the stock BF160X09. This is a bulb-flat also called Holland profile.

In the center of the dialog you find the details of the stock:

Type of stock This is an Angle bar.

Mfg. No. The manufacturer number field is optional. You can enter your internal manufacturer or stock
number here. It can later be listed in Bills of Materials.

Color This is the color that the solid will use when you create a stiffener with this profile. Selecting colors
carefully can help you detect incorrect stock selection in a group or unit drawing before production packages are
issued.

X-Section drawing This contains the name of an AutoCAD drawing. The drawing contains the cross section
of the profile, as found in the suppliers catalog. The cross section is a single closed polyline. The profile cross
section files are stored in the standards/profile folder inside the project directory.

Tight Cutout / Non-Tight Cutout These fields are optional. They point to drawings containing the
appropriate cutouts for the profile. The cutouts are open polylines. They are located in the standards/cutout
folder.

Length & Quantity Not yet implemented. This is a list of the available lengths for the profile. It will be used
for linear nesting.

Parts using stock This list shows all parts that use the highlighted stock. The list is useful if you want to
find parts based on a certain stock that is not available due to supply problems and you have to redesign the
parts using a different stock.

Besides profiles you will also find flat bars and plate stocks in this database.
18. Return to AutoCAD / CAD-Link now. Remember you do not need to close ShipReport. Just use Windows
task bar buttons to switch back to AutoCAD / CAD-Link.

Cutout and profile insertion

The tank top plate has stiffeners on the underside. The stiffeners align with those on the external shell plating. They
are made from BF160X09 stock. This stock is defined in the ShipReport database.
Cutouts

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We will now insert outlines of the profiles and the elated cutout. The first stiffener is 600mm from centerline and at
600mm spacing for all stiffeners.
1.

Draw a vertical line that aligns with the outside vertical line of the first cutout. Make it long enough, such that
it intersects with the tank top line as shown. Set the OSNAP to CENTER to pick the center of the top radius in
the profile cutout as the start point of the line.

2.

From the
dialog is shown.

3.

From the list select the profile BF160X09. Make sure Profile and Non-tight cutout are checked. Click OK.

4.

Insert the profile cutout at the intersection of the vertical line and the tank top. Rotate the cutout until the
cutout points downward (use F8 to toggle Ortho on if it is off).

5.

Using the AutoCAD Array command, array the cutout and the profile with these settings: Rectangular, Rows =
1, Columns = 6, Distance = 600.

6.
7.

Erase the previously drawn vertical line.

Zoom your view so that you can see the lower part of the frame. Your drawing should look like this.

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flyout, select the Stiffener Profiles & Cutout

button. The next

Designing Frames 51

8.

Trim the tank top line away at the openings of all cutouts as shown in the next figure.

Trim

Replicate to other groups

Some of the work we have done so far can be used in other frames. In our case only frames 112 and 113 remain to be
finished. Normally we could replicate a portion of what we draft in one frame to all the other frames. So far, only the
cutouts and the trimmed lines we just drew are the same for F112 and F113.
1. Set your view as shown in the figure.

2.

Select Planar / Detailing / Replicate to Other Groups.

3.

At the prompt, select the six new profiles and cutouts we created and the line segments between them, as
shown in the box in the above figure. After selecting these objects, the following dialog will be displayed:

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4.

In the dialog select only U12F113, as this is the only other frame that is not yet finished. A message will
inform you when the copying is finished.

5.

We want to confirm now that the replicate command did its job. Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

6.

Click on U12F113 in the 2D Group tab and click on the Open button to open the frame drawing (be sure to
save changes to the current drawing). U12F113 should appear as shown in the next figure.

7.

Return to drawing U12F112 to continue detailing this frame.

Toolpath
In order for CAD-Link to be able create a tool path, and NC-Pyros to create NC-code, the outside of the part has to
be a closed 2D polyline (which AutoCAD calls a lightweight polyline, or simply a polyline). CAD-Link provides a
command to test a toolpath.

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Designing Frames 53

1.

In drawing U12F112 zoom to the lower portion of the frame. Ensure that the complete area of the structure
below the tanktop between the center girder and the margin plate is visible.

Click this first

2.

Click Toolpath

3.

Select the lower hull trace only as shown in the figure by clicking on it. We now have one portion of the
toolpath selected.
Now select all entities of the outside toolpath by dragging a window as shown in the figure above. It does not
matter if you select entities that are not part of the toolpath. The command will only connect entities with no
gaps or a gap less than the tolerance specified in ShipReport. Small gaps will be closed if they do not exceed the
value specified in ShipReport. You can find the Snap tolerance in Settings / Misc tab. This value should be
kept small. For example to 0.5mm if working in metric or 1/32 if working in imperial units.

4.

from the toolbar.

5.

Press ENTER.

6.

The dialog shows the result of the operation. In this case the toolpath has been generated from 22 entities. One
entity was invalid. The window selection included a text entity, which cannot be part of a toolpath. Click OK.

7.

The Process dialog sets the NC processing type for the toolpath. The processing type is important for NC-code
generation using NC-Pyros. The process type in CAD-Link is determined by color. The following NC
processing types are supported:

Outside cut Has to be a closed toolpath. This path will be cut with a gas, plasma, laser or water-jet
cutter. NC-Pyros will instruct the cutting machine to move the cutter on the outside of the line using the
kerf (offset from the actual path) set in the NC cutting machine. Thus, the cut part will be the correct size.

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8.
9.

Inside cut Has to be a closed toolpath. This will be cut with a gas, plasma, laser or water-jet cutter. NCPyros will instruct the cutting machine to move the cutter on the inside of the line. Thus, the cut hole will
be the correct size.

Marking Can be a closed or open path or text. These entities will be processed with a marking tool, such
as a zinc-powder marker, a scriber, or an ink-jet print head. NC-Pyros will instruct the marker to travel
directly on the path.

No Process - Can be closed, open or text. These entities will be ignored by NC-Pyros. No code is
generated. However, you can choose to show these entities in the nest as additional or clarifying information
for the user.

Select Outside Cut and click OK.

The toolpath is now colored in the outside cut color.

ShipReport Process color setup

The process colors that you just saw are set in ShipReport for the project. You can decide which colors you want to
use at the start of a new project. Let us look into ShipReport now and see where the color setup is located.
1.
2.

Switch to ShipReport now.

Select the main dialog as shown.

3.

Click the Settings button and select the Colors tab. It shows the colors used for this project. You can select
any colors you like at the start of the project. Do not change the process colors in the middle of a project, as
you would have to update all drawings with the new colors manually.

Inserting the manholes

The double bottom part has two manholes for access. The size is 500mm by 366mm with 100mm corner radius.

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Designing Frames 55

1.

Make sure you are in drawing U12F112 and the production layer is active.

2.

Draft a manhole as shown in the figure using regular CAD drafting. Draw lines at the dimensioned positions
and fillet the corner using a 100mm radius.

3.

Use the toolpath command to connect the entities of the manhole to a toolpath.

4.

Use the Inside cut process color.

5.

Now copy this manhole to create the second one. The distance between the two manholes is 1800mm.

6.

The manholes are the same for frame 113. We will replicate the manholes from U12F112 to U12F113. Select
Planar / Replicate to Other Groups.

7.

Select the two manholes.

8.

In the dialog select F113 only and click OK.

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9.

The manholes are replicated to the drawing U12F113.

View progress in the 3D unit

We have made good progress in our two frame drawings. We will check the unit drawing to make sure that
everything is in the right position.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

to open the 3D Unit drawing of U12.

2.
3.

The unit drawing opens. You will see that the Unit drawing has been updated automatically.
You might have changed settings in the 3D Unit drawing. In order to stay synchronized with this tutorial, please
perform the following steps.

4.

Click the Production Layers

5.

Click the 3D View

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. In the dialog click on the 3D tab and then click the Open button

button to switch the production layers on.

button and set the viewpoint to FROM FWD STBD UP.

Designing Frames 57

6.

The drawing is much too busy to allow us to get a clear view of our drafting. We will hide some of the structure.
Click the Layer Visibility

button. The Visibility dialog is displayed.

7.

Set the visibility as shown in the dialog by clicking on the light bulbs. Click the All Off button. The click ON
the light bulbs as shown. We only want to see frames F112 and F113.

8.

Click the 3D View

directions.

button and select different views to investigate your progress from different view

Plate Solids
It is now time to create your first plate solid. As you may have just seen in the 3D unit drawing, it is very hard to
visualize a 3D wire model. It is much easier to view solids which enable hidden lines removal and even shading and
rendering. Also solids allow us to:
find the CG position;

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find the solid volume and with the specific density of the material we can calculate the weight;
perform interference checks between structural parts and with piping or outfitting parts.

1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Zoom to the outside toolpath and the manholes on which we have been working.

and open the group drawing U12F112.

3.

Click the Plate Solid

4.

Select the Outside toolpath and the two manholes. The outside toolpath will create a positive solid, while
the manholes (inside toolpath color) will create two negative solids that will be subtracted from the main solid.
Do not select any objects other than those three objects.

5.

The Plate Solid dialog allows you to select the plate stock to use for the plate solid. We want to use a 10mm
plate stock and the thickness of the plate is throwing aft.

6.

Make sure you select the PL10 stock and set the Plate Throw Dir to Aft. Click OK. The solid is created in the
color specified by the ShipReport database.

7.
8.

button to shade the frame drawing. It should look the same as in the next figure.
Click the Shade
Type REGEN when finished to exit the shaded view.

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button.

Designing Frames 59

Creating stiffeners from flat bar stock

The double bottom plate, for which we just created the solid, has to be stiffened by several flat bars. The flat bars
overlap the longitudinal stiffeners by 50mm. The figure below shows a cross section reference of a longitudinal
stiffener under the tank top.

CAD-Link creates a stiffener, in this case made from the flat bar, by extruding the cross section along an extrusion
path. The extrusion path will be represented by a straight line from the lower profile to the upper profile. The line
has to extend the full length of the intended stiffener.
Creating the stiffener the extrusion lines
1.

Activate the production layer.

2.

Make sure OSNAP END is on. It is easiest to pick the correct position if this is the only Osnap on.

3.

Zoom such that you can just see the lower and upper profiles of one set of longitudinal stiffeners.

4.

Draw a line from the upper outside point of the lower profile (see figure above) to the lower outside point of the
upper profile.

5.

Repeat for all profiles. See figure below.

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6.

The lines just drawn have to overlap the profiles by 50mm. A good technique is to use the lengthen command.

7.

Start the LENGTHEN command. The prompt reads:

8.

Enter DE for DELTA. Press ENTER. The prompt reads:

9.

DElta/Percent/Total/DYnamic/<Select object>:

Angle/<Enter delta length:

Enter 50 for the overlap length and press ENTER. The prompt reads:

<Select object to change>/Undo:

10. Click on each vertical stiffener line once near the upper end and once near the lower end. You could
also use the FENCE option. All lines will now overlap 50mm with the longitudinal profile cross sections.
11. You can verify each line by doing a pre-select (clicking on an entity without a command). The grip points or
handles will be displayed . See figure below.

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Designing Frames 61

Generating the flatbar stiffeners

You are now ready to create flat bar stiffeners along each line.
1.

Zoom to see all extrusion lines.

2.

Click the Stiffener Solid

62 Designing Frames

button. The prompt reads:

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3.

Select all vertical extrusion lines. The prompt reads:

4.

5.

Select lines or 2D polylines to extrude stiffener along:

Select plate solid:

CAD-Link switches from the production layer to the solid layer. Select the plate solid to which the stiffeners
attach. From the plate solid, CAD-Link looks up the orientation, thickness and the throw direction to calculate
the prompts for the next dialog, such as stiffener throw direction port or starboard.
In the dialog select:
Stock: FB100x12
Attach to: Fwd Side
Toe Direction: Port
Endcuts: At Start and At End LAP075
Trim Start & Trim End: None

6.

Click OK.

7.

In order to verify the correctness of our work, lets view the shaded result from a different angle. Click the 3D
View button

and select view FROM FWD STBD UP.

8.

Zoom to the plate part with the stiffeners.

9.

Shade

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the drawing. It should look similar to the figure:

Designing Frames 63

Defining stiffener parts

We will now define the parts for the flat bar stiffeners on the bottom plate in F112. Until now we have only created
CAD geometry. CAD-Link becomes really powerful, by giving each part a name and tracking it through the
complete design and change process. A CAD-Link part consists of CAD geometry and data in ShipReport.
button and select the Plan tab.

1.

In the U12F112 drawing, click the 3D View

2.

Select a body view. Click OK.

3.

The 3D view changes to a Body Fwd to Aft view. We will define our parts in this view.

4.

Zoom to the inboard stiffener as shown.

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5.

Click the Define Part

button. The prompt reads:

Select solid:

6.
7.

Click on the inboard stiffener solid.

The Select Paint dialog is displayed. This dialog is only displayed the first time you create a part to ensure that
the right default paint will be used for this part. During later part creations the same paint will be suggested for
each part. Select NO from the list and click OK.

8.

The part properties dialog is displayed as shown. Most data is grayed as it cannot be changed. Only a few items
are user selectable. These are as follows:

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Designing Frames 65

Part Name:
At the top left is the part name displayed.
Many different conventions are used to create part names. CAD-Link can support many of them. In general, a
part name is constructed of a part name body, an extension and a suffix. In this case we are not using the
suffix option; the field for it is grayed. In most cases CAD-Link can create the body, the extension and the suffix
automatically. In this case the body is the name of the group drawing (U12F112-). Use the ShipReport
settings to change how the body of the part name is created. Several different extension conventions are
commonly used. We will use a letter such as S for stiffener, P for plate and F for faceplate to indicate
the stock type. The extension is followed by a number. It is good practice to use leading zeros 01, 02, etc. to
ensure proper alphabetic sorting in lists. The Next# button can be used to find the next available extension of
the same type. CAD-link detects duplicate part names and rejects them.

Assembly: This tree dialog displays the assembly to which the part belongs. It is up to the user, as to how the
unit will be assembled. In this case we attach the part to a panel called F112 inside the Assembly called DB
(double bottom) which belongs to Unit U12. You may need to expand the tree to select F112.

Type: Type of stock used. In this case, it is a faceplate or flat bar stock.

Stock: This is the stock name used to make the solid.

Material: A36 as defined by the stock in ShipReport.

Paint: No. This part will not be painted before assembly.

LCG, TCG, VCG: Center of gravity.

Weight: The weight in mt. You can set the weight units in ShipReport to pounds, short tons, long tons,
kilograms, or metric tons. You can change this at any time. The weight is always calculated on the fly when
needed. If you need a report in pounds, just change the setting in ShipReport and view the report.

Length: Length of the stiffener in meters. In ShipReport you can set inches, feet (also as fractions), millimeters,
centimeters, and meters.

Descriptions: Each part can have two descriptions. It is up to the user to add the description.

Part Side: The part side is automatically decided by the value of the transverse center of gravity. A positive
TCG indicates a port side part; a negative TCG indicates a starboard side part.

Endcuts: Lists the endcuts applied to both ends of the stiffener.

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Show parts: If checked, shows all parts in the assembly tree. This option can slow down displaying the tree if
you have thousands of parts and is therefore optional.

All this information will be added to ShipReport and can be recalled at anytime.
9.

Enter the settings as shown in the screen shot above. Click OK.

10. The Annotation dialog allows you to set:

Piecemark Size: Enter 25 in this case. It is the text height to be used for the piecemark.
Leader Line: Check this if you want your piecemark to a have a flyout leader line attached to it.
Osnap Settings: Lets you set Osnap options for creating the piecemark.
11. Use the settings as shown in the dialog. Click OK. The prompt reads:

Select position of piece-mark

12. A small pick indicator circle is placed by CAD-Link at the position where you picked the solid. This is
useful when you have many parts close together, as you may not remember which one you picked.
13. Click to the left of the vertical stiffener extrusion line for the piecemark location.
14. The piecemark is displayed. You can now rotate the piecemark by moving the cursor. Be sure to have
ORTHO ON (toggle with F8 key). Rotate the piecemark to a vertical position as shown.

15. The next dialog allows you to move the piecemark if you are not happy with the location. Click Yes if you want
to move the piecemark to a new location; click No if the location is good.

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Designing Frames 67

16. Pan to the next stiffener.

Congratulations! You have just created your first part. Now we need to create parts for the rest of the stiffeners.
1.

Click the Define Part

2.

Select next stiffener solid.

3.
4.

The Part Properties dialog is shown for this part. The part extension is automatically incremented to
S02. You just need to click OK.
Create the piecemark as before.

5.

Repeat the previous steps for all other stiffeners. The result looks like this:

button again.

Part list dialog

The part list dialog displays all parts within one drawing. It is a convenient way to check the major settings of all
parts and make modifications to any one of the parts. This dialog is modeless, which means that while the dialog is
displayed you can still access the drawing and use any AutoCAD or CAD-Link command.
1.

Click the Part List

68 Designing Frames

button. The part list dialog is displayed as shown.

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2.

The dialog lists all parts with all properties that are user selectable.

3.

The dialog has a pop-up menu. Right-click on any part in the list. A menu pops up.

4.

Select Properties from the menu. The Part Properties dialog, as used during part creation, is displayed.
You can now change any parameter that might have been wrongly assigned. Click OK or Cancel to close the
dialog.

5.

Close the Part List dialog by clicking on the X in the upper right corner of the dialog.

Stiffener marking lines

The production geometry of a part will be used for nesting and NC cutting. Thus, we have to create the geometry in
the same way that we want the NC-cutting machine to cut the part from plate stock, including any marking. Most
companies mark plate parts where stiffeners or brackets attach. We want to create stiffener markings as shown in the
figure. The marking line is 100mm long. It has a gap of 25mm to the profile. The throw line is pointing outboard and
is 25mm long.

1.

Zoom such that you can see all vertical stiffener marking lines.

2.

Click the Process Color

3.

Select Marking and leave the Far Side option unchecked. Click OK.

4.

Select all vertical stiffener extrusion lines. Press ENTER to change their process colors to Marking.

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button.

Designing Frames 69

5.
6.
7.

Click the Thickness Throw Lines

button, found on the detailing flyout.
Select the all stiffener lines.
Set the options in the next dialog as shown. Shorten by is set to 75 because the line we drew to extrude the
stiffener overlaps the profiles by 50mm and we want to have a 25mm gap. Click OK.

8.

The prompt reads:

Pick side to throw:

9.

Click to the outboard side of the outermost stiffener line to indicate an outboard throw direction. The stiffener
markings are created as shown in the figure at the start of this section.
10. The command is still active. Press ENTER or ECS to cancel it.

Part Orientation Icon

A part orientation icon simplifies assembly and prevents potential errors. CAD-Link can create a part orientation
icon automatically with the appropriate text from a template. The template can be modified to suit your personal
needs. We will simply use the supplied template which will look like the following figure when use on a frame. The
actual wording changes, depending on the orientation of the part.

1.

Zoom to the left side of the double bottom plate part.

2.
3.

Click the Part Orientation Icon

button.
In the dialog you can choose the template icon to use, if you have several defined. You can also choose the size
of the icon. Choose an Icon Scale of 1.

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4.

The prompt asks for a location of the icon. Click anywhere inside the part. You will choose the final location
later. Make sure that the click point is on the port side, otherwise you will get a reversed icon pointing to
starboard.

5.

You can now adjust the final position. A good location is shown in the figure.

Defining the plate part

The bottom plate part can now be defined. Remember that the part definition is used for nesting. All entities that we
want to be processed need to be in the appropriate color.
1.

Make sure that all longitudinal stiffener cross sections are in the No Process color. We will include them
in the part, thus they will be nested. However, because they are in the No Process color, the NC-Pyros will
ignore them.

2.

Zoom such that you can see the bottom plate part.

3.

You can erase the thickness throw icon above the part (see figures)

4.

Move the TTOP, the LBHC, and the MRGN text inside of the part as shown. Reduce the text size to 50mm.

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Designing Frames 71

5.

Click the Define Part

6.

Click on the plate solid.

7.
8.

The command switches to the production layer. Select the outside toolpath and all entities inside of it,
including all profile cross sections and all stiffener piecemarks. Press ENTER.
The part dialog is displayed. Enter all settings as shown below.

Part Name: Set the part name extension to P01 as this is the first plate part. Click OK.

9.

Set the piecemark size to 50mm. We want to emphasize the plate part piecemark over the stiffener
piecemarks, which are 25mm.

button. The command switches to the solid layer.

10. Place the piecemark in a prominent position in the part. See figure. We now have a plate part that is stiffened by
several flatbar stiffeners.

11. Zoom closely into one of the stiffener piecemarks. You will see that the piecemark text is displayed twice.
One is offset a little from the other, and the colors are different. Remember that parts are AutoCAD blocks. We
set up CAD-Link to include the text of all attached stiffeners into the plate part. To achieve this, the text has to
be duplicated, as we need it once for the actual stiffener part, and once inside the plate part block
for nesting.

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Practice: Check the progress so far in the unit drawing. Please follow the steps earlier in this chapter on opening
the unit drawing, changing the visibility of individual groups and shading the unit drawing. The result should look
like the figure below.

Adding entities to an existing part

Sometimes you will find that you forget to include a marking line or similar when defining a plate part. You can add
entities later on by using the Add Objects function.
To practice this we will add a marking line to the newly created plate part in F112, for instance to attach a bracket or
something similar.
1.

In drawing U12F112.

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Designing Frames 73

2.

Draw a vertical line on the part. Choose a convenient location. Place some text, size 25, angle 90, beside the
line, such as Bracket.

3.

Change the process color of the text and the line to Marking. You will get an error message if you do not assign
specific colors.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Select Planar / Part / Add Objects.

Select the plate part. You can click anywhere on the plate part to select it.
Press ENTER to continue. You could select multiple parts to add objects to.
Select the line and the text. Press ENTER. The two entities are added to the part.

Review
This portion has taken quite some time. As you gain expertise the part detailing will become much faster. The
construction unit, as you see it in this example took about 40 man-hours to define using standard design drawings, 4
man-hours to nest and 20 man-hours to create assembly drawings.
You have now learned the main commands of part definition. In the next chapter we will handle different cases of
part creation, such as:

Parts with faceplates

Flanged parts
Identical stiffeners that can be copied
Standard brackets

You can continue working through the following chapters or jump directly to the chapter on nesting.
Practice: Using what you have learned, create the stiffeners and the plate part on F113. Some of the geometry has
already been copied, so it should move a little faster.

Frame deck girder with faceplate

The deck girder is made up of a plate part 500mm deep plate and a faceplate at the lower side. The plate has cutouts
for the stiffeners under the main deck at the same half-breadth locations as the double bottom part. All corners
require scallops.

Many of the commands used in this part have been used before. We hope that you remember them from the previous
sections. Whenever we use a command used in the previous section, then we will describe its use in an abbreviated
form.
1.

In U12F112.DWG, Insert cutouts and profiles for stock BF160X09

2.

Trim the deck line to the cutouts.

3.

Draw a horizontal line 500mm below the main deck.

4.

Zoom to the outside portion of the deck beam as shown.

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5.

A short portion of the outside hull trace of the frame is needed for the deck girder, but it is also needed for the
profile that makes up the side of the frame. We will make a copy of it onto the revision layer for later. Thus
we can trim it up for our use now and use the copy later on.

6.

Click on the Copy Geometry to Layer

7.

Click on the outside frame trace. Press ENTER. The Copy Geometry to Layer dialog is displayed.

8.

Highlight the layer REV and click OK. The prompt informs you how many entities have been copied.

9.

Now trim the outside of the toolpath and insert the scallops. See figure.

button.

10. Now finish the portion of the plate that ties into the center girder. Remember to use the port side marking of the
center girder. Use the Mark Group Intersections function to draw the lines of the center girder on the frame
again.

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Designing Frames 75

7.5mm off center

11. Create a toolpath for the outside of this plate part now.
12. Create a plate solid for the part using 10mm stock, thickness throw aft.

2D Group XREF
First we will clean up the drawing a little. Erase all help lines and marking lines that we do not need, such as the
marking lines for HGRDR. You can also trim the MRGN line to the tanktop and the hull. Also please erase the left
over piece of the hull trace. We will later recover it from the copy that we made to the revision layer. The result
should look like this.

In some cases it is very helpful to see the crossing structure from other group drawings. In our case we will load the
longitudinal girder U12LBHC into the frame drawing U12F112. We need to find where the faceplates of the center
girder and the frame tie into each other. We could calculate the location, but errors are easily made.

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long. deck girder

frame deck girder

faceplate connection location

1.

In U12F112 set the viewpoint FWD PRT UP.

2.

Activate the production layer.

3.

Select from the menu Planar / XRef Groups or click Attach XREF

4.

In the dialog check U12LBHC and click OK.

5.

Zoom to the deck girder intersection between the frame and the longitudinal girder.

6.

Activate the production and the solid layers.

7.

SHADE the drawing. See figure.

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Marking the inside end of the faceplate

We want to find the transverse position of the faceplate under the center girder. We will draw a short vertical line on
the frame to mark that position.
1.

REGEN the drawing to get out of shaded mode.

2.

We need to use point filters to draw this line. If you are not familiar with point filters, you might want to read
up on them in the AutoCAD documentation.

3.

Start the LINE command. If you have a 3 button mouse or a wheel mouse press the center button to
bring up the following menu. With a 2-button mouse hold down the CTRL key and press the right mouse
button. From the menu select .XY. We are telling AutoCAD only to use the X and Y coordinates of the pick
point. You can also type at the command line .XY, that is dot-XY.

4.
5.

Select OSNAP SNAP TO NEAREST.

Place the cursor over one of the two lines indicating the near edge of the faceplate on the longitudinal girder and
wait until the SNAPTIP is displayed. Press the mouse button to get the coordinates. The command line reads:
LINE From point: .XY of (need Z):

6.

Type 0 at the command prompt, press ENTER.

7.

With ORTHO on, draw a short vertical line to mark the position (without having this second point snap).

8.

Select from the menu Planar / XRef Groups.

9.

From the dialog uncheck U12LBHC and click OK.

10. Set a body view.

11. Activate the production layer only.

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12. Zoom to the deck girder inboard side.

13. Trim the vertical line to the lower edge of the plate part if required.
14. ID the one of the end points on the marking line. It should have an X coordinate of 75mm.

75mm off center

Marking the outside end of the faceplate

The next figure shows the situation at the connection of the faceplate outboard with the BF240X12 profile running
down the shell plating side of the hull. We need to draw a vertical marking line for the outside end of the faceplate.

1.

Zoom to the outside end of the frame deck girder.

2.

Click the Activate Layer button

3.

Click the Copy Geometry to Layer button and make a copy of the outside hull trace to the production
PRD layer.

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and select REV to activate the revision layer.

Designing Frames 79

4.

Activate the production _PRD layer.

5.

Offset the hull trace 240mm inboard.

6.

Draw a line 20mm (thickness of the flatbar for the faceplate) below the lower edge of the deck girder.

7.

Draw a line from the intersection of the two new lines vertically upwards.

8.

Trim the vertical line at the underside of the girder. See figure.

9.

Erase all helping lines except for the vertical line marking the end of the faceplate. This is the outside
endpoint of the faceplate.

Faceplate for deck girder

We are now ready to create the faceplate.
1.

Zoom so that you can see the deck girder web plate in total.

2.

Click the Faceplate Solid

button.

Select faceplate path:

Select Line, Arc, or Polyline for Faceplate creation:

3.
4.

Select the outside toolpath of the deck girder web plate.

The command activates the solid layer and prompts:
Select solid:

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5.
6.

Click on the plate solid of the girder. CAD-link looks up the stock, throw direction and thickness, in order to
be able to calculate the faceplate position.
Set the parameters in the next dialog as shown in the figure. These are the options:

Stock Name: Stock to be used. We use FB150X20. The dialog lists all the particulars of the flatbar stock.

Plate Data: The particulars of the plate stock of the girder to which the faceplate will be attached.

Path: Closed or open. We will make an open faceplate. Closed faceplates are normally used for manholes.

Make start and end symbols: If checked, CAD-Link will create symbols to mark the start and the end
of the faceplate on the plate stock. You can NC mark these to enhance assembly accuracy.

Start symbol

7.

end symbol

Position: There are several predefined positions of the faceplate, plus an option for a user defined
position.

Click OK when the settings are done.

Select the start point of the faceplate:

8.

Click the start point on the marking line that we drew near the center girder.
Select the end point of the faceplate:

9.

Click the on end point on the marking line that we drew near the outside.
Select segment for faceplate:

10. CAD-Link has now divided the outside toolpath of the deck girder web plate into two segments, indicated by
two different colors: Pick the segment (OSNAP NEAR is on) for which we want to make the faceplate.
Pick Face Plate Thickness direction

11. Pick anywhere below the girder to indicate on which side of the line the faceplate has to be made.
12. CAD-Link creates the faceplate and the start and end symbols.
13. Set the viewpoint to FROM FWD STBD UP.
14. Zoom to the inboard portion of the deck girder and shade it.

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start symbol

15. Zoom to the outboard portion of the deck girder and shade it.

end symbol

16. Set viewpoint to Body.

17. Activate the production layer.
18. Erase the two marking lines we made to pick the start and end of the faceplate.

Defining the faceplate part

We can now define the part for the faceplate. The piecemark for the faceplate will be placed on the web part of the
girder. This way the piecemark will be later marked on the nested part. Assembly will be easy, as the web plate part
has start and end positions as well as the name of the faceplate marked automatically onto it.

Practice: Define the faceplate part as shown in the figure. Make sure you use the following parameters:

Piecemark name extension: F01

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Assembly: MDK main deck. The faceplate, together with the girder portion, will be assembled to the
main deck assembly, not the double bottom. When we make assembly drawings this part will be
automatically shown in the deck assembly.

Practice: Place a part orientation icon in the left portion of the girder part.
Practice: Define the deck girder part. For the piecemark use the extension P03, as this will be the third plate
part. P02 will be the flanged margin bracket. Make sure you select all entities for this part that are inside the girder
toolpath.
Practice: Create the same parts for frame 113.

Flanged margin plate

The figure below shows a shaded view of a finished flanged margin plate, as we will now create one. The viewpoint
is set to AFT STBD UP. This part has a few special features:

It is flanged. We will learn how to make a flanged part.

It intersects with a skewed longitudinal. The gap between the double bottom plate of the frame and the margin
plate has to be larger than the thickness of the longitudinal because of its skewed orientation.

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Designing Frames 83

Correcting the gap

The margin bracket has to be corrected where it connects to the longitudinal margin plate. The margin plate is 15mm
thick. If you measure the distance between the two marking lines that CAD-Link created (you used the inside one to
create the double bottom part), you will find that it is 15.2956mm.
This dimension is the opening gap on the construction UCS. We have to increase this value. To find out by how
much, we need to know where the outside of the margin plate is at the aft thickness of the bracket. See figure below.

Double bottom
Thickness UCS

Construction UCS

Margin bracket

Construction UCS
opening
Skewed longitudinal

CAD-Link creates two UCSs in every group drawing: the construction and the thickness UCS.
The construction UCS is at the plane where the planar group is defined; for a frame it is the longitudinal location.
The thickness UCS is at the other side of the specified main thickness of the plating in this group drawing. During
creation of the group drawing CAD-Link asks you to enter the thickness of the planar group and the throw direction.
For this frame the main thickness is 10mm and the throw direction is aft.
The longitudinal margin plate is 15mm thick and the throw direction is outboard. If we activate the thickness throw
UCS of the frame and then create the marking lines for the margin plate, we will get the outboard intersection as
shown in the figure above
1.

Zoom to the area where the margin bracket ties to the double bottom panel.

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2.

Click the Activate UCS

3.

In the dialog select the UCS U12F112_T. The _T marks the thickness throw UCS. Click OK.

4.

Click the Mark Group Intersections

5.

In the next dialog check only Throw Lines and click OK.

6.

The command creates two marking lines: one for the inside and one for the outside of the margin plate.

7.

Click the Activate UCS

8.

Click the 3D to 2D
button and click on the two newly created marking lines. The marking lines were
created on the thickness throw UCS and therefore had a Z value of 10 relative to the construction UCS. We
would not be able to use them for a toolpath.

9.

Zoom closely into the lower right scallop of the double bottom part as shown.

button.

button. A warning will be displayed. Click OK.

button and activate the construction UCS U12F112_C.

Outside on construction UCS

Outside on construction UCS

Dist. 1.9951
Inside on construction UCS

Inside on thickness UCS

10. You can measure the extra gap width required by obtaining the distance perpendicular from one corner of
the double bottom panel scallop outside marking line. It is 17.2907.
11. Erase all inside marking lines except the one most port.

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Margin Bracket toolpath

We will now define the toolpath for the flanged margin bracket.

1.

Zoom to the margin bracket area.

2.

Draw a line at 1750mm height as shown.

3.

Offset the hull trace 500mm inboard. You should now have a screen similar to the one shown in the figure
before.

4.

Draw a line from the intersection of the horizontal tanktop marking with the margin plate intersection
marking to the intersection of the line at 1750 with the polyline 500 inside the hull trace.

5.

Erase the inside hull trace.

6.

Trim the remaining lines as shown in the next figure.

7.

Create scallops at the connection of the margin bracket to the margin plate.

8.

Create a toolpath for the outside of the margin bracket. You will most likely get an error message as shown.
CAD-Link detected that a gap is produced by an AutoCAD trimming error. The distance is 0.7264mm.
Although it is a small distance, it will still cause the NC code generation to fail or the part might be destroyed
due to erratic torch movements.

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9.

There is an AutoCAD trimming problem. In many cases AutoCAD trims only the segment of the polyline that
you picked. In this case there is a problem at the top right corner of the margin bracket.

10. Click on the Create End Circles button.

11. Select Outside Cut for the Process Color. Click OK.
12. CAD-Link creates circles of the specified diameter around the two open ends of the polyline.

Not trimmed properly

13. To fix the problem you need to EXPLODE the polyline and trim the small portion off.
14. Create a toolpath again. This time it should work.

Margin bracket solid

So far, we have ignored the fact that the margin bracket will be flanged. All that we are drawing at the moment is
what will be visible in body view. The flange will be created after we make the solid for the flat plate without the
flange.
1.

Draw a lightening hole circle of 150mm radius at a convenient position inside of the margin bracket.

2.

Set the process color to Inside Cut.

3.

Create a plate solid for the margin bracket in the regular way. Use PL10 stock and throw direction Aft. Use
the outside toolpath and the lightening hole when creating the solid.

4.

Click the Flanged Plate

button.

Select polyline segment to flange

5.

Click on the segment of the margin bracket outside toolpath that will be flanged. It is the straight line segment
running under an angle of about 45 degrees. See figure.
Select the direction of the flange:

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Designing Frames 87

6.

Click to the above inboard side of the flange line segment, to indicate the direction of the expanded flange.
The function activates the solid layer.
Select plate solid:

7.
8.

9.

Click on the plate solid for the margin plate. The nest dialogs control the appearance of the flange.
ShipReport has several prepared flanges. You can also set up your own. We are using a flange called
FLG100S45, a 100mm flange with 45-degree snipes on both ends and no relief radii. Click OK when
done.

Flange Size: The size of the flange after folding.

Flange Correction: The plate material stretches during flanging. For most flanging operations up to
about 15mm or inch a correction of 1 times the plate thickness creates flanges of the right size. You can
obtain the correction parameters by flanging rectangular plates of different thicknesses. Then measure the
web and flange size. The change of web and flange size divided by the thickness of the plate stock gives
you the correction factors.

Fold Line Correction: Similar to the flange correction, this factor corrects the fold line due to plate
material stretching.

Plate Thickness: Thickness of the plate solid selected.

1st and 2nd Relief Radius: Radii at the end of the fold line.

1st and 2nd Angle: Snipe angles for the flange.

The Flange Options dialog appears. Set the parameters as shown in the figure. The text on the nested plate
part will read FLANGE UP 90 for the flanging operator. The flanging line will be 50mm shorter than the actual
flange.

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10. The Flange Direction dialog controls the appearance of the solid flange. Set the direction to Aft. This will
create a solid of the flange toward the aft direction. Click OK.

11. Activate the solid layer _SLD.

12. Set a viewpoint of 1, -2, 1 and zoom into the flanged part.
13. Shade the drawing. The result should look like this.

The solid of the margin bracket is now ready. We simply need to fix up the expanded flange.
14. Set a view Body Fwd to Aft again.
15. Activate the production layer _PRD.
16. Zoom to the inside area of the flange as shown.

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17. You will see a small gap between the flange snipe and the scallop. This results from the correction for the fold
line due to expected stretching of the web during expansion. You can select a method that best fits your needs
to close this gap. We recommend that you stretch the endpoint of the flange snipe line and snap to the end of the
circle.
18. Zoom to the outside area of the flange and correct the gap in a similar fashion.
19. The resulting drawing is shown in the next figure.
Note: The flange line is a dashed line with dashed caret type symbol near each end. The text FLG UP 90 is also
dashed. Dashed indicates that the marking is on the far side of the plate part. CAD-Link will later automatically set
the MAR FARSIDE flag for this part. This will result in the part being nested mirrored, as if looking from the aft
side. Thus the flange information will be visible to the person at the flange press.

20. Connect the outside to a toolpath.

Margin bracket mark far side

We are looking at the margin bracket from forward to aft. The flange is towards the aft. If we NC-cut the part in this
form, then the flange information will be on the down side in the press brake when flanging. This would cause
difficulties as the operator would not see the marking information, and the flange would probably be the wrong size.
In order to have the marking on the other side we need to nest the part mirrored. CAD-Link can take care of this
automatically if you change the marking line to the far side. Far side marking lines are displayed dashed. Adjust the
LTSCALE if the dashing is not visible. This setting can also be found in ShipReport in the user settings on the
Symbols tab.
1.

Insert a Part Orientation Icon

2.

Define the part for the margin bracket in the usual way. There will be a warning regarding the marking
lines. The flange line, and carets are dashed, while the part orientation icon is for mark near side (continuous).

90 Designing Frames

on the margin bracket.

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3.

Select All mark far side and click OK.

4.

Observe that the Mark Far Side checkbox is automatically checked, as the marking lines had all been
changed to the far side setting. Assign the part to the main deck MDK, piecemark P02.

Practice: Create a margin bracket the same way for frame 113.

Frame profile
The outside frame is made up of a BF240X12 curved profile. The profile cross section is defined as a stock in
ShipReport. We need to prepare the extrusion path. It has to be the exact length and shape of the outside of the
profile in body view. We made a copy of the outside hull trace to the revision _REV layer earlier. We will now
retrieve it to make the extrusion path.
The stiffener has an overlap of 250mm with the deck girder and the margin bracket. We have to trim the hull trace to
these positions to make the exact extrusion path.

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Designing Frames 91

1.

Make sure you are in drawing U12F112 and the drawing is in body view.

2.

Activate the revision layer _REV.

3.

Copy the hull frame trace to the production layer _PRD.

4.

Activate the production layer.

5.

Trim the frame trace such that it overlaps 250mm with the margin bracket and with the web of the deck girder
as shown.

Tip: Draw the trim lines, then hide the deck girder and margin bracket. Unhide them after trimming. Do this by
selecting Planar / Hide and then selecting the parts to hide them. Select Planar / Unhide All to bring them back.
6.

Set a 3D View FROM FWD STBD UP and zoom to the upper end of the extrusion path.

7.

Click the Stiffener Solid

8.

Select the extrusion path, which is the trimmed hull trace of the frame.

9.

Do not pick a plate solid. Simply press ENTER. The outside profile is not attached to a specific plate solid.

92 Designing Frames

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10. Select the stock BF240X12 , use the LAP250 endcuts for start and end, Web Direction is Starboard and
Toe Direction is Fwd. Click OK.

11. Shade the drawing. It should look like the above figure.
12. REGEN the drawing.
Practice: Define a part for the newly created profile. You can simply type S01 in the part name extension box
and then click the Next button. CAD-Link will search ShipReport for the next available number. Place the
piecemark anywhere near the center of the profile.

Creating the mirror parts

All the parts we have defined need to be mirrored symmetrically on the starboard side. CAD-Link allows you to
mirror parts. It will automatically assign new names to the parts and enter them into ShipReport.
1.
2.

Zoom Extents to see all parts.

Activate the production layer. It should look like this.

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3.

Select Planar / Part / Mirror Part.

4.
5.

Select all entities on the production layer. Press ENTER.

A warning dialog displays that 1 entity is not a part. This is the hull trace used for the profile. Click Yes to
mirror this entity as well.

6.

The Mirror Part dialog is displayed. Plate parts usually contain a part orientation icon. The icon can make use
of two text indicators such as PORT and OUTBOARD or STARBOARD and OUTBOARD. These words are
user customizable. You can instruct CAD-Link to replace these words automatically when mirroring parts. In
our case we want to replace PORT with STBD.

7.

Check the Apply to All option, so you will not be prompted for each part. Click OK.

8.

The parts will be mirrored to the starboard side. The word PORT will be replaced with STBD in the starboard
versions of the parts.

Practice: Update drawing U12F113 in the same way.

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Checking group drawings

It is good practice to check a planar group drawing when all parts are defined. The checking command checks for
dozens of potential errors in the group drawing. After the command finishes a list dialog will show all unused
geometry on the production or the solid layer.
Entities that are on the production layer and are not blocks (parts are blocks) are potential errors. In addition solids
that are not assigned to a part are potential errors. It is quite easy to forget to include marking, such as for the part
orientation icon, into the part when you define it. You should either include all entities on the production layer into
parts or move them to the revision layer.
1.

Select Planar / Check Current Group DWG. Some errors can be fixed without user intervention, while
others require it. The dialog is divided into three sections. Please read the dialog carefully to understand what
the command will perform.

2.

Click OK.

3.

Make sure both checkboxes are checked. Click OK.

4.

The command creates a file called RepairGroup.txt and loads it in the Windows Notepad. There should be
no errors reported. You should print the file if there are any errors and try to resolve them.
Close Notepad.

5.
6.

The Unused Geometry dialog is now visible. You might want to move it to one side of the screen. It should
list two items. Highlight the first item in the list and click View.

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7.

The command zooms to the solid and highlights it. It is the outboard frame trace. Click the ERASE button to
remove it.

8.

Highlight the remaining item. Click View. This is the same hull trace on the other side. Erase this one as
well.

9.

Click Close.

Practice: Do the same with U12FR113.

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Center Girder

Faceplates
The longitudinal girder drawing U12LBHC is almost finished. We just have to complete the double bottom girder.
The plate part itself is finished too, but the lightening holes have to be stiffened with faceplates. We will now
practice two things here: creating faceplates that form closed rings, and copying a defined part to many new
locations.

Double bottom girder

Defining the faceplate part

We will now define the faceplates for the lightening holes in the longitudinal double bottom girder. The girder is
partially finished. The production information for the plate part is complete and the plate solid has also been created.

The lightening hole will be reinforced by a closed

faceplate. The faceplate has to be bent from straight flatbar stock. A minimum distance from any radius is
required for bending. We will place the weld position at the center of the top horizontal segment of the
lightening hole.

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Center Girder 97

1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

On the 2D Group tab select LngBhd / U12LBHC.

3.

Zoom to the lightening hole in the bottom girder panel farthest to the left.

4.

Click the Faceplate

5.

Select the lightening hole toolpath.

6.

Select the plate solid.

7.

Select the faceplate stock FB150X20. Check Make start and end symbols. Select Position Centered.
Select Path Closed. Click OK.

8.

For the start point select the middle of the top segment of the lightning hole. Use MID OSNAP.

9.

The OSNAP is automatically set to NEAR. Pick on the top horizontal segment near the help line in forward
direction to indicate in which direction we want the faceplate to proceed from the start point. The production
report will later contain all bending information for this faceplate part. The direction into which the faceplate
proceeds from the start point is important.

button.

10. Pick towards the inside of the toolpath to indicate on which side of the extrusion path the faceplate is to be
located.
11. The faceplate is created. Change to a 3D viewpoint and shade the drawing to verify the correctness of the
faceplate.

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12. Switch back to a profile view.

13. Zoom to the top horizontal segment of the faceplate.
9. Activate the production layer.
14. A small triangle in Marking Color indicates the start point and the direction of the faceplate. It will be
marked during NC processing.

15. Zoom to the size of the faceplate.

16. Define a part for the faceplate. Assign it to the assembly Demo-DB-CTRGRDR. As you do not know which
piecemarks are unused enter for the extension F01, then press the Next# button. This will search the database for
the next available piecemark. The result should be F02.

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17. Use a piecemark text size of 25mm. Place the piecemark vertically on the plate at the forward vertical segment
of the lightening hole.

Copying parts
All lightening holes and respective faceplates are the same. We can save some time by copying the part and the
triangular start-direction symbol at the top. We use the AutoCAD COPY command to copy parts. CAD-Link will
automatically generate a new part name, copy the solid of the part, and update the database for the new part. The
triangular start-direction symbol is not part of the faceplate part, and needs to be selected separately.
Note: When copying parts in this way, select only the piecemark do not select the solid as it will be copied
automatically by CAD-Link.

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1.

Zoom out somewhat to see about three or four lightening holes. If you have a high-resolution display, you can
probably zoom to see all the lightening holes.

2.

Set OSNAP to END only.

3.

Start the COPY command normally, and select the direction symbol and the piecemark.

4.

Use the Multiple option of the COPY command to make all the copies at once. Use, for example, the aft end of
the top horizontal segment as the base and copy points for copying. Use the scroll bars to see the other
lightening holes when picking the Second point of displacement.
Each time you make a copy, you will see the new piecemark with a new part name. The piecemark extension
should increase from F03 to F10.

5.

Double bottom girder part definition

We can now define the girder plate part. As usual we want to include the piecemarks of the attached faceplates into
the part.
Practice: Define the double bottom girder plate part. Use a piecemark text size of 50mm.
Practice: Run a check on the group drawing. There should be no unused geometry left.

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Using Standards

Overview
CAD-Link allows you to define standards such as brackets. You can then use the standard in any group drawing. We
will use a pre-defined standard bracket on the aft bulkhead.

Exploring an existing standard

We will now look at a standard bracket.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Click the Standard tab.

3.

Under Structural Standards click on BKT101 and click Open.

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4.

The bracket drawing is displayed. The bracket is created just like any other plate part would be. It consists of
an outside toolpath, a piecemark, and a solid. The only difference is that the piecemark has $$$ at the end. The
$-signs will later be replaced by a running number, such as 001,002, and so on. Each bracket will thus have a
unique name.

Several of these standard brackets are already in use in the drawing of bulkhead 106. We will now insert a few more.
1.

Open group drawing U12F106.

2.

Set a 3D View FROM FWD STBD UP.

3.

Activate the production layer.

4.

Zoom to the upper edge near the center line of the bulkhead as shown.

There are already several brackets along the top edge of the bulkhead. The outboard brackets are already in place.
However, three inboard brackets are missing.

Creating an out of plane UCS

This group drawing is a frame. However, the brackets are not in the plane of the frame, but perpendicular to it. A
plate part can only exist in a UCS plane in order to work as if in 2D. Without a UCS, CAD-Link cannot convert the
part to true 2D for nesting.
We need to create what we call an out of plane UCS at the location where the bracket is to be inserted. The
brackets tie stiffeners on the bulkhead to a longitudinal stiffener below the main deck. CAD-Link provides
commands to create and activate out of plane UCSs. We will now create an out of plane UCS at the top end of one
vertical stiffener.
1.

Click the Activate UCS

2.

The dialog lists all available UCSs. In the list you will find the familiar construction UCS (U12F106_C), the
thickness UCS (U12F106_T), and the WORLD UCS. There are also several UCS that have are named
OPnnn. OP stands for Out of Plane, and nnn is a sequential number. You do not have to remember the OP
UCS names; CAD-Link will keep track of them for you and you usually activate them by clicking on an entity in
that UCS.

3.

Make sure U12F106_C is the currently active UCS. The active UCS will be highlighted when the dialog comes
up. If it is not active, select it from the list and click OK. Press ENTER to start this command again.

104 Using Standards

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4.

In the dialog click New Out of Plane.

Select origin.

5.

The function sets OSNAP END and NEAR. Click on the upper end of the first vertical stiffener marking
inboard of the most inboard bracket.
Select point on axis.

6.

The function sets OSNAP NEAR. Pick any other point on the same vertical marking line.
Locate third point in plane or ENTER for perpendicular to UCS:

7.

Press ENTER to create a UCS perpendicular to bulkhead 106. The out of plane UCS is created as
indicated by the UCS icon.

Constructing the bracket insertion point at the top end of stiffener

We need to insert the bracket such that it overlaps with the vertical stiffener on the bulkhead and the longitudinal
stiffener under the main deck by 50mm. It is a little tricky to find the right insertion point. The bracket is drawn in
the standard drawing with the origin outside the lower left snipe.
We will draw a help line in our new UCS to indicate the insertion point. To make it easier to locate the insertion
point, we will insert the main deck group drawing into the bulkhead drawing. The bracket has to overlap both
stiffeners by 500mm.
1. Make sure the production layer is active.
2.

Select from the menu Planar / XRef Groups or click Attach XREF

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3.

In the dialog check U12MDCK to insert the main deck. Click OK.

4.

Activate both the production and solid layers. You will see the stiffener solids.

Draw lines from

here

5.

Zoom in closely to the stiffener ends in the plane of the current OOP UCS.

6.

Draw a horizontal line from the aft lower end of the deck stiffener towards forward. Make sure that
ORTHO is on.

7.

Draw a vertical line from the top forward end of the vertical stiffener up.

8.

Activate the production layer only.

9.

Offset the horizontal line 50mm up and the vertical line 50mm aft. The intersection of these two lines is
the insertion point of the bracket.

10. Draw a line from the intersection of the two offset lines diagonally (ORTHO off) up and aft.
11. Erase the previously drawn lines, except for the diagonal line.
12. Activate the production and solid layers. Compare what you have drawn to the next figure.

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Bracket help line

Bracket insertion
point

13. Select from the menu Planar / XRef Groups or click Attach XREF
main deck drawing.

.to unload the previously inserted

14. In the dialog click Uncheck All and then click OK.

Inserting a standard bracket at top end of stiffener

We are now ready to insert the standard bracket at the specified location on the OOP UCS.
1.

Activate the production layer.

2.

On the toolbar click the Insert Standard Part

3.

In the dialog select BRKT101.DWG and click OK.

4.

For the insertion location, choose the lower right end point of the diagonal help line.

5.

The command now allows you to rotate the bracket. Make sure ORTHO is on. Rotate the bracket as shown in
the figure.

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button.

Using Standards 107

Mirror part? Yes, <No>

6.

Press ENTER to select the default option, No.

7.

In the dialog, select Throw direction to Port. Click OK. The stiffeners throw towards the starboard side.

8.

The part properties dialog is displayed exactly the same as when defining a part earlier in this chapter. Only
the part name is not changeable. Assign the bracket to Assembly Demo-U12-B106. Click OK.

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9.

Erase the diagonal help line we just created.

It is now time to verify that we inserted the bracket at the right position.
1.

Select from the menu Planar / XRef Groups or click Attach XREF

2.

XREF the U12MDCK drawing again.

3.

Set the 3D View to FROM FWD PORT DOWN.

4.

Activate the solid layer.

5.

Zoom to the bracket.

6.

Shade the drawing to verify correctness.

7.

Select from the menu Planar / XRef Groups or click Attach XREF

8.

Click Uncheck All, then click OK.

Copying brackets at top end of stiffener

We need the same bracket at the other two stiffeners towards centerline. You can insert the standard bracket using
the same procedure. However, we can save time by copying the brackets relative to the endpoint of the stiffener
marking lines.
1.

Return to the previous view and zoom when inserting the bracket.

2.

Activate the production layer.

3.

Zoom such that you can see the newly inserted bracket and the marking lines of the two stiffeners towards
center line with the missing brackets.

4.

Type COPY.

5.

Select the newly inserted bracket.

6.

Choose the Multiple option to make more than one copy.

7.

For the base point pick the upper end of the stiffener marking line.

8.

For the copy point select the upper end of the next stiffener marking line towards inboard.

9.

Make the next copy one more time inboard. Do not insert a part at centerline.

10. Activate the solid and production layer.

11. Shade the drawing. See figure.

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Checking the unit

We have now defined all parts and can prepare the unit for:

Nesting

Assembly drawings

It is good practice to check the unit before proceeding to the next steps. The checking includes:

Check the unit drawing

Check all group drawings

Check for interferences

Check the unit drawing

The unit drawing consists of XREFs of all group drawings. For each group drawing there is a construction and a
thickness throw UCS in the 3D unit drawing. The check function ensures that all group drawings are properly
recorded in ShipReport. Also, there should be no entities in the unit drawing, with the exception of the XREFs of the
group drawings.
This function is very powerful. It will even repair a Unit drawing from nothing. For example, if your unit drawing
becomes corrupted and unreadable to AutoCAD, simply create a new empty unit drawing in the unit directory and
call it the same as the unit. The run the check function. The unit drawing will be completely rebuilt from information
in ShipReport and in the individual group drawings.
. Open the 3D unit drawing.

1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Select CAD-Link / Check / 3D Unit Drawing. The function goes through all group drawings and compares
the information in them with the unit drawing.

3.

The log file should report no errors.

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4.
5.

Close Notepad.
The Unused Geometry list should be empty.

We are now sure that we can proceed to the next step.

Check all group drawings

This command operates similar to checking an individual group drawing. We have done this before, each time we
finished a group drawing. In this case CAD-Link checks all group drawings at once.
1.

Open the 3D unit drawing if it is not yet open.

2.

Make sure that none of the group drawings are open, either by yourself with a second AutoCAD session
or by another person on the network. You could be running two instances of AutoCAD.

3.

Select CAD-Link / Check / Planar Group DWGs. The dialog displays which criteria will be checked for
each group drawing. You would check Update piecemark process color from ShipReport if you
changed your mind in the middle of the detailing process. For example an NC machine with text marking
capability breaks down.

6.

Click OK to start. This command opens each drawing individually, so it may take a while.

7.

The log file should report no errors.

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Using Standards 111

8.

Close Notepad.

9.

The Unused Geometry list should be empty. If not investigate what needs to be fixed. Unused geometry is
anything that is not a part or a solid that is not assigned to a part yet.

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Interference checking

Overview
The interference checking function detects all collisions of parts. You can also import solids from other programs,
such as piping, cabling or outfitting software, and check the interferences.
Common mistakes are:

Forgetting that another group part is passing through a part, such as a longitudinal girder passing through
frames.

Incorrect throw direction for connecting brackets on stiffeners.

Skewed intersections such as the margin plate through the frames. Forgetting to consider wider gap due to the
skewed intersection angle.

Create the interference drawing

First we have to create an interference drawing from the unit drawing. The unit drawing actually displays only the
groups as XREFs, but the interference drawing will have all the information in it.
1. Open the unit drawing.
2.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator

3.

In the dialog select the group drawings and any other drawing (piping, outfitting) that you want to include in
the interference check..

4.

Enter a name for the interference drawing. Click OK.

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and choose the Interference Tab and press the New button.

Interference checking 113

5.

The resulting drawing should look like this.

Calculating interferences
An interference is the collision of two or more solids.
To simulate interferences, move one or two parts a little in a transverse direction. You do not have to close the
interference dialog, Just move it to the side of the screen. For example you could grab a stiffener profile under the
main deck and move it a small distance inboard. Run the interference function again by clicking in the dialog on the
Run Check button.
1.

Move one or two stiffeners under the main deck a small distance inboard to purposely create an interference
problem.

2.

Select CAD-Link / Check Interferences. The following dialog box appears.

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3.
4.

Click the Run Check button.

The function first runs a quick pre-check to find any pair of solids that might intersect. This saves a lot of time,
as a true interference check on all solid pairs would take very long. CAD-Link informs you how many
interferences it will check. A Minimum Interference Volume lets you filter out minute interferences that
might be due to computer rounding errors, or are so small that they would not be noticed during construction.
The default Minimum Interference Volume value is stored in ShipReport. Click OK to confirm.

5.
6.

The calculation will take a while. As a reference, it takes 50 seconds on a PII-400.

The command displays the results in two formats. Some intentional interferences are generated to show you
sample results.

Notepad file This form is good for printing. It allows you to check through all drawings and fix your errors.

7.

Interference List Dialog Allows you to investigate each interference individually.

The dialog displays all interferences in list form. You can sort by any of the criteria by clicking on the header of
the column. Click again and the column is sorted in reverse order. Listed are:

the names of the two parts that interfere;

the volume of the interference;

the CG position of the interference.

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8.

9.

You can resize the Interference List dialog. You can also continue using AutoCAD and CAD-Link functions
without closing it. For example, you might want to change the viewpoint while the dialog is open. You can also
close the dialog and open it again using the menu.
You can use the controls on the right hand side of the dialog to check the details of the interference problem.

10. In the dialog highlight the first interference.

11. Check the Center option.
12. Click View. The command hides all solids except for the two involved in the collision and the interference
solid.
13. Click on the + plus button to zoom in, and the - minus button to zoom out.

14. Click in the Interference dialog. Make sure the same interference is still highlighted.
15. Click the Show / All radio button. CAD-Link now displays all solids.
Practice: Correct any problems you might find. Create a new interference drawing. Check for any remaining
interferences.

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Nesting

Overview
Nesting is the process of arranging parts on stock plates in preparation for NC-processing and NC-cutting. CADLink98 uses an approach that is somewhat different from other nesting software. Most nesting programs focus on
automating placement of parts on the stock plate. CAD-Link98 takes a different approach. It provides several
functions that allow quick and accurate manual placement of parts on the plate, with automatic spacing between parts
and to the plate edge.

Nesting parts for shipbuilding is a very complex procedure. Many factors have to be considered when nesting a
specific part on a specific stock plate. Certain decisions can only be made by an experience person. Often decisions
depend on the current state of the production progress. Here are a few points to consider when nesting:

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Plate stock used CAD-Link assigns automatically.

Surface treatment, i.e. raw plate, blasted, primed, CAD-Link assigns automatically.
P/S parts & like / mirror plates CAD-Link detects automatically.
Assembly sequence, when is the part needed to be determined by the user.
Best plate utilization under above restriction to be determined by the user.
Revision tracking - CAD-Link detects automatically.

It is common that revisions occur while nesting is progressing. CAD-Link98 gives you full flexibility to change a
nest at any stage. A check function detects revised parts and parts that have been placed on hold. Parts found to have
changed since being initially nested can be automatically re-nested at the same position.

Nesting Toolbar
The nesting toolbar provides access to the most commonly used nesting functions. We will discuss the use of all of
them in this chapter.
Insert Parts
Snap & Gap
Slide
Align
Move & Rotate
Assign to Nest
Nest Layers

Nesting Preparation
CAD-Link uses many settings that are stored in ShipReport. These settings are the same for several users working on
the same project. CAD-Link loads these settings every time they are required from the central ShipReport file.

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ShipReport Nesting Settings

All project-wide nesting settings are as always stored in ShipReport. The nest related settings are available on the
Settings / Nesting tab.

Nesting colors During detailing outside cut, inside cut, marking and no-process entities were given specific
colors. You can insert any number of parts into a nest drawing and decide during the nesting process which plate
the part will finally be nested on. Only then will the part be assigned to a specific plate. In the meantime the part
is un-assigned. The unassigned state is represented by a different coloring scheme. When a part is initially
inserted into a nest drawing the colors indicating the NC-process are change to the Nesting colors. Once the part
is assigned to the final plate the colors are changed back.

Nest Name Prefix the prefix that CAD-Link98 will generate automatically for creating nest names.

Gap between parts Distance that CAD-link will leave between 2 parts.

Plate edge margin Dsitance that CAD-Link98 will leave between parts and the plate edge

Organizing Nesting
All structural work is carried out on a unit basis. However, nesting can not always be carried on a unit by unit basis.
You might be building more than one unit in at a time. Nesting just one unit could also create too much unused plate
space. The unused space can be treated as a remnant or drop. A remnant is the unused portion of a stock plate.
CAD-Link manages remnants for you.

Nesting Terminology
Nest drawing
A nest drawing contains one or more nests of the same stock, but may have different plate sizes including
remnants. Many companies decide to use the stock name as the drawing name. Often the unit to which most or all
of the parts on the nest belong is integrated as well into the drawing name. For example: U12PL10.DWG contains
parts for U12 on PL10 stock plate.
Nests
Each nest drawing can have one or more nests. New nests are always based on a template. The nest consists of the
actual nest plate, automatically generated BOM, header fields with automatically updated pertinent
information, such as plate size, material, utilization, cutting time estimate and more.
Nest templates
The first figure in the chapter shows a finished nest drawing. The border of the nest, the text and the BOM are all
created automatically by CAD-Link. In order to accomplish this task a template is used for the nest when it is

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initially created. The templates are regular AutoCAD drawings. CAD-Link comes with a ready-made nest template.
You can customize the nest template to suit your needs. We will look at the supplied template now.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Select Nest / Nest01. This is the ready-made template drawing. Click Open.

3.

The nest template drawing is opened as shown. Compare the large figure at the beginning of this chapter.

. Select the Template tab.

The border of the template is a key element in the nest and should not be deleted. CAD-Link uses it to
determine which elements belong to this nest, which is important when you have many nests in the same drawing.
The top of the drawing has entries prepared for the project name the nest name and more. To the right of each field
name is a KEYWORD, for example <PROJECT>. Each keyword is inside of < >. Keywords are later
automatically replaced by actual data. You can move keywords around, change size or color, or delete them if
do not require the information.
At the bottom left you will find the keyword <NSTINSERTSTOCK>. The stock plate will be inserted at his position.
The aspect ratio of this nest template has been set to utilize an 11 by 17 or A3 sheet well went plotted in landscape
mode. CAD-Link provides an automatic plotting function that lets you plot many nests with one command.

Starting to nest
Opening a nest drawing
1.
2.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

. Select the Nest tab. Select the file PL10.DWG and click Open.
The drawing should look just like in the figure. There are 4 nests in this drawing. Each nest is based on the
template that we just looked at.

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3.

Zoom to the lower left nest to see the nested parts a little closer.

4.

Pan to the upper area of the same nest. Here you find all information about the nest, including who
processed it and when. You will also find utilization, weight, and an estimated time for processing.

5.

Zoom to the list on the left. This is the automatically generated BOM. The items in the BOM are fully
customizable. Use ShipReport to customize the contents of the BOM.

Adding a new nest

Each drawing can have many nests of the same plate stock. Only the plate size can vary within one nest drawing!
ShipReport98 stores the purchased plate sizes and makes them available to CAD-Link.
1. Make sure you are in nest drawing PL10.DWG.
2.

Zoom or pan such that you can see the right edge of the lower right nest. We want to attach the new nest
to it.

3.

Make sure ORTHO is OFF.

4.

Select Nesting / Nest / New. The new nest dialog is displayed.

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Nesting 123

5.
6.
7.
8.

CAD-Link creates a default name for the new nest. It should be PL10-05.DWG. Leave the name as is.
At the bottom are the available nest templates with a preview. You can have several different templates.
The upper right of the dialog shows the Plate Stock used in this nest drawing. It can not be changed.
From the drop down list you can select a different plate sizes as defined in ShipReport. In this case we have
three plate sizes available. Select the 12 by 3 meter plate size.

9. Click OK.
10. Select OSNAP END.
11. Attach the new nest to the lower right corner of the bottom right nest already in the drawing left of the current
stock plate. See figure.

Inserting parts into the nest drawing

In the next step we will add parts to this nest drawing.

Case1: You elected to design all or some parts of frames F112 and F113. The plate parts are made from PL10
stock and can be nested on this plate. Continue at Inserting Parts.

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Case 2: You did not create any parts for the frames. In this case we just remove all parts from nest PL10-04.
We can then re-nest them. PL10-04 is the upper right nest. To remove the parts follow these steps:

Zoom to nest PL10-04 in the upper right corner.

Select Nesting / Part / Un-Nest.

Window all parts in the nest. It does not matter if you select any other entities. The function will only unnest parts, nothing else.

Press ENTER.
You can now follow along the nesting. Just be aware that the parts will be different from the ones that will be shown
in the figures and dialogs.

Inserting Parts
CAD-Link provides a sophisticated nest dialog that allows you to select just the parts that you want to nest right now.
1.

Zoom to nest PL10-05 on the lower right.

2.

Click the Insert Parts

3.

The top right displays the stock properties used in this nest drawing. In this case we are using PL10 stock.

4.

On the right side of the dialog are the controls for the filter function. Only parts that match the selected
options will be available for nesting. In this case we have the following settings:

button. The Nesting Filter dialog is displayed.

Same as stock plate Only parts made from PL10 stock can be nested. Un-check this only if you want
to cross-nest. That is, you want to nest for example 8mm brackets onto 10mm stock.

Not nested If un-checked the filter will display also parts that are already nested for reference.

Paint if checked it allows you to select a paint option. For example you might have some primed plate
and only want to nest parts on these that are to be cut from primed plate.

Side you can select the side of the vessel the parts are on. In our case we want to nest only PS designated
parts. This allow us to do Like & Mirror cutting. A Like & Mirror plate will only be processed once, but cut
twice. Many cutting machines can do this at the same time, reducing processing time by half.

6.

The left side of the dialog displays the assembly tree with all parts that match the filter setting. The assembly
tree makes it easy to nest by construction unit or any other assembly. Click the check box that is in front of the
U12 name and all sub-assemblies and parts.
The bottom of the dialog confirms the number of parts selected for nesting.

7.

Click OK.

5.

Note 1: The general procedure for inserting parts into a nest drawing are as follows:

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Parts are inserted at the mouse position, automatically rotated to the smallest horizontal rectangle, with the
move command active.

Move the mouse to move the part.

You can change the rotation using the function keys F5 and F6. Use the + plus and - minus keys to increase
or decrease the rotation steps.

Be sure to set the OSNAP OFF and ORTHO OFF. Other wise you might not se the part at all.

Note 2: The largest part is inserted first, the smallest one last.
8. The first part is displayed at the mouse position. CAD-Link automatically rotates the part to the best horizontal
position. The command prompt reads:
Inserting U12F112-P04: (1 of 12)
Rotate F5/F6, Increment +/- <15>

9.

Do not rotate any of the parts at this point. Place them approximately as shown in the figure.

Align Function
This function aligns one side of the part with the horizontal or vertical axis. In our case the parts are already
horizontal, but we need to rotate some of them by 180 degrees. You could do this using the regular rotate function.
However, the align function is handy if the edge that you want to align vertically or horizontally is currently sloped.
You should have three slender frame deck beams in the lower left corner of nest 5.

One of the beams has the square corner on the left while the two others have the sloping side on the left. We make
better use of the nest plate if the square corner are all on the left against the edge of the plate. See next figure.

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1.

Click the Align

button. The prompt displays:

Select part(s):

2.

Select the 2 parts that have the sloped edge on the left. The prompt displays:
Select alignment point:

3.

Click anywhere on one the edges of one part. OSNAP NEAREST and END are automatically on. The
prompt displays:
Select align direction point:

4.

Click any other point on the same edge of the same part. The two points indicate the direction that we want
to align with the vertical or horizontal axis.
Rotate part:

5.

Move the mouse until the parts are rotated 180 degrees.

6.

Use the MOVE command and move both parts into the empty space in the lower left corner of the plate again,
such that they are approximately in the right position. See figure before.

Snap Function
The snap function allows simple part placement against the edge of the plate or another part. In a second step the
function spaces the part using the Gap between parts or Plate edge margin settings set in ShipReport.
We will use the snap function again to nest three of the slender parts in the lower left area of the nest plate.
1.

Click the Snap

button.

Select part(s):

2.

Select lower deck beam part. Press ENTER to finish selecting part. You could also use this function to SNAP
several parts at once.
Snap point:

3. At this point CAD-Link98 activates OSNAP CENTER, INTERSECTION, and END. Move the mouse over
the lower left scallop of the part . Make sure the CENTER snap tip is on (indicated by a circle). If you have
problems, click the CENTER OSNAP button to force a CENTER snap only. Click to select the center of the
scallop. The prompt displays:
Snap to:

4. Select the lower left corner of the plate. The part snaps to the plate corner.
Click direction:

5.

The function expects you to pick in the approximate direction to which you want to offset the part from the snap
point. In our case we want to move it by the value to the right and up. The function will snap the closest 45
degrees direction that you pick. Click approximately 45 degrees to the right and up.

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Nesting 127

6.

The part moves by the value set in ShipReport to the right and up. This keeps the part the perfect distance from
the plate edge. See figure.

We will use the same function now to SNAP the other two deck beams to the just nested part.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Click the Snap

button.
Select the slender part above the one just nested.
Select the center of the lower left scallop radius.
Select the center of the upper left scallop radius of the part just nested.
The part already has the gap to the left plate edge. It only needs to be spaced vertically. Select a gap direction
straight.
Repeat the same for the next part. The result should look like this.

We will now snap the double bottom part that is near the upper left plate corner.
1.

Zoom to the upper left corner of the nest plate.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Click the Snap

button.
Click on the part.
Click to select the center of the upper left scallop.
Select the upper left corner of the nest plate edge. The part snaps right to the plate edge.
Click towards the lower right to indicate the direction to gap the part from the corner. See figure.

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Practice: Position the remaining three bottom panels in the right area of the nest plate. Snap the upper two parts
starting in the top right corner. The lower part has to be rotated 180 degrees before snapping it to the lower right
corner. See figure:

Slide Part function

Your nest should look similar to the one shown in the next figure. We will now nest some of the smaller flanged
margin bracket parts.

The slide function allows you to slide one part along the plate edge or any number of other parts. On the part to slide
you have to select two points. The first point is the slide point the second point indicates a tangent direction.
The tangent direction will be aligned with the outside of the other part or the pate edge. A ghost image is displayed
around the sliding part to indicate the gap.

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Slide point
Tangent point
Part to slide
along
Part to slide

We want to slide the margin bracket shown in the figure into the gap between the two parts shown. The upper edge
will be sliding along the upper part.
1.

Move one margin brackets into a position similar to the one shown in the figure above.

2.

Click the Slide

button.

Select part to slide:

3.

Click on the margin bracket.

Select slide point:

4.

Select as the slide point a point on the upper edge of the margin bracket. OSNAP END and NEAR are on.
Select tangent point:

5.

Select a tangent point to the right on the same upper edge of the margin bracket.
Select part(s) to slide along:

6.
7.

Select the parts above and below the margin bracket.

Move the mouse. The bracket part will follow the mouse pointer. The margin bracket will rotate such, that it
will be tangential to the part that it is sliding along. The part keeps automatically distance set in ShipReport from
the nearest part. The distance is indicated by the ghost line around the part.

8.

The prompt displays:

F5 - toggle orient mode; F6 - Rotate 180 deg.:
<Tangent mode>

9.

Press function key F6, if the part is on the wrong side of the part to slide along. (Sliding inside the other part
instead of along the outside) This will toggle the side the part is on. Next figure.

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The slide function supports three slide modes. Press the function key F5 to activate these modes:

Tangent mode In this mode the sliding part will be aligned tangentially on the part sliding along.

Two point mode the two selected points on the sliding part will be on the outside or inside toolpath of the
part sliding along. This mode is valuable when placing smaller parts inside of holes.

No rotate mode The rotation of the part does not change the direction as it slides along. Practice all three
modes. Press the F5 key to toggle the mode. Move the mouse to see the effect of the three different modes.
10. Make sure to be in the tangent mode. Press F5 if not until the command line displays tangent mode..
11. Move the mouse. Watch the ghost of the sliding part as you slide it. Achieve a position as shown in the next
figure and click the mouse to place the part here. Make sure that the ghost outline does not intersect with the part
on the other side.

Practice: Nest one other margin bracket at the top of the nest plate using the slide function as shown in the figure.

Move & Rotate function

In some cases it is easier to just move and rotate the part around until it fits an empty space. We want to fit one of the
margin brackets now into the empty space shown in the figure before.
1.

Click the Move & Rotate

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button.

Nesting 131

2.

Click on one un-nested margin bracket.

3.

Select a base point anywhere inside the margin bracket.

4.

Move the bracket with the mouse.

Rotate F5/F6, Increment +/- < 5>

5.

6.

You can use the F5 & F6 function keys to rotate the part. Each press of the function key rotates the part by
the angle indicated in brackets <5> on the command line. Use the + plus and minus keys to increase
or decrease the increments.
Obtain a position similar to the one shown in the next figure.

Practice: Nest the last margin bracket in the space in the lower center of the nest. When finished the completed nest
should look like in the figure below.
Practice: Notice that one deck beam part remains un-nested. There is space for it in the lower left corner of the
upper left nest PL10-02 for this part. Use the snap function to nest this part.
Practice: Three small brackets remain un-nested. You can nest them on the lower left nest called PL10-01 with all
the other small brackets.

Assigning parts to nest

All parts has to be manually assigned to a specific nest. This records the parts in ShipReport98. Look closely at the
nest drawing. You will see that the parts that we just nested have a different color from all other parts. Parts that are
not assigned to a nest plate are displayed in not-assigned colors. We will now assign all parts to the plates.
1.

Click the Assign to Nest

button.

Select nest and parts:

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2.

Using the window or crossing selection to select the nest plate and all parts for that nest. It does not matter
if you pick any other entities. CAD-Link98 will only consider parts and nest plates.

3.

The color of all parts changes.

4.

Repeat the same for the nest plate onto which we nested the remaining slender deck beam part and the small
brackets.

Checking Nests and creating BOMs

Before any nest can be issued for processing, the nest has to be checked. CAD-Link98 is a multi-user system. While
you are nesting, some else might be revising parts. CAD-Link will check about a dozen criteria for each nest and
each part. This includes:

Has the part been changed since nesting.

Is the part assigned to the right drawing and the right nest. Some could have moved a part to a different nest but
not re-assigned it.
Is the part actually in the database (could be corrupted)
If the nest is LIKE / MIRROR ensure only port / starboard parts are on it.
Is the nest properly recorded in the database.
Are parts not nested yet that should be.
And more.

Preparing the nest BOM

The type of information included in the BOM can be customized in ShipReport. We will check the settings now.

Click the Activate ShipReport

Click the Bill of Materials button.

In the Select a BOM drop down list select Nest01.

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button. ShipReport starts.

Nesting 133

You can set the following options for the BOM.

AutoNumber Rows Creates running row number in front of every row in the BOM.

Include Sub-Assembly parts not used for nesting, only for assembly drawings.

Standard parts by quantity adds up all standard parts and gives a total. If not checked, each standard part
is listed individually.

Standard Quantities by assembly counts standard part by individual assembly. For example, you might
have 100 identical standard brackets on one nest. However, 70 brackets are required for one assembly that is
welded up in one area of the yard, while the remaining 30 brackets are required at a different location. Using this
option it is easy to distribute the right number of brackets to the individual assembly sites.

We will do two runs of the nest check and creation of BOMs to clarify some of the option. For the first run use the
these settings:

AutoNumber Rows ON
Include Sub-Assembly parts OFF
Standard parts by quantity OFF
Standard Quantities by assembly OFF

5.

Close the dialog to post any changes to ShipReport.

Running Nest Check

During this run of check nest we will create the BOM without counting the standard brackets. Each bracket will be
listed individually.
Important: Always run a nest-check before issuing a nest for NC-processing. The check function check for
many errors. Errors are reported in a log file. The BOMs are updated automatically at the same time.
1.

Select Nest / Check Nests.

2.

In the dialog select All Nests and make sure Update BOMs is checked. Select the NEST01 BOM. .

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3.

Click OK.

4.

This process will take a while. Watch the progress indicator at the bottom of the AutoCAD window.

5.

In the Log File Dialog check View log file and click OK. This starts notepad with the log file open.

6.

No errors should be reported. See figure.

7.

Zoom to nest PL10-01 In the lower left of the drawing. Zoom to the top of this nest. We will now investigate in
detail the contents of the nest header.

Investigating the nest header

During the nest check CAD-Link98 updates the BOM and the keywords in the header of the nest template.
The next figure displays the results of nest PL10-01. There are four main areas in the nest template.
Area 1: It contains general information about the nest, such as the names of the project, the drawing file and the
nest. The cut type indicates if the plate will be cut is as like or like & mirror. Below this are the operator names and
dates for nesting, NC-processing ( with NC-Pyros) and cutting. The process and cut information is not entered yet as
these are still to be done.
Area 2: This area contains the nest information, such as plate size, thickness, stock, material, plate area and
utilization.
Area 3: This area contains the NC-processing information, such as the length of cutting, marking and rapid travel,
the feed rates and the projected cutting time. These values will only be available after the plate has been processed
by NC-Pyros98.
Area 4: This area shows the weight of the plate, weight of the parts, weight of the remnants if used, and the weight
of the scrap.
Area 5: This area contains the Bill Of Material. As shown before, the BOM can be configured using ShipReport98.
In this case the BOM lists every standard bracket individually. This takes too much space.

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Nesting 135

1
2

3
4

Nest BOM count standards

We will now change the settings such that the standard brackets will be listed with quantities instead of individually.
6.

Click the Activate ShipReport

7.

Click the Bill of Materials button.

8.
9.

Select NEST01 from the drop down list.

Set the options as shown below.

136 Nesting

toolbar button. ShipReport98 starts.

CADLink98

10.

AutoNumber Rows ON
Include Sub-Assembly parts OFF
Standard parts by quantity ON
Standard Quantities by Assembly ON
Close the dialog to post the changes to the ShipReport98 database.

11. Select Nesting / Update BOM. This will only update the BOM without running through all the checks.
12. Select nest PL10-01 by clicking on the plate border or the nest border.
13. Select NEST01 in the dialog. Click OK.

14. The new BOM now shows the standard parts at the end of the list. The quantity for each standard is shown in
brackets.

Checking for not nested parts

As a last step you want to check if there are any parts that have not been nested yet.
1.

Select Nesting / Check Nests and BOM. In the dialog check All nests in all drawings and list parts not
nested.

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Nesting 137

2.

The function opens all nest drawings and checks all parts. Any parts that might have changed since nesting
will be reported. In our case we did not nest one part defined for the central girder. The log file gives exact
information on all nests.

Practice: Open nest PL15.DWG and nest part U12LBHC-P04. There is just enough space on nest PL15-05 in the
lower right of the drawing. Assign the part to the nest. Update the BOM for nest PL15-05.

Plotting the nests

Nests are usually plotted individually on small sheets, such as 11x17 or A3 paper, and then combined with other
drawings to a work package. In order for this function to work automatically, you have to set the printer you want to
plot to as the default printer. The set for this printer the desired default paper size and orientation. You should to plot
one nest first using the regular AutoCAD plot function to check all settings. To plot nests follow the steps below.
1.

With the Navigator open nest PL10.

2.

Select Nesting / Nest / Plot.

3.

In the dialog select the nests you want to plot. Alternatively you can also click the Pick .Nests button and
select the nests on screen. The picked nests will then be highlighted in the list.

4.

Click OK to start plotting.

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Exporting to NC-Pyros
The final step of nesting is the export to NC-Pyros for NC-Processing. NC-Pyros can not read AutoCAD drawings
directly. The drawing file has to be converted to a DXF file format. Blocks have to be exploded as well. CADLink98 provides a function to perform this automatically. At the same time ShipReport98 is updated to log the
export time.
1.

Select Nesting / NC-Pyros Export. In the dialog highlight the plates you want to export. Click OK.

2.

Click the Options button. Set the options as shown. Click OK.

3.

The program exports all nests with all parts inside the plate border to an individual drawing. The DWG files
are then converted to a DXF files.
A log file displays the result of the process. See figure.

4.

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Nesting 139

The nests can now be processed with NC-Pyros. See the NC-Pyros manual for details.

Remnant Control
Remnants are unused portions of a nest plate. In most cases you can use remnants later on in a project. CAD-Link98
allows you to create a nest from a full size nest plate or a remnant nest plate.

Creating a Remnant
1.

Open nest drawing PL12.

2.

Zoom to nest lower right nest. This nest already has a remnant. We will erase the remnant, and then generate a
new one to show the process.

3.

Select Nesting / Remnant / Delete and click anywhere on the remnant. You can only delete a remnant if it is
not used for a nest.

4.

To create a new remnant we have to draw the border of it first. Draw a closed polyline for the remnant
outline. Make sure the to use closed for the last leg of the polyline. See the fat polyline in the next figure.

5.

Select Nesting / Remnant / New. Click on the remnant polyline.

6.

CAD-Link98 now needs to know which portion of the remnant shape will be used to cut off the remnant
from the nest plate. This portion has to be exported to NC-Pyros. NC-Pyros will then instruct the cutting
machine to cut the remnant off the plate. You have to pick the start and end point of the cutline.
Select remnant cut line start point:

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7.

Select where the remnant edge meets the outside of the full plate.
Select remnant cut line start end:

8.

Select the other point where the remnant edge meets the outside of the full plate.
Select cut line to use (Red/Blue):

9.

Select the portion (blue or red) that will be the used to trim off the remnant from the plate. The remnant is now
hatched.

10. The function requests now the size, position and orientation of the remnant piecemark.

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142 Nesting

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Assembly Drawings

Overview
In many yards engineering provides production with traditional engineering drawings. These drawings show all
major structural components, such as frames, deck and longitudinal girders in workshop drawing format.
To realize possible savings by using CAD-Link, yards need to change how drawings are presented and how
production uses them. Also ShipReport allows engineering to produce reports that were not economically possible
before.
Several other changes are required to enjoy the potential savings. Following are a few:

Model all through holes for piping, cabling, etc. The CAD-Link 3D model makes this possible for the first
time at reasonable cost.

NC-Cut all plate parts with automatic marking.

Do not dimension every detail. NC-cutting with quality control will produce better than 99% accurate parts.
Dimension only when the yard worker can make mistakes, or thermal distortion due to welding can cause
problems. For example a panel welded up of two or more plates should have overall dimensions.

Produce 3D assembly drawings instead of 2D workshop drawings. A worker can understand an assembly
drawing within seconds. Creating a 3D mental picture from several 2D drawings takes a great deal of time, and
mental mistakes are easily made.

Introduce new production procedures possible because of better production documents. Separate part
preparation from assembly by organizing a workshop or workstation approach. For example, ShipReport
creates detailed stiffener reports. Set aside an area with a workbench and all tools required to cut profiles to
length and make the end treatments. Design a palette that holds a dozen or so cut profiles. The workers prepare
the profiles just-in-time from a work order that is supplied with the ShipReport stiffener report for a specific
assembly. This simple change will save hundreds of hours alone on many mid-size vessels.

Assembly drawings are the key to accurate and fast assembly. An assembly drawing shows all parts and, or subassemblies that make up an assembly.
The basic assembly drawings with BOMs are created automatically by CAD-Link98. The user simply has to annotate
the drawings.

Assembly Drawing Steps

Creating assembly drawings consists of these general steps:
I.

Prepare the assembly templates.

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Assembly Drawings 143

II. Assign assembly templates and BOMs to individual assembly levels using ShipReport.
III. Create an assembly master drawing.
IV. Check assembly master for correct assignment of parts to assemblies.
V. Create assembly drawings automatically.
VI. Annotate assembly drawings to suit the yards requirements.
VII. Plot the assembly drawings.

Preparing Assembly Templates

CAD-Link98 comes with one prepared assembly template. You can use this one as is, modify it, or create new ones.
We will investigate now the supplied assembly template.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Click the Template tab. Select Assembly / Assembly ISO1.DWG. The template drawing opens.

3.

Make sure you are in paper space.

1
2

There are 3 viewports in the template, as indicated by

the numbers in the figure. The large viewport is used for the actual assembly, while viewports 2 and 3 are used
for the keymap. The keymap shows where in the unit this assembly is located. In the Keymap the unit will be
displayed as a wire frame model, while the assembly will be displayed as a solid model.
4.

Zoom to the text in the upper center of the drawing. You find several keywords here. These will be
automatically replaced by CAD-Link98.

5.

Pan to the right to find the keyword <BOM> for the Bill Of Material.

6.
7.

Pan down the right border of the template drawing. Here you find more keywords.
At the bottom right hand corner are the two small viewports for the keymap.

Assigning Assembly Templates

Each template and BOM configuration can be assigned to a specific assembly level. You assign the templates and
BOMs using ShipReport.
1.

Activate ShipReport98.

2.

In the main menu click Assign BOMs.

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3.

In this case we only have one template, ASMBLY 1 ISO. You could have more than one template and a
different template for each assembly level. Use the BOM name ASSEMBLY01 for all levels.

4.

Click Close.

Creating Assembly Master Drawing

To create an assembly drawings we need an assembly master drawing that contains all parts. The resulting drawing
will be several MB in size.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Click the Assembly tab.

3.

Click Update Master. This function will take a minute or two, as the master drawing is about 12 MB in size.

4.

Click Yes to create a Keymap layer.

Checking the Assembly Master

CAD-Link98 lets you check the correct assignment of parts to assemblies conveniently before creating assembly
drawings. It is quite common to find parts that are assigned to the wrong assembly.
1.

Click the Assembly Visibility

2.

In the dialog click on assembly B106. It will take a few seconds for CAD-Link to display the solids belonging
to assembly B106. See figure.

CADLink98

button.

Assembly Drawings 145

During a check you would repeat the same for all other assemblies. A part assigned to the wrong assembly can be
usually identified easily.
We will simulate the result of a part assigned to the wrong assembly by following these steps.
1.

Highlight Demo/U12/DB/F107.

2.

Click the Assign to Assembly button.

3.

Select several parts from the F107 assembly. Press ENTER.

4.

In the dialog click on F112 and click OK. The parts are now logically assigned to assembly F112.

5.

It is now easily visible that parts are missing in assembly F107.

6.

In the dialog click on assembly F112. See figure. It is easy to spot the errors.

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Practice: Assign the parts wrongly assigned to F112 to assembly F107 again.
Important: Make sure to click the Show All button before closing the Assembly Visibility dialog. Otherwise
you might be left with a drawing with many entities hidden.

Creating Individual Assembly drawings

We can now create individual assembly drawings.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Click the Assembly tab.

3.

Click New.

4.

Select Use templates and BOMs defined in ShipReport.

5.

Click Next.

6.

In the next dialog check the box in front of DB. All sub assemblies of DB are checked as well. We will create
the assembly drawings for all these assemblies now.
Click Finish.

7.

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Assembly Drawings 147

Note: This operation takes some time and also uses a lot of memory. If you have at least a Pentium Pro 200 with
128 MB RAM you can click on assembly U12 to create 15 assembly drawings in just a few minutes.
One drawing is created for each assembly. Watch closely to see how the views are generated and the keywords
replaced.
8.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

9.

Click the Assembly tab.

10. Select drawing DemoU12DBF111. Click Open. The drawing is opened as shown below.

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11. The drawing should be in Paper Space.

12. Investigate the drawing while in paper space. Zoom to the keywords in the top center.

13. Pan to the right to the BOM.

14. Pan to the bottom to the keymap layers. The keymap will become clearer when the drawing is shaded or hidden
lines are removed.

Annotating Assembly Drawings

Assembly drawings have to be annotated to be useful for assembly purposes. In may cases you want to indicate
levels of assembly, such as panels and sub-assemblies. CAD-Link provides function that simplify the annotation
process.

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Assembly Drawings 149

These are the types of assembly annotations you might want to perform:

Part names generally provided as fly-outs.

Assembly names fly-outs indicate assembly names, such as MDK (main deck) , or DB (double bottom).

Symbols such as symbols for welding or throw direction.

Dimensioning Dimensioning should be kept to a minimum when using structural modeling and assembly
drawings. Using manual techniques required checking dimensions at many stages during production. However,
using structural modeling with all its error checking produces parts that are almost 100% correct. Dimensions
should only be given to check overall dimensions of complex assemblies.

Assembly drawing Annotation

1.

While still in paper space in drawing DEMODBF111, zoom to the large viewport.

2.

Switch to Model Space.

3.
4.

Click in the large viewport to make it the active viewport. The active viewport is indicated by a thicker
border.
The viewport shows the two plate parts and several stiffener flat bars of the double bottom panels.

5.

Click the Activate UCS

6.
7.

In the dialog click Activate from Object.

Click on one of the plate parts. The UCS icon changes. It is now a frame UCS in the plane of this frame.

8.

Click the Annotate Part

button.

button.

Select Part:

9. Click the starboard plate part.

10. Set the dialog options as shown below.

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11. Set the Size of the annotation to 100mm.

12. Select Alignment Left.
13. Un-check Rotate manually and make sure to use an angle of 0 degrees (horizontal).
14. Check to use a Leader line.
15. Click OK.:
Base point:

16. Click inside the plate parts as shown in the next figure.
17. With ORTHO ON drag vertically up and click when at the desired position. See next figure.

Practice: Repeat the same steps for the port side part. CAD-Link retains the same settings. Just click OK in the
dialog.
Annotating stiffeners
You might remember that we can create OUT OF PLANE UCSs that are perpendicular to the current UCS. We will
now create a UCS that is perpendicular to the frame and aligns with the vertical direction of the stiffeners.
1.

Zoom to the left most stiffener.

2.

Click the Activate UCS

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button. In the dialog click Activate from Object

Assembly Drawings 151

3.
4.

Click on the left most flat bar.

In the dialog select the option as shown. For a stiffener you can choose one of three UCSs.

5.

Click the Annotate Part

6.
7.

Pick the stiffener for which you just created the UCS.
Select the following additional options:

8.
9.

button.

Set the text rotation angle to 90.

Check Leader lines same length.
Enter 300mm for the Length.

Click OK.
Select the lower edge point of the stiffener for the base point.

10. Drag the leader line downwards. You dont need to worry about the length, as it will be set to 300mm.

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Annotation with multi segmented leaders

1.

Click the Annotate Part

2.
3.

Pick the next stiffener inboard.

Select the following additional options:

4.
5.

button.

Enter 2 for the Segments in the leader line. This will create two straight line segments for the leader.

Click OK.
Create the annotation for the next stiffener inboard. See figure.

Quick Annotation
We will create the same annotations for the next stiffeners until we come to the center line using the quick annotation
option.
1.
2.
3.

Click the Quick Annotate Part

button.
Click on the next stiffener. No dialog is displayed.
Create the annotation the same as before for all remaining stiffeners on starboard of the center line. Do not do
the stiffeners on the port side yet.

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Assembly Drawings 153

Copy Annotations
You can even save more time by copying annotations. The copied annotation will retain the same characteristics, but
the text will always reflect the part name you clicked on. .
1.

Pan to the port side of the frame.

2.

Click the Copy Annotation

button.

Select annotation.

3.

Click on the stiffener annotation just starboard of the center line

Select base point:

4.

Select the connection point of the leader line to the stiffener.

Select part:

5.

Click the next stiffener.

Select point:

6.
7.

Click on the lower corner of the stiffener. The annotation is created for this part with the same settings as the
one copied.
Continue selecting further stiffeners until all are annotated. See figure.

Inserting CG position
CAD-Link provides a function to mark the CG position. This can be important for lifting documentation or plans to
move heavy assembly about.

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Click the Activate UCS

button. In the dialog click Activate from Object.

1. Click on one of the two plate parts to create a UCS in the plane of the frame.
2. Select Assemblies / Icons / CG Point. The function inserts an AutoCAD POINT at the CG position.

Rotating for assembly position

The double bottom will be assembled upside down. It is best to show the each assembly in the actual assembly
orientation.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Click the Assembly tab.

3.

Open assembly drawing DEMOU12DB.DWG.

4.

Switch to model space.

5.

Activate the large viewport by clicking in it.

6.

Insert the CG position icon.

7.

Type ROTATE3D at the command prompt..

8.

Type ALL and press ENTER, ENTER .

9.

Type X and ENTER for a rotation about the X-axis.

10. Accept the default 0,0,0 by pressing ENTER.

11. Type 180 for the rotation angle. Press ENTER.
12. Activate each of the small viewports and zoom extents.
13. Activate the large viewport again.

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Assembly Drawings 155

Annotating Higher Assembly Ranks

The double bottom is in the Rank of Assembly. It consists of 10 lower rank assemblies of the rank Panel, and two
plate parts, which are the margin plates.
1.

Switch to paper space.

2.

Zoom to the BOM in the upper right corner of the drawing. This assembly consists of numerous panels plus
one plate part for the margin plate.

We want to make annotations for each panel in the double bottom. Each annotation shall be in the plane of the frame.
1.

Zoom back to the main view port.

2.

Switch to model space.

3.

Click the Activate UCS

4.

Click on a plate part of the aft most frame. The UCS in the plane of the frame is activated.

5.
6.

Click the Annotate Part

button.
Click on the aft most frame. Select the settings as shown below.

7.

In the tree dialog click on panel F107. This changes the annotation text in the top left corner of the dialog.
Click OK.
Create the annotation text.
Repeat for all other frames. The result should look like this.

8.
9.

156 Assembly Drawings

button. Click Activate from part.

CADLink98

Practice: Annotate the tanktop panel and the center girder panel in the same fashion. You might want to create
UCSs in the appropriate planes.
Note: In some cases the annotation text might appears in mirror writing. Use the Flip UCS
the X-axis of the UCS. Create the annotation again to obtain a readable text.

button to change

Plotting Assembly Drawings

You cannot create a shaded or rendered plot directly from a drawing. You can instruct AutoCAD to create a hidden
line removed plot. You have to instruct AutoCAD for which viewports you want to create a plot with hidden lines
removed. To hide lines during plotting:
1.

Make sure you are in PAPER SPACE. If you are in model space, the only the currently active viewport would
be printed.

2.

At the command line type MVIEW and ENTER.

ON/OFF/Hideplot/Fit/2/3/4/Restore/<First Point>:

3.

Enter H(ideplot) and press ENTER.

ON/OFF:

4.

Enter ON and press ENTER.

Select Objects:

5.

Now pick the viewport or viewports for which you want to hide lines. Click on all three viewports.

6.

PLOT the drawing now.

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158 Reports

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Reports

Overview

All stock definitions and reports are processed with ShipReport, which runs inside of Microsoft Access.
ShipContructor98 comes with two prepared stock libraries, one with metric and one with imperial profiles and plates.
The stock library is fully customizable.

Structural Reports
All structural reports are accessed through the Ship Assembly Structure dialog. This dialog is also used to
create, check or change the overall assembly structure of the ship. Reports include:

Assembly
Profile
Standard

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Reports 159

Reports can be created for any assembly in the ship or the complete ship. In general you will be creating reports for a
unit or smaller assembly. You then bundle the report with assembly drawings, nest plots, nest reports, and NC tapes
to a work order.
All calculations, such as those for weight and CG are performed on-the-fly during the report generation. You can be
sure that the output is up to date

Condensed Assembly Report

CAD-Link98 supports a short and detailed report. The short report lists the assembly structure and all parts. The
detailed report displays all information about parts and assemblies.
1.

Start ShipReport.

2.

In the Ship Assembly Structure dialog highlight DB in the Tree pane on the left. Click the Reports
button.

3.

In the Reports dialog select report Assembly, Parts and Structure, Condensed. Click Preview.

4.

The report displays all assemblies and parts of the double bottom DB assembly and all sub-assemblies in the
double bottom.

5.

Inspect the condensed report. You can also print it if you wish.

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Detailed Assembly Report

We will now create a detailed report for Unit U12.
1.

Close the preview window if still open.

2.

Highlight U12 in the tree pane.

3.

Click Reports.

4.

Select Assembly, Parts and Structure, Detailed.

5.

Click Preview.

6.
7.

Preview a Detailed Assembly report for unit U12.

Unless your default printer is set to A3 or 11by17 paper in landscape format, you will notice that the report does
not fit on the paper. Set a paper size of 11 by 17 or A3 to fit it on one sheet.

8.

Select File / Page Setup.

9.

Select the Page tab and set a larger paper size and select landscape. Click OK.

10. Print the report.

11. Close the preview window if still open.

Profile Report
This report lists all profiles. The profiles are sorted by the manufacturing processes required. You might have the
same flatbar stock used for curved profiles on the shell plating, straight stiffeners on some panels, and for
faceplates to re-inforce some man-holes. The parts will be listed in those three sections of the report.
1.

In the Ship Structure dialog select unit U12.

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Reports 161

2.

Click the Report button.

3.

In the reports dialog select Profile, Sort by Assembly.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Click Preview.
Use the page buttons the bottom of the Access window to switch between pages.
The first page is a cover page.
Go to the next page.

8.

This page is the Profile Summary Faceplate page, listing the profile stocks and total lengths required to
manufacture the faceplates for this unit.

9.

Go to the next page.

10. This page lists the details of each faceplate part. For each faceplate the report lists all bending information.
These include distance from start of profile to the tangent point of bending radii, bending radius and bending
angel. The face plates can be perfectly shaped without looking at any drawing. It would be a simple matter to
output the information into a bending machine and create the faceplates automatically.

11. Move forward through the pages until you arrive at the Profile Summary Stiffener page.

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12. Go to the next page.

13. This and the following pages list each straight stiffener profile part, sorted by endcut type, assembly and length.

14. Move forward through the pages until you arrive at BF240x12.
15. This stock is used only for the curved frame profiles on the shell. ShipCAM can create inverse bending
curves for these profiles.

Standard Parts Reports

This report contains a list of all standard parts, such as brackets, used in the selected assembly. For each standard the
quantity is reported.

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Reports 163

Nest Reports
It is essential to have good nest reports in order to know exactly where your parts are and to be able to distribute
each part to the right assembly area. NC-cutting operators are usually supplied with:

Nest plots

NC code produced by NC-Pyros98

Nest reports

Nests Dialog
The nest dialog gives you access to the nest reports. It also displays a list of all nests. For each nest all parts are
displayed in a convenient list. All important parameters are also contained here.
In the ShipReport main dialog click Nests.

1.

Highlight a nest in the list on the left. The dialog displays important information about the selected nest.

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Condensed Nest Reports

Condensed nest reports are used for overview purposes of nests for a unit or the whole ship. Only the most essential
information is displayed in the condensed reports and formatted for convenient reading.
1.

In the Nests dialog click the Report button.

2.

The Print Nests dialog is displayed. Here you can choose between Condensed and Detailed reports. You can
also choose to create the Report for an individual nest, nest in a selected unit or all nests in the ship.

3.

Select All Nests, and Condensed Report. Click Preview.

4.

Print the report for inspection.

5.

Close the Preview.

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Reports 165

Detailed Nest Reports

Detailed nest reports give you all the information required for successful NC-cutting and distribution of parts to
assemblies.
1.

In the Nests dialog click the Report button. The Print Nests dialog is displayed.

2.

Select All Nests and Detailed Report. Click Preview.

3.

Print the report for inspection.

4.

Close the Preview.

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Command Reference

Overview
CAD-Link functions are available in several menus. Several of the menus are only displayed if they can be used in
the currently open drawing. For example, the Nesting menu is only visible if in a nest drawing.

CAD-Link

Planar

Assembly

Workshop

Nesting

Structural Standards

Piping

Outfitting

The CAD-Link menu provides functions to create and navigate the project drawing, to view and to check.
The Planar menu provides function for part detailing, solid modeling, part definition and checking.
The Assembly menu provides functions to create and manage workshop drawings.
The Nesting menu deals with all nesting related commands.
The Structural Standards menu provides functions for the definition of standard brackets and similar parts.
The Piping menu provides functions for design of 3D piping models
The Outfitting menu provides functions to create 3D outfit models

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168 Command Reference

CADLink98

CAD-Link Menu

Overview

Navigator

XREF drawings

New Planar Group

ShipReport
Lock Files

The CAD-Link menu functions are mainly used while working in the:

3D unit drawing
interference drawing

The functions are described in the order that they appear on the menu.

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CAD-Link Menu 169

Navigator Dialog
Menu:

CAD-Link / Navigator

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLNAVIGATE

The Navigator is a new, inventive way to navigate through the large number of drawings involved in ship design
project.
The Navigator is a tabbed dialog that lets you navigate through the many drawings that make up a CAD-Link
project. There is one tab for every major area of drawings, such as 3D Unit, 2D Group, Nest, Assembly, Standard,
Interference, Outfit, Piping, Workshop, Template, and Export.
The Navigator provides buttons to create new drawings, and open existing ones. All drawings are displayed in a tree
control with easily understandable icons identifying the drawing types. After a very short time you will be
comfortably navigating though the numerous drawings, which would normally be a major headache.

3D Unit tab
The 3D Unit tab lets you register a unit to work on, a unit drawing, and reload the settings from the ShipReport
database.

Register
You have to register a unit in order to work on any of its drawings. After registration CAD-Link will access only
drawings belonging to the registered unit. You can at any point register another unit
1.

Click the Register button.

2.

The Register Unit dialog is displayed. This is a standard file open dialog. CAD-Link remembers the last
registered unit and selects it automatically. Browse to the location of another unit drawing if you do not want to
use the last unit. Select the unit drawing and click Open.

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3.

The Logon dialog is displayed. Select the login name and type the password. Click OK.

CAD-Link now knows all drawings that belong to the unit and you can open any one of them using the Navigator
tabs.
Open
Opens the 3D unit drawing of the registered unit.

Reload DB
Reloads the settings from the ShipReport database. Use this function whenever you change any of the setting in
ShipReport that are accessed through the Settings dialog.

2D Group tab
The 2D group tab gives access to all 2D group drawings belonging to the registered unit. This tab contain a tree
control on the left and several buttons on the right, and a drawing preview window.

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Tree control
The tree control displays the names of all 2D group drawings. The drawings are organized according to their
orientation within the unit, such as frames and decks. Double-click on a name to open the drawing. Highlight the
name of the drawing you want to work on and then select a button on the right for the desired function.
Open
Opens the selected planar group drawing. Highlight a planar group drawing in the tree on the left or click the pick
button and pick on any entity of a planar group in the 3D-unit drawing.
New
Menu:

Planar Group / New

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLMAKEGRP

Navigator:

2D Group tab

Creates a 2D planar group drawing from the selected entities. CAD-Link checks if the selected entity or entities are
planar. If more than one entity was selected then CAD-Link makes sure that they are all in one plane. CAD-Link
determines automatically if the group orientation is that of a deck, a frame, a longitudinal bulkhead, or if the group is
arbitrarily oriented. An arbitrarily oriented group could be a canted frame, a girder not parallel to centerline or a
sloping deck plate. The general steps are:
1. Start the command.
Select Objects:

2.
3.

Select the entities that you want to create the group drawing from. These are generally sections cut through hull
surfaces, such as frames, deck, girders. Press ENTER.
The next dialog is displayed

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4.
5.

The function has already checked if the entities selected will create a deck, frame, girder, or are otherwise
oriented. Enter the thickness throw and thickness.
Click OK to create the group drawing.

Name: The file name is suggested by using the layer name of the first of the selected entities. ShipCAM and some
other hull fairing programs can place the entities they export to CAD on specifically named layers. Preferably the
layers indicate the name of a group, as for example FR_110.
Thickness Throw: Select the thickness direction with the radio buttons. Enter the thickness. Within the group
drawing you can later use any plate stock with any thickness and throw direction. The thickness entered here is
mainly used when calculating intersections between groups, such as frames with decks.

Using existing 2D drawings in CAD-Link

In some cases you might not have simple sections cut through a hull surface, but you have 2D engineering drawings.
It is easy to use the drawings to start you off. For instance, say you want to use a 2D frame drawing in CAD-Link.
1. Make a copy of the 2D frame drawing.
2.

In the copy erase all entities you might not want. There might be several frames in the same drawing.

3.

Make sure that the origin of the frame is at 0,0. Move the frame entities if it is not the case.

4.
5.

In the unit drawing make sure the WORLD UCS is active.

Draw a line at the location of the frame. For example if the frame is at 50.2m draw a line giving the values
manually as 50200,0,0 to 50200,50000,0. Remember CAD-Link drawings are in mm or inches.

6.
7.

Use the New function.

Select the line drawn at 50.2m.

8.

The line could be part of a deck or a frame. In the dialog select Frame and click OK.

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9. Enter a name for the frame, set the throw and thickness. Click OK to create the group drawing.
10. Open the 2D Group drawing. It contains just a single line.
11. Type DDINSERT at the command line.
12. Insert the frame drawing you prepared.
13. Move all entities to the _PRD production layer.
14. PURGE all unused layers but keep _REV and _SLD.

Properties
Displays the Edit Group Properties dialog of the highlighted group. You can change the properties with this dialog.
Make sure the group drawing is not currently open by another user, as CAD-Link has to open the group drawing to
perform the changes at the same time in the 3D unit drawing an the planar group drawing.

Mirror
Mirrors the currently highlighted planar group drawing. The function creates all required UCS automatically in the
3D unit drawing as well as in the new mirrored 2D group drawing.
Use this function for longitudinal girders or any canted planar groups. Any parts defined in the group will be
removed in the mirrored group drawing. Re-define any parts in the new group drawing.

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Unlink
Unlinks (deletes) the currently highlighted planar group drawing. This includes deleting the drawing and removing it
from the 3D unit drawing. You can choose to keep the entities from the group drawing in the 3D unit drawing, or
have CAD-Link delete them.

Activate UCS
This function is only active in the 3D unit drawing. It activates the UCS of the highlighted 2D Group. Each 2D
Group has 2 UCSs associated with it, the construction and thickness throw UCS. Select the desired UCS in the
dialog and click OK. You can now draft in the plane of the planar group inside the 3D-unit drawing.

Nest Tab
The nest tab gives access to several nesting functions. It displays a tree dialog on the left side, a preview on the right
and several buttons.

Open
Lets you open a nest drawing.

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New
Creates a new nest drawing. Each nest drawing can only contain nests using one type of stock. However, a nest
drawing may contain several different plate sizes including remnants.
1. Click the New button. The New Drawing dialog is displayed.

2.
3.

Enter a name for the new nest drawing. Click OK.

The new nest drawing is opened and the New nest dialog is displayed.

See New Nest for details on the use of the New Nest dialog.

Unested Parts
Use this function to see if any parts require nesting.
1. Click the unnested parts button. The next dialog is displayed.
Z
2.
3.

In the dialog select the assembly for which you want to check un-nested parts.
The right pane will display any parts that require nesting.

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Assembly Tab
The assembly tab lets you open an assembly drawing, , create new assembly drawings, update the assembly master,
and open the assembly master drawing.

Open
Opens the currently highlighted assembly drawing.
New
Create new assembly drawings. Make sure to perform the following tasks before creating assembly drawings:

Define all parts in the planar group drawings.

Perform interference checks
Update the assembly master drawing.
Check part assignment to assemblies with the Assembly Visibility function

You have to re-create the assembly drawings if you detect mistakes later on.
Follow these steps to create assembly drawings.
1.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

2.

Click the Assembly tab.

3.

Click New.

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4.

Choose Use templates and BOMs defined in ShipReport or choose Select a template and BOM.

5.

Click Next.

6.

In the next dialog check the box in front of DB. All sub assemblies of DB are checked as well. We will create
the assembly drawings for all these assemblies now.
Click Finish.

7.

Note: This operation takes some time and also uses a lot of memory. You should at least a Pentium Pro 200 with
128 MB RAM.
One drawing is created for each assembly. Watch closely to see how the views are generated and the keywords
replaced.

Update Master
Updates the assembly master drawing. Use this function every time when any of the group drawings changed. This
drawing is created by inserting all 2D group drawing into it and exploding the XREFs. Assembly masters tend to be
large, 10 to 50 MB. All assembly drawings are based off the master drawing.

Open Master
Opens the assembly master drawing.

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Standard Tab
The standard tab gives access to standard drawings. Standards are used when many parts will de identical. There are
two types of standards, Structural and Outfit.

Structural Standards
Structural standards are generally made from plate stock, and are usually brackets. However, you could also generate
structural standards from profile stock.

The figure above displays a typical bracket. Observe the point at the lower left of the bracket. This is the origin (0,0)
in the structural standard drawing. The bracket will be inserted with the origin at the cursor position. You will
generally choose a location as the origin that is important for the placement of the bracket. For example if the bracket
would always overlap 25mm onto stiffeners, then you could choose a location 25 mm into the bracket as the origin
location.
When defining a standard part, CAD-Link will use the name of the drawing as the base of the standard name. You
then place a number 0f $ signs behind the base name. CAD-Link will replace the $ signs later with numbers, such
as 001.
Note: Do not actually insert a point at the origin.

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Outfit Standards
Outfit is under development and should not be used yet for real jobs. Feel free to investigate the outfit functions
though. Please do not hesitate to give us feedback. After all it is you how will use it some day.
Open
Opens the highlighted standard drawing.

New Structural
Creates a new standard drawing. Make sure to use a name that is not too long. AutoCAD has a limit of 30 characters
for symbols. You will later insert the standard into a group drawing, which in turn is inserted into a 3D unit drawing.
If the combination of the names of all of these exceeds 30 characters, then AutoCAD will not be able to display the
bracket. Many CAD-Link functions could fail then.

Note: The name for a standard drawing can not contain, spaces, or any other character that AutoCAD does not allow
for blocks.

New Outfit
Not fully implemented. Use only for experimental work.

Interference Tab
The interference tab lets you open interference drawing and create new ones. Similarly to the assembly master,
interference drawing are created by inserting several group drawings into one drawing, and exploding the blocks.
Interference drawing only contain the solids.

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Open
Open the highlighted Interference drawing.
New
Create a new interference drawing. In the dialog check the drawings that you want to include.

Note: You can also include drawings that are not produced by CAD-Link. For example you might use a third
party piping program. Make sure the pipes are solids, place the drawing into the piping directory. It will now be
listed in the dialog.

Outfit tab
The outfit tab gives access to outfit drawings.

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Open
Opens the highlighted outfit drawing
New
Creates a new outfit drawing. You can have as many outfit drawings as you like.

Piping Tab
The piping tab gives access to piping drawings

Open
Opens the highlighted piping drawing

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New
Creates a new piping drawing. You can have as many piping drawings as you like.

Workshop Tab
The workshop tab gives access to workshop drawings. We do not recommend to use workshop drawings. Use
assembly drawings instead.
In a workshop drawing you can insert 2D group drawings side by side in a 2D fashion.

Open
Opens the highlighted workshop drawing
New
Creates a new workshop drawing. You can have as many workshop drawings as you like.

Template tab
Gives access to template drawings

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Open
Opens the highlighted template drawing.
CAD-Link currently supports four template types. Each template type is supported by a menu. The menu is only
available while in the corresponding template drawing.

Assembly templates
Assembly templates are used when creating assembly drawings. CAD-Link opens one template for each assembly
drawing, and inserts all parts assigned to the template into the viewport. Any keyword is replaced with actual values
from ShipReport.
CAD-Link comes with one ready-made assembly template. You can have as many as you like. It consists of a
drawing frame in paper space. Within the frame are keywords. Keywords are always enclosed in angle brackets <>.
Each assembly template has to have at least one viewport. CAD-Link will insert the all parts assigned to an assembly
into this viewport.
The Assembly Template menu is only available while in an Assembly Template drawing.

Inserting keywords
Select Insert Keywords to insert assembly keywords into the template. Make sure to be in PAPER SPACE when
using this function.

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In the dialog select the desired keyword, set the text size and text angle. Insert the keyword at the desired location.
You can change any of the properties of the keyword, such as size, rotation, text style, or color. CAD-Link will use
the same properties for the actual value.

Nest Templates
Nest templates are used when creating nest drawings. Any keyword is replaced with actual values from ShipReport.
CAD-Link comes with one ready-made nest template. You can have as many as you like. It consists of a drawing
frame. Within the frame are keywords. Keywords are always enclosed in angle brackets <>.
The Nest Template menu is only available while in an nest template drawing.

Defining a border
Each nest template has to have one border. The border is a closed polyline. Use the Define Border menu to turn a
closed polyline into a border. CAD-Link uses the border to know which keywords belong to a specific nest.
Inserting keywords
Select Insert Keywords to insert nest keywords into the template.

In the dialog select the desired keyword, set the text size and text angle. Insert the keyword at the desired location.
You can change any of the properties of the keyword, such as size, rotation, text style, or color. CAD-Link will use
the same properties for the actual value.

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Orientation Icon templates

Place orientation icons on plate parts to identify the orientation of the part in the ship. CAD-Link comes with one
ready-made orientation icon drawing. You can have as many as you like. The Orientation Icon menu is only
available while in an Orientation Icon template.

You can change the look of the orientation icon to meet your demands.

Setup
Use the setup to customize how CAD-Link replaces the keywords when placing the icon into a group drawing. For
each principal direction there are two keywords.

User Icon
User icons can be used in assembly drawings. You can draw any type of icon, for example weld symbols.

Export Tab
The export tab converts CAD-Link drawings to a format that standard AutoCAD can read. CAD-Link create several
custom objects. You will get PROXY WARNING when opening a CAD-Link drawing with standard AutoCAD.
Other programs might not work at all. Use the Export function to convert CAD-Link custom entities to standard
AutoCAD entities. For example use this function when you want to use a virtual reality viewer, such as
WalkThrough.

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New
Create a new export drawing. Checkmark the drawings you want to include in the tree dialog.

Project Sub-Menu
The project menu gives access to functions concerning the project.

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New Project
Menu:

CAD-Link / Project / New Project

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLNEWPROJECT

Creates a new project. To create a new project you should have a prepared a ShipReport database template file with
all settings and stocks as used for this project.
CAD-Link comes with two ready made project template files, one with imperial sized stocks and another one with
metric sized stocks. You find the templates in the install projects folder. Within projects the folder you will find the
DEMO project folder and the PROJECT TEMPLATES folder.

You can customize the IMPERIAL and METRIC templates using ShipReport.
Tip: Use the ShipReport database file and all templates and stocks from one of your projects. You will have invested
a lot of work in tuning the templates, and setting up standards and stocks. It is always easier and faster to remove
what you dont need, than to create new ones.
To use a project database as a template database:
1. Create a new template folder.
2. Copy the desired database file into this folder.
3. Copy the folders Standards and Template with all contents and subfolders to the new template folder.
4. Open the ShipReport file.
5.

Use the Delete Data Utility to delete all parts, Drawings, and Assembly Structure. You will probably keep all
other items.

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Tip: You should remove all stocks that will not be used in the new project from ShipReport. Thus users can only use
allowed stocks.
During creation of a new project you will be asked which ShipReport template file you want to use for the new
project. Select anyone of the provided template files or one that you created.
To create a new project:
1.

Select CAD-Link / Project / New Project.

2.

Use the Browse button to select the Destination Folder in which you want to create the new project. CADLink will create a project folder with the name you enter in the Project name field.
In general you should create a new folder. Make sure not to create a new CAD-Link project in the folder of
another CAD-Link project. CAD-Link will copy a new ShipReport file and the Standards and Template folders
to the new project folder. The new ShipReport file will have the same name as the project.

3.

4.

Use the Browse button to select the ShipReport Template Database to use as the basis for this project.
Click Open.

5.

Click OK to create the project. The program copies the selected ShipReport file and the contents of the folders:

Standards

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6.

Template
The function also creates the folders in the project folder:

7.

NestPrts - location for all individual part drawings for nesting

Nests location of all nest drawing for the project
Remnants location of the remnant drawings created from leftover of nested plates
Piping location of piping drawings
Outfit location of outfit group drawings
The new project folder similar to the following:

8.

You can create a new unit at this time or later.

9.

If you choose to create a new unit the Add Unit dialog is displayed. Enter the name of the Unit. Make the unit
name short because it will be used in naming group drawings. Click OK.

10. You can choose to save the current drawing as the unit drawing. Save this drawing as the unit drawing only if
the drawing is empty or if it contains the entities that you want to use for the unit. Otherwise do not save the
current drawing as the unit drawing. In this case you have to save another drawing later in the units folder with
the same name as the unit.

11. You can immediately log on if you saved the drawing. The following dialog is displayed if ShipReport already
contains at least one user.

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12. The next dialog is used if ShipReport does not have any user entries. Enter a log on name and the password.

Tip: You can locate the unit and all related files anywhere on you computer or the network. A unit can later be
moved to any other location. In general the unit will be placed in the folder of the project. However, there are cases
when you want to place it in a different location. For example you have a slow network, and you are mostly working
with the files the unit . In this case place the unit on your local hard drive to increase speed. Later you can move the
unit folder with all contents on the network server inside the project folder.
Possible Error messages:
Mismatched versions Each CAD-Link release works with a specific ShipReport release. An error message is
displayed in the case that the version of template database file selected is not the correct version. To correct the
problem, locate any ShipReport database file of the correct version (the version number is displayed in the startup
menu of Shipreport) and copy it to the template folder. Import the data from the old version to the new version and
replace the old file with the new file.

Template records unique to a project The ShipReport template file should not contain any parts. In case you
get the message below start up ShipReport in the new unit folder and delete all parts.

In the Delete dialog make sure to select:

Parts and Nests

Drawings

Assembly Structure

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New unit
Menu:

CAD-Link / Project / New Unit

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLNEWPUNIT

Use this function to add a new unit to the project. You can use an empty drawing when adding a, or you can have a
drawing loaded that contains all entities for the new unit. The sequence of dialogs is the same as for a new project
after you choose to add a new unit. See the previous command for details.

Project Settings
Menu:

CAD-Link / Project / Project Settings

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLPREF

The dialog allows you to change project settings. These include:

Project database The file name and path to the database. Use the button to change the database.

Logon displays the currently logged user. Use the Login button to change the user.

Auto Shade if checked a group drawing will be automatically shade every time a solid is made.

Quick part list Check this button if the part list dialog display is too slow. This happens if the database is
very large and you have a slow network.

AutoSave- Controls if a drawing is saved after every part edit or any number of part edit. Saving after part edit
is important in order to avoid un-synchronization between a group drawing and the ShipReport database file.

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Activate ShipReport
Menu:

CAD-Link / Project / Activate ShipReport

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLACTSR

Starts the linked ShipReport database file with MS Access or switches to it if it is already running. Use this function
to switch from CAD-Link to ShipReport.

Lock and Unlock Files

Menu:

CAD-Link / Project / Lock / Un-Lock Files

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLFILELOCK

Use this function to lock or unlock files. After a project or a portion of it is completed you want to lock the files to
prevent accidental changes.
Simply select the files you want to lock or unlock and click the lock symbol.

Select View
Menu:

CAD-Link / Select View

Toolbar:

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Command line:

CLFILELOCK

Displays a dialog that lets you select a 3D or 2D view. The dialog has two tabs.
3D Tab:
Displays a 3D image of a ship hull. Double-click on any radio button to select a 3D view, or click a button and click
OK. You can also enter a viewpoint into the box to set any other viewpoint.

Plan View Tab:

Displays views for the current UCS and the construction UCS if in a planar group drawing. The view names depend
on the orientation of the UCS, i.e. BODY FWD TO AFT. It is the easiest way to obtain a plan view to the currently
active UCS, specifically if the UCS is canted, such as for a sloping deck.

Planar Group menu

The planar group menu offer function to create planar groups, transfer entities from the 3D unit to a planar group, set
the group visibility in the 3D unit, and to turn layers off by clicking on an entity on that layer.

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New Planar Group

Menu:

Planar Group / New

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLMAKEGRP

Navigator:

2D Group tab

See Navigator 2D Group tab for details on this function

Transfer Entities to Group

Menu:

CAD-Link / Planar Group / Transfer

Entities to Group

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLTRANSFER

Navigator:

None

Use this function when you want to transfer drawing entities from the 3D unit drawing into a planar group drawing.
To transfer an entity:
1. Start the command.
2. Pick the entities that you want to transfer.
3. Any entity on the planar group to which you want to transfer the entities.
4. The name of the selected group is displayed in a dialog for confirmation.

XREF Visibility
Menu:

CAD-Link / XREF Visibility

Command line:

_CLXREFVIS

Toolbar:

None

Navigator:

None

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You can use this function in the 3D unit drawing or any 2D planar Group drawing. A 3D-unit drawing can contain
an overwhelming amount of entities. In many cases you want to choose to display only certain planar group to get a
clear picture of the 3D interaction of parts. This function displays a sophisticated dialog for your control.
Not loaded
Loaded not visible
Loaded PRD visible
Loaded PRD @ SLD vis.

The figure explains the icons.

Loading 2D Group drawings

In 3D Unit
By default all 2D group drawings are loaded when opening a 3D unit drawing. A 3D unit drawing could take very
long to load if some large 2D Group drawings are involved. To speed up the loading process, You could decide to
temporarily unload some large group drawings. You can later on load them again.
In a 2D Group drawing
By default no other 2D group drawings are loaded into a 2D group drawing. However, there are situations when you
want to show fir example a deck in a frame drawing, to figure out some 3D relation ships. Use this function to do so.
Remove the other group drawings when done.

Visibility
Menu:

CAD-Link / Planar Group / Visibility

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLLYRVISBL

Navigator:

None

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Use this function to set the visibility of planar groups in the 3D unit drawing. A 3D-unit drawing can display an
overwhelming amount of information. In many cases you want to choose to display only certain planar group to get a
clear picture of the 3D interaction of parts. This function displays a sophisticated dialog for your control.
Click on the light bulbs to switch any of the layers (PRD production, SLD-solid, REV-revision) on or off. You can
select multiple groups at a time using the shift or ctrl keys in the standard Windows fashion. Click on a group type,
such as Frame, to select all groups belonging to that group type.

Layer Off
Menu:

CAD-Link / Planar Group / Layer Off

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLGRPHIDE

Navigator:

None

Use this function to switch any layer off by clicking on any entity on that layer.

Curved Group menu

Handles functions to add curved groups to the 3D unit drawing, and to insert curved plates into the group drawing.
Use these functions to add shell plating in curved and expanded form to the unit.

New Curved Group

Menu:

CAD-Link / Curved Group / New

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLINSCRVPLT

Navigator:

None

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Creates a new group drawing for curved shell plating. Curved plates are treated different from standard 2D group
drawings. Curved plates are expanded using the PlateExpand module of ShipCAM. Expanded plates are saved as
DXF files. Consider these parameters when saving DXF files of expanded plates for use in CAD-Link.

Output all NC data onto the layer _PRD

Include the curved surface mesh in the DXF file. Assign the layer _SLD for it. The mesh will take the place of a
solid of regular parts. Reduce the mesh density. AutoCAD is not optimized for displaying dense meshed.

All non production data can be placed on other layer. However, we recommend to keep the layer name to a
minimum.

The function displays the dialog as shown. Enter the name for the new curved plate group. You can place more than
one plate into the group drawing.

Insert Curved Plates

Menu:

CAD-Link / Curved Group / Insert Curved Plates

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLINSCRVPLT

Navigator:

None

Insert curved plates from DXF files into the group drawing and creates a part record in ShipReport.
1. Open the curved Group drawing, using Navigator.

2.
3.

Select CAD-Link / Curved Group / Insert Curved Plates.

With the dialog select the DXF file containing the expanded and curved plate.

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4.
5.
6.

The DXF file is inserted into the group drawing.

The function requests he insertion position of the expanded plate. Move it to the desired location.
CAD-Link does not know which entities are actually part of the plate. CAD-Link creates a part record in the
database, but marks it as deactivated. You have to reactivate the part later on.

7.

Make sure to erase one of the plate edges on those side where you did not add any stock, as there will be two
identical polylines.
8. Create a toolpath of the outside of the plate. You have to do some adjustments if you added stock to any of the
edges.
9. Make sure all entities use the right process colors.
10. Reactivate the part.
Tip: The expanded plate and the mesh might be far aprt from each other. When reactivating a part CAD-Link will
ask you to pick the solid (mesh in this case) first. Do a ZOOM EXTENTS. You have to use the toolbar button to do
this, as you are in the middle of a command. AutoCAD will zoom to the curved mesh. Next CAD-Link will ask for
the production entities. Do a ZOOM EXTENTS again. AutoCAD will zoom to the expanded plate.
11. CAD-Link will be unable to find a piecemark. Click OK to continue.

12. CAD-Link does not know which part you are activating, as there is no piecemark. Select the appropriate part
from the list. Click OK.

13. Select a position for the piecemark.

Check Interferences
Menu:

CAD-Link / Check Interferences

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLOPENINTDLG

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Use this function to check interferences in the interference drawing or a planar group drawing.
1.
2.

Select CAD-Link / Check Interferences to check interferences.

CAD-Link performs a quick interference pre-check. This typically makes interference checking 10 times faster.
The number of possible interference interferences is displayed in the dialog. Set a minimum interference volume
to ignore really small interferences. The reason for this is to eliminate interference that are due to floating point
rounding errors or are so small that they should only interest you if you are building Swiss watches.

3.

Click OK. To continue calculating interferences. A progress bar at the bottom of the screen indicates the
progress of the calculations, which can take several minutes.

4.

The function displays a text file with interferences for printing.

5.

The function also displays a dialog with all interferences. For each interference it lists the names of both parts
involved. Tempname is displayed for solids that are not defined as parts yet. Also displayed are the interference
volume, and CG positions.

Using the interference dialog

Make sure an interference is highlighted in the list. The click on the controls on the right of the dialog to display the
interference. These are the options.

Show All Shows all solids in the drawing plus the interference solid.

Show Only Int. Shows only the two solids causing an interference plus the interference solid.

Center check this box if you want the interference to be centered in the display. Click View to execute the
options.

Zoom check this box if you want to zoom into the selected interference. Click View to execute the options.

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+ Zoom in

- Zoom out

Note: This dialog allows you to access any AutoCAD or CAD-Link function while it is open. For example you
might want to change the view direction.

Check sub-menu
This menu provides function to check the unit drawing and all planar group drawings. Extensive log files report all
errors. Most errors are corrected automatically.

3D Unit DWG
Menu:

CAD-Link / Check / 3D Unit DWG

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLREPAIRPRJ

Navigator:

None

Checks and repairs a 3D unit drawing. Use this function also if your 3D-unit drawing is damaged or lost. In that
case create a new empty drawing, save it as the unit drawing, and then check it. CAD-Link will completely rebuild
the 3D-unit drawing from scratch.
At the end of the check you can select to view the log file and the unused geometry dialog

The Unused geometry dialog displays all entities in the 3D-unit drawing that are not part of planar group drawings.
In most cases these are entities that have been forgotten. They should either be transferred to planar group drawings
or deleted. A planar group drawing should only contain XREFFES of 2D group drawings.

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CAD-Link Menu 201

Planar Group DWGs

Menu: CAD-Link / Check / Planar Group DWG
Toolbar:

None

Command line: CLREPAIRPRJ

Navigator:

None

Ccheks and repairs all planar group drawings. CAD-Link requires full access to all planar group drawings. Make
sure none of the drawings is in use by other users.
This function fixes many common errors.

A log file displays all corrected error.

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The Unused geometry dialog displays all entities in any planar group drawing that remains unused. All entities on the
production and solid layers should be assigned to parts.
This is a very important feature! Make it a rule sure to move any entities not required for parts, but that you might
want around for reference to the revision layer. This way you will be sure that if a 2D group drawing checks out, that
the parts that you nest are exactly what you intended.

Closely observe the fields in the dialog for each entity. You can sort the list by any of the columns by clicking
on the column header.
Unused solids indicate that the solid is not assigned to a part yet. This can happen if two solids had been made by
mistake for one part, or just because the group drawing is still in the works.
Unused production layer entities should be assigned to parts.
Buttons

View opens the drawing that contains the selected entity and zoom to it. The entity is automatically selected.

Zoom In Zooms closer to the entity.

Zoom Out Zooms out from the entity.

Add to part Lets you pick a part and add the entity to the part. The revision log is automatically updated. Be
sure to run a check on your nests to update any changed parts.

Move lets you move the entity. This is important if the entity is hidden by other entities.

Erase Erases the entity.

Hide in List Hides the entity in the list, but leaves it unchanged in the drawing.

Refresh Refreshes the list.

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CAD-Link Menu 203

Inactive Parts
Menu:

CAD-Link / Check / Inactive Parts

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLINACTIVEP

Navigator:

None

Use this function after running a check on all planar groups. An inactive part record can mean two things:
1 A part has been deactivated for changes, and it was not re-activated. Go to the 2D group drawing and activate the
part, then check your nest drawings.
2 The ShipReport database file contains records for parts that no longer exist. This should only happen if your
computer crashes, or the user deletes a part in a group drawing and then does not save it.

Buttons

View Drawing Opens the drawing that is supposed to contain the part. Investigate closely is a part in inactive state exists in that drawing.

Rebuild List Checks the database again for in-active record for parts.

Hide Part Hides the part in the dialog list. The drawings remain unaffected. Use this if indeed a de-activated
part exists and you will re-activate it later.

Delete Records - Use this button if you find that there is not inactive part in the planar group drawing. This
record must be left over by error.

Toolbars sub-menu
This menu lets you show or hide individual CAD-Link toolbars.

Select the Show option to show a toolbar.

Select the Hide option to hide a toolbar.

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About
Displays information about the CAD-Link version you are running.
CAD-Link version The version number of CAD-Link
ShipReport version The required version of ShipReport. Each CAD-Link version requires a specific
ShipReport version. You will get en error message a time of project registration if the versions do not match.
Lock Information The software is protected by an electronic lock. This are displays the license information and
the expiry date of the lock.

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206 CAD-Link Menu

CADLink98

Planar Menu

Overview
The Planar menu provides the functions for use in the planar group drawings. These functions make it easy and fast
to detail the drawings, create solids, and create parts.

Several often used function are also available from the toolbar.

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Toolpath
Process Color
Plate Solid
Faceplate Solid
Stiffener Solid
Flange
Stiffener Endcut
Edit Stiffeners
Activate UCS
Detailing Flyout
Scallop
Define Part Flyout
Part List
Standard Parts Flyout
Layer Flyout

Toolpath
Menu:

Planar / Toolpath

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLTOOLPATH

Navigator:

None

Connects entities such as lines, arc, polylines to closed toolpath. The function eliminates duplicate entities and
corrects small gaps. The maximum snap tolerance is set using ShipReport.

An error dialog is displayed if a gap is discovered.

208 Planar Menu

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You can choose to create end circles to make it easy to find the problem.

The function is always followed by a call to Process Color.

Select Process
Menu:

Planar / Select Process

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLPROCESS

Navigator:

None

This function assigns a color to a toolpath. The color determines the process used later by NC-Pyros for NC post
processing.
These processes are supported.

Outside Cut the cutting tool will travel on the outside of the toolpath

Inside Cut the cutting tool will travel on the inside of the toolpath.

Marking A marking tool will be used. It will travel on the toolpath.

Far Side Dashed this option will cause the part to be mirrored during nesting, thus creating the marking on
the far side.

No Process These entities will be ignored by NC-Pyros.

Solid Sub-Menu
This menu provides functions regarding the creation of solids for different types of shipbuilding specific parts.

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Planar Menu 209

New Plate
Menu:

Planar / Solid / New Plate

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLEXTDSOLID

Navigator:

None

Takes an entity on the layer _SLD with a closed tool path and creates a solid from it. If the path is not already
closed, this function will ask if you wish to have it closed. If so, the program will ask for the entities that are to be
closed to be selected and will then proceed to close the path. Otherwise the function will end.

1.

2.

3.

Select the toolpaths from which to create the plate solid from. A plate part can only have one outside toolpath,
but may have any number of inside toolpaths, and markings. Inside toolpaths create holes in the part. The
function will abort if entities with any other than the defined process colors color are selected.
The function displays a dialog to select the stock to use for the plate part, and the throw direction of it. Use the
Group Default button to select a stock that has the same thickness as the thickness set for the 2D group
drawing. The Plate Throw Direction will also display the default throw direction set for the 2D group drawing.

The solid is created using the stock settings from ShipReport. The color of the solid is the same as set in
ShipReport.

Note: You can change the stock colors in ShipReport at any time. Make sure to run a check on all 2D group
drawings. The check function will update all solid colors to the updated color in ShipReport.

210 Planar Menu

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New Face Plate

Menu:

Planar / Solid / New Face Plate

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLFACEPLATE

Navigator:

None

Face plate solids are made from flat bar stock set up in ShipReport. Faceplates are flatbars welded to plates to
reinforce them.

Preparation

Faceplates are crated from a closed or open polyline.

The polyline is the edge of a plate part.

The plate part must exist before you can create a faceplate for it.

If the polyline is closed you can create an open or closed faceplate.

You need to know where the start and endpoint of the flat bar profile will be. In many cases you will need to
draw help lines that indicate the start and end points.

1.

Start the New Faceplate function.

Select Line, Arc, or Polyline for Faceplate creation:

2.

Select the plate edge along which to run the faceplate.

Select solid:

3.
4.

Select the plate solid to which the faceplate will attach.

A dialog to select the stock and set parameters is displayed.

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Planar Menu 211

These are the options that you can set with the dialog.

Faceplate Data Lets you select the flatbar stock that you want to use for the faceplate. The data stored in
ShipReport is also displayed, such as thickness, width, material and color.

Plate Data Displays the thickness and throw direction of the plate solid you picked. This is for confirmation
only.

Path You can choose to create an open or closed faceplate.

Make start and end symbols If checked the function will place a triangle at the start of the faceplate and a
hook at the end. Both point towards the other end of the faceplate. ShipReport creates production information
that allows a worker or automatic bending machine to bend the faceplate without a drawing. During assembly
the faceplate has to be inserted in the proper direction to fit. The figures below shows an open faceplate with
start and end symbols, and the report data for it.

5.

Position Gives option to on how to locate the flatbar on the edge of the plate part.
Click OK to continue.

6.

If you chose to make a closed faceplate:

Select the start point of the faceplate.

7.

Click on the desired start point location on the path.

Select a point to indicate direction.

8.

The function sets OSNAP NEAR. Click in the direction on the path into which you want the faceplate to
proceed. Since it will be a closed faceplate, the start and end will be at the same position. However, for the
bending process needs to know which is start and which is the end.

Pick Face Plate Thickness direction.

9. Pick on the side of the path to which the faceplate solid will throw.
10. If you chose an open faceplate.
Select the start point of the faceplate

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11. Click on the desired start point location on the path

Select the end point of the faceplate

12. Click on the desired end point location on the path

Select segment for faceplate:

13. The function set OSNAP NEAR. The function displays breaks the closed path into two segments, which are
displayed in two different colors. Pick the segment for the faceplate.
Pick Face Plate Thickness direction.

14. Pick on the side of the path to which the faceplate solid will throw

New Stiffener
Menu:

Planar / Solid / New Stiffener

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLEXTDSTFNR

Navigator:

None

ShipReport contains a library of profiles. This function creates a stiffener from a stock profile along a path. CADLink distinguishes three principal types of stiffeners:

Stiffeners that are straight and are attached to a plate.

Stiffeners that are straight and are not attached to a plate

Stiffeners that are curved.

Straight stiffener attached to a plate

1.

We start with a simple plate part with three marking lines for the stiffeners. All stiffeners will be made from the
same profile and have the same end conditions. We can then make the stiffeners in one go.

2.

Start the New Stiffener command.

Select objects.

3.

Pick on the three stiffener marking lines.

Select plate solid:

4.

The function activates the solid layer. Pick the plate solid to which the stiffener will be attached to.

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Planar Menu 213

5.

6.
7.

The function displays the Stiffener dialog.

Stock Name of the profile in ShipReport. The parameters of the stock are displayed below the name.

Attach to Select here on which side of the solid you want to attach the profile.

Toe direction Select here the toe direction.

Endcuts Select the endcut for the start and end.

Trim1 Trim2 discussed later.

Cross section preview displays the cross section drawing.

Click OK when all settings are set.
The stiffener are created.

Swap endcuts/<Done>:

8.

You have the option to swap the endcuts.

Rule for stiffener start and end position

It is sometimes difficult to imagine where CAD-Link will place the endcuts on the profile. For this reason you have
the option to swap endcuts after the stiffeners are created. CAD-Link uses this rule to determine which side is called
the start and which one is called the end.

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Imagine yourself standing in front of a workbench. The stiffener is on the workbench with the length from left to
right. The foot of the web is closer to you, and the flange is lying down toward the workbench surface. The left side
of the stiffener is the start, the other side is the end.
START

END

Another way to look at it is to look at the end of the stiffener. You are looking at the start, is the flange is to the left.
You are looking at the end if the flange is to the right.

Straight stiffener not attached to a plate

Most often you will use the kind of stiffeners for frames. Often those stiffener also include trim angles.

Trim angles
Consider the figure below. In most cases stiffeners are cut at the end under 90 degrees to the length of the profile, not
considering any endcuts.
We will create the stiffener for the side shell in an example as shown in the figure below. The stiffener has to be
miter cut at the chine, and cut at the top, such that the end aligns with the end. We will also use a simple radius
endcut at both ends.

To follow along you might want to draw a similar example.

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Planar Menu 215

1.

Start the New Stiffener function.

Select lines or 2D polylines to extrude stiffener along:

2.

Select the side shell line. Press Enter.

Select plate solid:

3.

Press ENTER without selecting anything. This tells the CAD-Link that this stiffener does not attach to a plate.

4.

In the stiffener dialog set the following options.

Stock - Select a profile of you choice.

Web direction Select starboard.

Toe direction your choice.

End cut your choice.

Trim1 From the drop down list select Deck. Click Pick and select the deck line.

Trim2 From the drop down select Custom.

Locate first point in plane:

5.

Click one endpoint on the miter line.

Locate second point in plane:

6.

Click the other endpoint on the miter line.

Locate third point in plane or ENTER for perpendicular to UCS:

7.

Press ENTER to cut perpendicular to the frame plane.

The result of the operation is shown in the figure above.

216 Planar Menu

CADLink98

The production report for the same stiffener is show above.

Endcuts both endcuts are listed by their names, one for the start and one for the end.

Assembly For each stiffener the assembly that it goes into is listed. The report can be sorted by assembly,
making just-in-time production feasible.

Part name the name of the stiffener.

Length the longest length of the stiffener when square cut before trimming.

Trim Angles angles of cut at the end of the stiffener. Negative angles are cut towards the center of the
stiffener when measuring the length at the foot of the web. Positive angles are cut towards the center of the
stiffener when measuring the length at the top of the web.

Curved stiffeners
Curved stiffeners are created along a curved path. In general you will use these on shell or deck plating. These
stiffeners are not attached to a solid. The function works in general the same as for straight stiffeners not attached to
a plate solid.
You will find an example in the tutorial section of this manual.
Note: The neutral axis is for curved stiffeners is currently calculated at 50% of the stiffener height. CAD-Link99
will handle the correct neutral axis settings for each profile.
The neutral axis is important for the correct length measurement of the expanded (straight) profile before bending.
Note: Inverse bending curves are currently calculated by ShipCAM. We expect to provide this capability in the
future also in CAD-Link.

Flange Plate
Menu:

Planar / Solid / Flange Plate

Toolbar button:

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Planar Menu 217

Command line:

CLFLANGE

Navigator:

None

This function flanges a plate. Define the flanging parameters in ShipReport. Each flange type has a name and several
parameters. These are:

First & Second Relief Radius Size of a radius inserted at the ends of the flange.

First & Second Snip Angle Angle of snipe on both ends of the flange.

Fold Line Correction During expansion the web will stretch. To correct this the fold line will be moved
closer to the foot of the web. In practice you will use the plate thickness (value 1.0) up to a plate thickness of
20mm (about inch). If in doubt make a flange test. Cut a square piece of plate from several plate thicknesses.
Measure the length of the pieces. Flange each piece and add up the sizes of the web and the flange, subtract
twice the plate thickness. Compare the values with the original length. Make adjustments if required.

Flange Correction In principal the same as the fold line correction.

Size Size of the flange.

To create a flange you must have a plate solid and the outside toolpath that created the solid.
1. Start the flange command.
Select polyline segment to flange:

2.

Click on the outside toolpath on the segment that you want to flange. The flanging function breaks out of the
polyline the straight line segment that you picked on.
Select the direction of the flange:

3.

Click in the direction of the expanded flange.

218 Planar Menu

CADLink98

4.
5.
6.

The flange dialog is displayed. Set your parameters. Click OK.

You have to identify the first and second ends of the fold line if the parameters are different for both ends of the
flange. Just click on the end points.
In the dialog select your preferences.

Flange Text the text that the function places at the center of the flange line.

Text size size of the text.

Symbol size near both ends of the fold line will be two diamond shaped symbols. This is the size of the
diamonds.

7.

Shorten fold line If checked the fold line will be shortened by the value on both ends.
Click OK to continue.

8. Next select the direction of the flange solid.

9. The flange is created.
10. You have to do some clean up work on the end of the flange on the production layer. Trim and connect the lines
to a toolpath again.

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Planar Menu 219

Edit Stiffener
Menu:

Planar / Solid / Edit Stiffener

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLCHGSTF

Navigator:

None

This function allows you to change the stiffener properties. You can select one or more stiffeners at the same time.
The principal properties will be the same after editing; they may or may not be the same before editing.
Note: This function will only work on the ARL custom stiffeners, introduced about October .
1. Start the Edit Stiffener function.
2. Select one ore more stiffeners.
3. The Modify Stiffener dialog appears. It is the same dialog you use when creating new stiffeners. The displayed
properties are those of the first stiffener selected, if you selected more than one, and they are different.

4.
5.

Set the new properties, and click OK.

All stiffeners will be regenerated using the new properties.

Endcut Stiffener
Menu:

Planar / Solid / Endcut Stiffener

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLCHGSTF

Navigator:

None

Use this function only for old style stiffeners, created with older versions for CAD-Link before October .

Part Sub-Menu
This menu gives access to the many functions concerning parts. Parts are represented as blocks in CAD-Link
drawings.

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CADLink98

Several part functions are available from the toolbars.

Deactivate Part
Reactivate Part

Undefine Part
Define Part

All parts consist of production and solid information:

Production All production information is blocked together to an AutoCAD block. It consists of all
AutoCAD entities, required to produce the part with NC cutting and to enable workers to produce or assemble
it. In general you will find:

One outside toolpath - used to cut the part out of plate stock;

None or many inside toolpaths - used to cut holes into the part;

None or many marking lines or marking text - used to generate markings on the plate part, generally
produced by a marking head on the NC machine;

None or many No Process entities used for human use only. These will be ignored by automatic
cutting equipment.

Solid The solids are used for visualization, interference checking and calculation of weight, volume,
surface and CG position. Older versions of CAD-Link used standard ACIS solids. With this version Albacore is
introducing a new and exciting technology called custom objects. You will find that if you do an AutoCAD
LIST on a stiffener, it is an ARLSTIFFENER. Custom parts allow us to provide much better functionality to
you. For example the Edit Stiffener function, and the trim angles have only been possible with the introduction
of the ARLSTIFFENER custom object. We are currently working on cutouts in stiffeners, which are only
possible using our custom objects.
ARLSTIFFENER Layer: _SLD
Space: Model space
Color: 1 (red) Linetype: CONTINUOUS
Handle = 3D1C
Part Name: U12LBHC-S99
Start: 73920.0
10304.0 2168.0
End:
73920.0
10518.7 3261.0
Stock: BF160X09
Web Direction: Starboard
Toe Direction: Aft
Left Endcut: RAD25
Right Endcut: RAD25
Left Trim Angle: Web: -29.9 Flange: 0.0
Right Trim Angle: Web: -11.1 Flange: 0.0
Open
Constant width
0.0000
at point X=10304.0 Y=2168.0 Z= 0.0
at point X=10518.7 Y=3261.0 Z= 0.0
area
0.0000

There are three different types of structural parts:

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Planar Menu 221

Plate Part made from plate stock. The plate stock can be flanged or flat. The production layer contains all
entities to produce the plate part.

Stiffener Part made from profile or flatbar stock. The production layer contains only the piecemark.

Faceplate part made from flatbar stock. The production layer contains all entities to produce the plate part.

Define Part
Menu:

Planar / Part / Define

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLCRPART

Navigator:

None

This function defines a part from the solid, or ARL custom object, and the production information. The pertinent part
data is added to ShipReport.

Defining a Plate Part

The following are the steps when creating a plate part.
1. Start the Define Part function.
2. The function activates the solid layer.
Select solid:

3.
4.

Select the plate solid for the new part.

The function activates the production layer.
Select production objects for part:

5.

Select all entities required for production. This includes one and only one outside toolpath, any
inside toolpaths, any markings and any no process colors. You will get an error message if you
selected more than one outside toolpath or any entity with an undefined color.

6.
7.

Correct any problems there might be.

The part dialog is displayed.

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8.

Most data is filled in automatically. Just a few items remain to be set by you. Automatically inserted items
include:

Part name base The base of the part name is automatically generate using the settings in ShipReport.

From drawing name - the base is the name of the current drawing.

Last Created use the last part name.

Custom lets you specify a custom part name using any assembly level. The part name base is created
from the assembly the part is assigned to.

Part name extension This is the second part of the part name. This portion is created according to the
settings in ShipReport.

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Planar Menu 223

Part Side in Part Name Adds a P, C, S, or PS to the end of the part name extension. It is inserted in the
grayed third box of the part name, and can not be changed. It changes if you select a different part side. For
example change for P to PS.

Part Type in Part Name Start the extension with a character depending on the part type; P for plate part,
S for a stiffener, F for a faceplate.

Assembly Assigns the part to a specific assembly. The assembly structure is set up in ShipReport. The part
can also be assigned in ShipReport to any assembly structure without opening the drawing. Check the Show
parts option to show all parts in the Assembly tree. This option is off by default, because on a large project it
could slow down the dialog display significantly.

Type Part type, Plate, Profile or Flatbar, are the stock types. This field cannot be changed.

Stock The name of stock used for the part. The stock can only be changed if: 1. the stock is a plate stock;
2. there are two plate stocks with the same thickness, but they differ in the quality of the material.

Material Material used. This field can not be changed.

Paint Any paint process listed in the paint table. The paint table can be modified in ShipReport.

LCG, TCG, VCG Position of the center of gravity obtained from the solid. The CG position is accurate to
several decimal places for any type of part, simple or complex.

Weight Weight of the part. The weight is accurate to several decimal places for any type of part, simple or
complex.

Length Length of outside and inside cutting paths combined.

Descriptions Any description you like. Descriptions are listed in the structural report.

Mark far side Check this option if you want to mark the far side of a plate part. This option is automatically
checked if the marking entities are all set to far side, indicated by a dashed line style. The far side indicator is
added to a marking entity by checking the FAR Side option in the Process dialog. The far side option if also
added to any flanging entity if required and the option Flange side determines marking side in ShipReport.

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CADLink98

Part Side - The side the part is on - port, starboard, center or port and starboard for mirror parts. The initial
setting is determined from the value of the TCG position. A positive value will select the P option, a negative
value will select the S option, a value of 0 or very close to 0 will select the C option. If your last part was a PS
part then you will be asked if the new part shall also be a PS part.

9.

Thickness Throw Shows the throw direction of the plate part.

Click OK when done. The part Annotation dialog is displayed. Here you control the appearance of the
piecemark for the part. Set the piecemark text size, leader line and OSNAP options. Click OK when done.

Some settings are also controlled with ShipReport.

Marking If checked the piecemarks will be created in marking color.

No Process - If checked the piecemarks will be created in no process color.

Std Part as no Process If checked standard parts, such as brackets, will have the piecemarks created
using the no process color.

Text Size The default text size used in the annotation dialog.

Bubble If check a bubble will be created around the piecemark.

Select position of piece-mark.

10. Click for the position of the piecemark. The piecemark should be completely contained inside the outside
toolpath of the plate part.

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Planar Menu 225

11. You can select to move the piecemark using the next dialog, Use this if the position is not satisfactory.

Defining a stiffener or faceplate part

There are a few differences when creating a stiffener or faceplate part.

No production entities There are no production entities to select. After picking the solid the Part dialog
will immediately display.

Length The length is the length of the faceplate or stiffener. The neutral axis is used when curved parts are
involved.

Endcuts Lists the endcuts used for the part.

The piecemark for plate parts and stiffener parts is always in No Process color.

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Undefine
Menu:

Planar / Part / Undefine

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLRMVPRT

Navigator:

None

Undefines a part. You can select one or more parts at the same time. This requires deleting the part record from
ShipReport. You can choose to keep the AutoCAD entities. In this case the part block is exploded and the piecemark
is removed. All other production entities and the solid entity are kept.

Tip: You can also use the standard AutoCAD ERASE or EXPLODE commands. CAD-Link intercepts them and
performs all required operations in ShipReport.
Note: You can not erase a nested part.

Note: You can use the AutoCAD UNDO to undo the undefining of parts. For this reason the part record in
ShipReport is marked as erases, but the data is kept, until you leave the drawing. At this point the part record is
irreversibly removed from ShipReport. You will see the erased part record, until final removal in ShipReport. See
figure below.

List Parts
Menu:

Planar / Part / List

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLDATALST

Navigator:

None

Lists the main properties of all parts in the current 2D group or nest drawing in a list dialog. Sort by any column
ascending or descending by clicking on the column header.

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Planar Menu 227

Right-click on a part to display a menu.

Menu functions are:

Zoom To zooms to the part.

View in Nest opens the nest drawing where this part is nested. Menu item changes View in Group if in a
nest drawing.

Properties displays the part properties for editing.

Add Objects lets you add entities to the part. See later in this part of the chapter.

New define a new part. See later in this part of the chapter.

Deactivate to deactivate a part. See later in this part of the chapter.

Reactivate to reactivate a part. See later in this part of the chapter.

Undefine to undefine a part. See later in this part of the chapter.

Warning: It can take some time to display the dialog if you have a slow server, a slow network, a slow computer or
a very large ShipReport file. Use MS Access Tools / Database Utilities / Compact Database to reduce the database
overhead. This makes the database file smaller and improves performance. If still too slow, consider upgrading the
weakest link in your computer setup. All menu functions in the dialogs menu are also available directly from the
standard menu, which works a lot faster, but is not quite as convenient.

Deactivate
Menu:

Planar / Part / Deactivate

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLDEACTPRT

Navigator:

None

Deactivates a part. Marks a part as deactivated in ShipReport. This function leaves the piecemark. Only the colors of
it are changed and the bubble is hatched. This allows you to re-nest the part at the same location as before. Use this
function when you need to remove entities from the part, or make significant changes to it.

228 Planar Menu

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Use reactivate part to reactivate a deactivated part.

Reactivate Part
Menu:

Planar / Part / Reactivate

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLACTSAP

Navigator:

None

Reactivates a deactivated part. The function prompts you to select the solid first, then the production entities. Make
sure you include the hatched piecemark.

Add Objects
Menu:

Planar / Part / Add Objects

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLADDPEN

Navigator:

None

Adds objects to existing parts. You can select one or more parts to which you can add objects to. For each part you
will be asked which objects you want to add. You can only add objects to a plate part. You can only add production
entities to a part.
1. Start the Add Objects function.
Select parts:

2.

Select one or more parts.

Select objects to add to U12F112-P01P

3.

Select the objects you want to add to the part.

You can not add outside toolpaths, or illegal colored objects.

Marking, no process and inside cut are legal process colors.

You will get a warning if the part is already nested. If you change a nested part, you should run a check on the
nest(s). The check will identify all changed parts and allows you to re-nest them automatically.

If any of the entities is an inside cut, the plate part solid will be modified to reflect the hole.

Mirror Part
Menu:

Planar / Part / Mirror Part

Toolbar button: None

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Planar Menu 229

Command line:

CLMRRPART

Navigator:

None

Mirrors one or more parts about the center line. Each part automatically receive a new part name. You have the
option to swap text strings in the mirrored parts, as indicated in the dialog below.

Edit Properties
Menu:

Planar / Part / Edit Properties

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLDATAPCK

Navigator:

None

Edits the part data of a part. You can select more than one part. The parts will be edited in sequence one at a time.
See Define part for a detailed discussion of the items in the part data dialog.

Piecemark
Menu:

Planar / Part / Piecemark

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLMARKMDFY

Navigator:

None

Edits the piecemark. You can change the location and the size of the piecemark. This function uses the same dialogs
and steps as when defining a part.
Note: The piecemark insertion point is used as the insertion location in the nest drawing. If a part is already nested,
then you should run a nest check, and re-nest all parts that have changed. Make sure to check all part with changed
piecemarks, as their position will have shifted, and might interfere with parts next to it..

Mark With OOP Text

Menu:

Planar / Part / Mark With OOP Text

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLNAMEDU

Navigator:

None

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Creates a text string in the current UCS with the name of a part that you pick.
1. Make sure you are in the UCS in which you want the text to appear.
2. Start the function.
Select out of plane part:

3.

Select the out of plane part.

Select position of part name:

4.

Select a position for the text.

<Rotation angle>/Reference:

5.
6.

Rotate the text until in the desired orientation.

The text is created in the marking color.

Insert Standard
Menu:

Planar / Insert Standard

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLbrkint

Navigator:

None

Inserts a previously defined standard part. See the Standard menu near the end of the reference section for details on
how to create standards.

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Planar Menu 231

1.
2.

Make sure that you are in the UCS you want the part located in.
Start the function.
Select the insertion point of the part:

3.

Select the insertion point. The part will be inserted with the origin in the standard drawing at the picked position.
Rotate standard part:

4.

Rotate the part using the mouse.

Mirror Part? Yes/<No>

5.

Select Yes if the part has to be mirrored.

Detailing Sub-Menu
The detailing menu provides several functions used during the detailing of parts. Most of the functions automate
processes that are specific to shipbuilding.

The menu is accompanied by a toolbar fly-out.

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Part Orientation Icon

Stiffener Profile & Cutout
Throw Lines
Mark Group Intersections

Convert 3D to 2D
Break @ Distance
Break @ Intersection

Break Intersection
Menu:

Detailing / Break Intersection

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLBRKINT

Navigator:

None

Breaks a line, polyline or arc by finding the intersection of the entity with another entity. Use this function when a
long entity has to broken. Consider a simple example. A large bulkhead is made up of several plates. Each plate has
to be defined by a closed outside toolpath. At each seam intersection with an edge the edge has to be split into two
entities, each for the toolpath of one plate. See figure.

1.

Start the function.

Select entity to break:

2.

Select the entity to break.

Select the breaking point:

3.
4.

Pick the intersection point. The object snap is set to automatically to INTERSECTION.
The entity is split and both parts are redrawn in different colors.

Note: If the entity to be broken is a polyline, it is possible that AutoCAD selects one of the polyline vertices instead
of the intersection. CAD-Link will display a warning dialog. You can accept the breaking point. Zoom in or Cancel.
Accept the breaking point only if you know that the break is on a polyline vertex. Otherwise Zoom In and try again.
The function will zoom to the original zoom stage, even if you do several zoom ins.

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Planar Menu 233

Break Distance
Menu:

Detailing / Break Distance

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLBRKDST

Navigator:

None

This function only works for straight lines. All other entities will be rejected. Breaks the selected line based on
distance from the end of the line.
1. Start the function.
Select a line entity to break:

2.

Select the entity.

Select the end to break from:

3.
4.

The OSNAP is set to END. Pick the end from which you want to specify a distance.
Dialog requests the distance from the selected end. Enter the distance and click OK. The Line is split and both
parts are redrawn in different colors.

3D to 2D Poly

Menu:

Detailing / 3D to 2D Polyline

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLCONV

Navigator:

None

Converts a three dimensional entity into a two dimensional entity on the XY plane of the current UCS.

Mark Group with drawings

Menu:

Planar / Mark Group with Drawings

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLMARK

Navigator:

None

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CADLink98

Marks the current group drawing with lines where other group drawings intersect. Consider a frame, which is
intersected by decks and girders. CAD-Link calculates all intersection lines between the frame and any of the decks
and girders by calculating the true intersection of two planes in 3D space. One of the planes is defined by the
currently active UCS in the frame drawing, the other planes are the construction UCS and thickness throw UCS
planes in the other group drawings.
1.

Select Planar / Detailing, Mark Group with DWGs of click the toolbar flyout as shown in the figure and
click the Mark Group Intersections

button.

2.

The Mark Group Intersections dialog is displayed. Select the groups that you want to mark onto the
current drawing.

Available Planar Groups The list on the left of the dialog shows all planar groups that intersect the frame.
You can select the groups that you want to mark. By default all planar groups are selected.

Throw Symbols Check this option to create a throw symbol as shown in the figure below. The symbol
indicates the throw direction from the marking lines. The small vertical lines on the side of the symbol indicate
the thickness of the intersecting group. This value is corrected for the intersection angle in case of a skewed
(non-perpendicular) intersection. The size box allows you to set the height to the top of the symbol.

Throw Symbol

Marking Line

Thickness Lines Checking this option creates a thickness line as shown in the next figure.

Thickness Line

Group Text Checking this option creates a text, to label the line with the name of the group. The size box is
the size of the text that will be created. You also have the option to Strip unit prefix.
Unit prefix removed

Unit prefix not removed

CADLink98

Planar Menu 235

3.

Once all values are entered in the dialog as shown, click OK. The markings are created as shown in the next
figure. All lines are 10% longer than the current extents of the drawing. You will have to trim the lines later to
their appropriate sizes using standard AutoCAD trimming.

Insert Stiffener Cutout

Menu:

Detailing / Insert Stiffener Cutout

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLINSCUTOUT

Navigator:

None

Inserts cutout and profiles into the drawing. The cutouts and profiles are set up in ShipReport

ShipReport Profile Library

The ShipReport file contains pre-defined stock profiles. You can also create your own profiles. CAD-Link is
delivered with two ready-made templates with many pre-defined profiles, flatbars and plates. One of the templates is
for metric dimensions, the other for imperial dimensions.

Creating your own profile stock

A profile stock is a record in the ShipReport database file. However, ShipReport cannot store CAD geometry. The
geometry of the profile and the cutout is defined in AutoCAD drawings. The drawings are linked to the ShipReport
record. The drawings for the profiles and cutouts need to be located in specific directories. Project and template

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CADLink98

folders contain a folder called Standards. Inside the Standards folder are folders for Cutouts and Profiles. The
respective drawings have to be located here.

Profile library drawing

Using standard AutoCAD draw the profile from the values in the profile book from you supplier. The profile must be
a 2D polyline, and closed. This has to be the only entity in the drawing. Make sure the foot point of the profile is at
0,0.

Cutout library drawing

Using standard AutoCAD draw the cutout such that it fits the profile. The cutout must be an open 2D polyline. This
has to be the only entity in the drawing. Make sure the 0,0 point of the cut coincides with the profile.

Creating a new profile stock record

The new profile record is created using ShipReport.
1. Start the ShipReport database file to which you want to add a new profile record. ShipReport will start as shown.

CADLink98

Planar Menu 237

2.

Click the Profiles & Plates button to display the Stock Parts dialog.

3.

Click New Stock.

4.

In the dialog type a Name.

5.

Select a profile type from the drop down menu.

6.
7.

Enter a manufacturer number. Optional.

Select a material from the drop down list.

8.

Click on the Browse button beside the XSection DWG field. Select the AutoCAD drawing with the newlycreated profile.

9.

You can also link a tight and non-tight cutout to the same profile. This is optional.

Here are detailed descriptions of the items in the Profile & Plates Library dialog.

Type of stock This is an Angle bar.

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CADLink98

Mfg. No. The manufacturer number field is optional. You can enter your internal manufacturer or stock
number here. It can later be listed in Bills of Materials.

Color This is the color that the solid will use when you create a stiffener with this profile. Selecting colors
carefully can help you detect incorrect stock selection in a group or unit drawing before production packages are
issued.

X-Section drawing This contains the name of an AutoCAD drawing. The drawing contains the cross section
of the profile, as found in the suppliers catalog. The cross section is a single closed polyline. The profile cross
section files are stored in the standards/profile folder.

Tight Cutout / Non-Tight Cutout These fields are optional. They point to drawings containing the
appropriate cutouts for the profile. The cutouts are open polylines. They are located in the standards/cutout
folder.

Length & Quantity Not implemented yet. This is a list of the available lengths for the profile. It will be used
for linear nesting.

Parts using stock This list shows all parts that use the highlighted stock. This is useful if you want to find
parts based on a certain stock that is not available because of supply problems, and you therefore have to
redesign the parts using a different stock.

Besides profiles you will also find flat bars and plate stocks in this database.
4.

Return to AutoCAD / CAD-Link now. Remember you do not need to close ShipReport. Just use Windows
task bar buttons to switch back to AutoCAD / CAD-Link.

Cutout and profile insertion

1.

Mark the location where you want to insert the profile and cutout.

2.

Select Planar / Detailing / Insert Stiffener cutouts or from the fly-out

Stiffener Profiles & Cutout

3.
4.

, select the

button. The next dialog is shown.

From the list select the profile. Check the items that you want inserted. Click OK.
Insert the profile cutout at the marked positon of the vertical line and the tank top.

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Planar Menu 239

5.

Rotate the profile to the desired location.

Replicate to other groups

Menu:
Command line:

Detailing / Replicate to other Groups

Cldup

Navigator:
None
Replicate geometry from the current group drawing to other group drawings that are parallel to the current one. For
example, you can replicate from a frame to other frames, but not to a deck group. Use this function if significant
geometry is identical between several groups. Design the portions that are identical and then replicate to other
groups.
For example, for a frame the geometry portion below could be identical for many frames. Only the outside shell
plating would change slightly from frame to frame.

1.
2.

Select Planar / Detailing Replicate to Other Groups.

At the prompt, select the entities that are identical in the other frames.

3.

In the dialog select the group to which you want to replicate. Only groups parallel to the current one will be
displayed. . A dialog will inform you when the copying is finished.

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CADLink98

You can check in the unit drawing that all geometry has been successfully replicated to the selected groups.

Scallop
Menu:

Detailing / Scallop

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLRFILLET

Navigator:

None

Creates a scallop, also called mouse or rat hole, at the intersection of two entities. The figure below shows two
scallops.

1.

Start the function.

Current radius = 30.000 mm
Radius/Lines/<Intersection>:

2. Option: R- Radius:
3. Check the command line for the current radius. Press R if you want to change it.
Scallop radius:
Enter a new radius. Press ENTER.

4.

Option: I Intersection:
5. Press I.
Pick corner to scallop:

6.
7.
8.
9.

Pick an intersection for the scallop. The OSNAP is automatically set to INTERSECTION.
Pick direction of scallop. For two line intersecting as a cross you have 4 possibilities for a scallop.
The scallop is created.

Option L Lines:
Pick First Object:

10. Pick on of the lines.

Pick Second Object:

11. Pick the other line.

Pick direction of scallop.

12. The scallop is created.

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Planar Menu 241

Remove vertices below tolerance

Menu:

Detailing / Remove Vertices below Tolerance

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLBELOWTOL

Navigator:

None

Remove vertices that are within the given tolerance to a straight line on a polyline. There are several reasons why
you want to reduce the number of vertices on polylines:

Display speed Many vertices mean lots of items to display. Display speed is specifically of interest when
considering solids.

Computing speed Interferences will run significantly faster with less complex solids.

File size ACIS solids use enormous amounts of disk space.

NC machine limitations Many cutting machines will move erratically or start-stop at each little segment is
they are too small.
Start the command.

1.

Select polylines

2.
3.
4.

Select the polyline you want to work on. Press ENTER.

Tolerance: <1.0> 3
Enter a tolerance.

The example shows two identical frame sections. The upper section has a tolerance of 1mm, the lower one has a
tolerance of 3mm. About 0.5mm (1/32) appears to be a good compromise between speed and accuracy.

Setup Sub-Menu
Menu:

Orientation Icon / Setup

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLORIENTICON

Navigator:

None

This menu only appears when in an Orientation icon template drawing. Sets up parameters that control the
appearance of the user orientation icon. Open the direction icon drawing with Navigator.

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CADLink98

Place orientation icons on plate parts to identify the orientation of the part in the ship. CAD-Link comes with one
ready-made orientation icon drawing. You can have as many as you wish. The Orientation Icon menu is only
available while in an Orientation Icon template.

You can change the look of the orientation icon to meet your demands.

Setup
Use the setup to control how CAD-Link replaces the keywords in the template when placing the icon into a group
drawing. For each principal direction there are two keywords.

Insert Orientation Icon

Menu:

CADLink98

Planar / Insert Orientation Icon

Planar Menu 243

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLORNTICON

Navigator:
None
Inserts an orientation icon from a template drawing. The keywords in the template drawing are replaced with the
words in the setup of the icon. All icon entities are assigned the marking color.

1.

Start the function.

Location of Orientation Icon:

2.

Pick a location. Make sure that the location is on the same side of the center line as the final location of the icon.
At this point the direction of the arrows, and the text for the keywords are determined, depending on the halfbreadth location of the pick point.
Second point of displacement:

3.

The function places the icon and starts a move command. Pick the final location.

Activate UCS
Menu:

Planar / Activate UCS

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLUCSLIST

Navigator:

None

Activates a UCS or create new ones.

244 Planar Menu

CADLink98

The left side of the dialog displays all available UCSs. Below the list is the currently active UCS and its origin
position.
The right side displays the thickness and throw direction of the current group drawing.
New Out of Plane Creates a UCS that is out of plane of the current UCS. You will mostly use this to place
brackets or similar on parts that are in the construction UCS. For example, on the aft bulkhead in the tutorial, there
are numerous standard brackets. Each one of those brackets is on an out of plane UCS. You should have entities at
the location where you want to create the out of plane UCS. These are usually marking lines, where the bracket
attaches.
1.

Click The New Out of Plane button

Select origin:

Click the origin point. OSNAP END is automatically set.

Select point on axis:

Select a point along one axis of the UCS. OSNAP END and NEAR are automatically set.
Locate third point in plane or ENTER for perpendicular to UCS:

Press ENTER for a UCS perpendicular to the current one, or click on a third point for a skewed UCS.

The new UCS is created and named. The name is automatically created.

New parallel button Creates a new UCS that is parallel to the current one.
1.

Click the New Parallel button.

Select the new origin:

2.
3.

Click on the new origin point.

A new UCS is created at the new location, and named automatically.

Activate from Object Activates a UCS from a selected object. The function distinguishes several different entity
types and calculates the UCS for them differently.
Standard AutoCAD entities CAD-Link determines the UCS the entity was created in.
ACIS solids For plate solids CAD-Link finds the construction or thickness UCS.
CAD-Link parts - CAD-Link determines the UCS the entity was created in.
ARLSTIFFENER CAD-Link displays the dialog below, and allows you to select one of three UCS's
associated with a stiffener.

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Planar Menu 245

Activate button Activates the UCS highlighted in the list.

Xref Groups
Menu:

Planar / Xref Groups

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLXREF2D

Navigator:

None

In some cases it is helpful to be able to see other group drawings in the current drawing. You can also xref outfit or
piping drawings. This function works in most drawings, not just in planar groups.
1.

Select from the menu Planar / Xref Groups or click Attach XREF

2.
3.

See the drawings that you want to XREF into the current drawing.
Click OK.

Note: Be sure to remove XREFs when you have finished with them. Loading the extra drawing costs extra time. To
remove all XREFs:
1. Start the function again.
2.
3.

In the dialog click Uncheck ALL.

Click OK. All XREFs are removed.

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Check Current Group DWG

Menu:

Planar / Check Current Group DWG

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLFIXPART

Navigator:

None

Checks the current group drawing for errors and unused geometry. When detailing is finished, all entities on the
production layer should be in part blocks. Any lines, arcs or text would indicate a problem. All entities on the solid
layer should be assigned to parts. The figure below lists all types of errors the function detects.

The Unused geometry dialog lists all unused entities in a convenient list style. For each entity it lists the Drawing
(this function can also be run from the 3D unit drawing, on all groups at the same time), Entity type, Color,
Length and Layer. As always, you can sort by any column simply by clicking on the column header.

View Zooms to the selected entity.

Zoom In Zooms closer to the entity.

Zoom out- Zooms further out.

Add to part Lets you pick a part to which you can add the entity. Use this if the entity was supposed to be
added to a part but got left out by mistake.

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Planar Menu 247

Move Starts the move command on the entity. Use this if the entity is hidden behind another entity.

Erase Erases the entity.

Hide in List Removes the entity from the list, but does not erase it from the drawing.

Refresh Refreshes the list from the current drawing only.

List Unused Geometry

Menu:

Planar / List Unused Geometry

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLUNUSEDGEO

Navigator:

None

Displays the same Unused Geometry dialog, discussed in Check Current Group DWG.

4.

Start the function.

Location of Orientation Icon:

5.

Pick a location. Make sure that the location is on the same side of the center line as the final location of the icon.
At this point the direction of the arrows, and the text for the keywords are determined, depending on the halfbreadth location of the pick point.
Second point of displacement:

6.

The function places the icon and starts a move command. Pick the final location.

Hide
Menu:

Planar / Hide

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLHIDE

Navigator:

None

Hides the entities selected. Use this function if you want to temporarily hide one or more entities. Quite often it is
difficult to pick certain items with too many entities near by. Use this function to make things easier for you.
The function does not place entities on a hidden layer or similar. It simply sets a flag of the entity so that AutoCAD
will not draw it. The only way to unhide entities is to use the Unhide All function.

248 Planar Menu

CADLink98

Unhide All
Menu:

Planar / Unhide All

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLUNHIDEALL

Navigator:

None

Unhides all entities hidden with the Hide function.

Utilities Sub-Menu

Create Bevel Text

Under development.

Layer menu
This menu gives access to the layer control functions.

The same functions are supported by a fly-out toolbar.

Copy to layer
Layer Off

Activate to layer
Move to layer

Activate Layer
Menu:

Utilities / Layer / Activate

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLACTLAYER

Navigator:

None

Activates a layer. A selection box with all available layers is displayed and the desired layer can then be selected
from the list. All other layers will be switched off so that only the selected layer will be turned on.

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Planar Menu 249

Deactivate Layer (OFF)

Menu:

Utilities / Layer / Deactivate

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLDELAYER

Navigator:

None

Deactivates the layer picked from the list in the dialog. This will not affect any other layers.

Copy Geometry to Layer

Menu:

Utilities / Layer / Copy Geometry to Layer

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLCOPYGEO

Navigator:

None

Make a another copy of the geometry. Leaves the original entities untouched..
1. Start the function.
Select entities to copy to a new layer

2.

Select the entities to copy. Press ENTER when done.

Select the desired layer from the dialog. Click OK.

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Move Geometry to Layer

Menu:

Utilities / Layer / Move Geometry to

Toolbar button:
Command line:

CLMOVEGEO

Navigator:

None

Moves a selected geometry from one layer to another. The original entities are erased.
3. Start the function.
Select entities to move to a new layer

4.

Select the entities to copy. Press ENTER when done.

Show extended data

Menu:

Utilities / Show Extended Data

Toolbar button: None

Command line:

CLMOVEGEO

Navigator:

None

Shows the extended data attached to any entity. This function is mainly used to track down probles. Most CAD-Link
solids have extended data attached.
The figure below shows the extended data of an ARLSTIFFENER.

The figure below shows the extended data of a CAD-Link part.

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Planar Menu 251

252 Planar Menu

CADLink98

Assembly Menu

Overview
This menu is available to the right of all other menus when in an assembly drawing. It provides access to the CADLinks assembly functions. The general procedure for creating assembly drawings involves:

Setting up assembly templates if not done so yet.

Creating a master.

Creating individual assembly drawings.

Annotating assembly drawings.

Plotting assembly drawings.

This set of menus is also supported by a number of toolbar buttons.

Assembly Visibility
Annotate Part Flyout
Annotate Endcuts
Flip UCS
Move UCS
Orientation Icon

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Assembly Menu 253

Annotate Part
Quick Annotate

Copy Annotation
The new Navigator now takes over some of the functionality formerly accessed through menus.

Assembly Templates
CAD-Link comes with one prepared assembly template. You can use this one as is, modify it, or create new ones.

Assembly Template menu

While in an assembly template the Assembly Template menu is displayed to the right of all other menus.

Investigating the supplied template

To investigate the supplied assembly template:
1. Make sure you are registered to a project.
2.
3.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click

.
Click the Template tab. Select Assembly / Assembly ISO1.DWG. The template drawing opens.

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CADLink98

4.

Make sure you are in paper space.

1
2

5.

6.
7.
8.

There are 3 viewports in the template, as indicated by the numbers in the figure. The large viewport is used
for the actual assembly, while viewports 2 and 3 are used for the keymap. The keymap shows where in the unit
this assembly is located. In the Keymap the unit will be displayed as a wire frame model, while the assembly
will be displayed as a solid model.
Zoom to the text in the upper center of the drawing. You find several keywords here. These will be
automatically replaced by CAD-Link.

Pan to the right to find the keyword <BOM> for the Bill of Material.
Pan down the right border of the template drawing. Here you find more keywords.
At the bottom right hand corner are the two small viewports for the keymap.

Creating an assembly template

The following steps will create an assembly template from scratch:
1. Start a new drawing.
2. Activate paper space.
3. Insert your company drawing frame, or create one.
4. Select View / Floating Viewport.
5. Select the number of viewports you like.
6. Move and size each viewport individually.

Set Viewport Keymap

You can assign each viewport to be a keymap viewport or a normal viewport. In the keymap viewport CAD-Link
displays the assembly parts as solids, and the rest of the unit in wire-frame mode. Hiding the lines on this viewport
generally allows the assembly to stand out visibly. A normal viewport displays the assembly parts as solids only.
This is the viewport where you will annotate parts.

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Assembly Menu 255

7.
8.
9.

Activate paper space.

Click in the viewport you want to set.
Select Assembly /Set Viewport Keymap.

10. The currently active viewport is set to be keymap or normal.

Inserting Keywords
Keywords are inserted into the paper space. To insert anyone of the keywords:
1. Activate Paper Space.
2. Select Assembly / Insert Keyword.

3.

In the dialog select the keyword to insert, and set the text options. Click OK.
Select position of keyword:

4.
5.

Pick the position of the keyword.

The keyword is created as regular text. You can use any AutoCAD command to change the appearance of the
text, such as size, rotation, color or font.

Assigning Assembly Templates

Each template and BOM can be assigned individually to a specific assembly level. You assign the templates and
BOMs using ShipReport.
1. Activate ShipReport.
2. In the main menu click Assign BOMs.

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4.

In this case we have only one template, ASMBLY 1 ISO. You could have more than one template and use a
different template for each assembly level.
In this case we assign the same template and BOM for each of the assembly levels.

5.

Click Close.

3.

Navigator
Navigator - Update Master
Menu:

None

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLASS

Navigator:

Assembly / Update Master

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Creates an assembly master drawing from the 3D-unit drawing. The reason for creating an assembly master is
because the 3D-unit drawing only shows how the planar group drawings assemble to a 3D model. Everything you
see in the 3D-unit drawing is "XREFFED into it. Creating an assembly drawing creates a drawing that really
contains all entities shown.

You will be asked if you want to create Keymap layer. Within an assembly template you can have any number of
viewports. Any viewport can be designated to be a keymap viewport. This viewport will show, just like any regular
viewport, all part solids belonging to this assembly. Additionally, it shows all production information of the
complete unit. Thus it is easy to see where in the unit this assembly is located.

Navigator - Open Master

Menu:

None

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

None

Navigator:

Assembly / Open Master

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Opens the assembly master drawing.

Navigator Open Assembly

Menu:

None

Toolbar:
Command line:

None

Navigator:

Assembly / Open

Opens assembly drawings.

1. Highlight the assembly drawing to open in the tree dialog.
2. Click open.

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Navigator New Assembly

Menu:

None

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

None

Navigator:

Assembly / New

Create new assembly drawings.

1. Click New.

2.

In the dialog select one of the two options. Click Next.

3.

In the Create Assembly Drawings dialog select the assemblies for which you want to create assembly drawings.

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4.

Click Finish.

Note: This operation takes some time and uses a great deal of memory. For large projects you should have at least
128 MB RAM and a Pentium II 266. You might need to select a small number of drawings each time if your
computer cannot produce all of them at the same time.
5. One drawing is created for each assembly. Watch closely to see how the views are generated and the keywords
replaced.

Assembly Visibility
Menu:

Assembly / Visibility

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLASSEMBVIS

Navigator:

None

Use this function to check the assignment of parts to assemblies.

Displays a dialog with all assemblies in the current drawing. Click on any assembly, and the parts assigned to the
assembly will be shown with all others hidden.
Note: Click the Show All button when done, otherwise you will be left with a drawing that does not show all
entities.
1. Start the function.
2. In the dialog click the assembly you want to check. It takes some time to search the database and find all parts
belonging to an assembly.

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3.
4.
5.

If any wrongly assigned parts are detected, click the Assign to Assembly button.
Select the parts you want to assign to different assemblies.
The Assign Part to assembly dialog is displayed.

6.
7.
8.

Click on the correct assembly for these parts. The parts are re-assigned in ShipReport. Click OK.
The Assembly Visibility dialog appears again.
Make sure to click Show All when done.

Annotation Sub-Menu

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Create Annotation
Menu:

Assembly / Annotation / Create

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLASSPIECELONG

Navigator:

None

Creates an annotation. The function displays the Annotation dialog that allows you to control how the annotation is
created.
Before you start, make sure that you have a UCS in the plane of the desired annotation direction. The function will
automatically move the UCS to the pick location. For example you are annotating frames. Make sure any frame
UCS is active. The function will automatically move the UCS for the annotation text automatically to the frame that
you pick to be annotated.
1. Start the command.
2. Click the part to annotate.
3. Select the options from the dialog as explained below.
4. Click OK.
5. Pick the locations and direction for the leader line(s) and the piecemark.
6. Repeat for all other parts.
Note: By default the picked part is highlighted in the assembly tree. The part name is by default the annotation text.
You may click on any assembly level above the part to change the annotation text.

Add P/S Adds a P for parts on the port side, and an -S extension for parts on the starboard side. This
applies only if a part is designated as P/S in ShipReport.

Size The size of the annotation text.

Use parts pick-point as location Uses the pick point as the location for the assembly. Saves one extra
pick.

Rotate manually Allows you to rotate the annotation text manually.

Angle The text angle if Rotate Manually is OFF.

Move after Rotate If checked, lets you move the annotation text after the text has been rotated.

Leader Line Creates a leader line if checked.

Segments Number of segments in the leader line.

Leader lines same length Makes all leader lines the same length.

Length Length of the leader line(s)

Osnap Settings The Osnap to use for the annotation or leader line location.

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Quick Annotation
Menu:

Assembly / Annotation / Quick

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLASSPIECE

Navigator:

None

Creates an annotation for the picked part without displaying the dialog. It uses the same settings as those used in the
last use of Assembly / Annotation / Create.

Copy Annotation
Menu:

Assembly / Annotation / Copy

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLCOPYPIECEM

Navigator:

None

Copies annotations. The text of the annotation is replaced with the name of the newly-picked part. To copy an
annotation:
1. Start the copy annotation command.
2. Click on an annotation to copy.
3. Select a base point for the copy command.
4. Click on a new part to annotate.
5. Select the position for the new annotation. The annotation is created in the same manner, except the text is
replaced with the name of the new part.
6. The function remains active until aborted.

Mark Endcuts
Menu:

Assembly / Annotation / Mark Endcuts

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLASSECMARK

Navigator:

None.

Annotates the endcut of a stiffener.

Note: See also Activate UCS when picking a stiffener.

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1.
2.
3.
4.

Set up a suitable UCS.

Start the function.
Pick the stiffener to annotate.
The dialog is, in principal, the same as the one used for part annotation. Only the assembly tree is inactive, and
the endcut name instead of the part name is displayed.

5.

Pick the location of the leader line(s) and text.

Icons menu
Allows you to insert several icons into assembly drawings.

Assembly / Icons / Orientation

Menu:

Assembly / Icons / Orientation

Toolbar:

None

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Command line:

ASSORIENT

Navigator:

None

Inserts an orientation icon into the drawing.

1.

Start the function.

2.
3.

Select the type of icon you want. The Scale is the length of the direction arrows. Click OK.
Pick a location for the icon.

User Icon
Menu:

Assembly / Icons / User

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLINSERTUI

Navigator:

None

Inserts a user icon in the assembly drawing. Use this function to insert weld symbols and similar icons. The user
icons are regular drawings, located in the standards/user icon folder.

CG Point
Menu:

Assembly / Icons / CG Point

Toolbar:

None

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Command line:

CLCGPOINT

Navigator:

None

Inserts a point at the CG position.

Flip UCS
Menu:

Assembly / Flip UCS

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLFLIPUCS

Navigator:

None

Flips the X-axis of the current UCS. Use this function if the annotation text is displayed in mirror writing to your
viewpoint. Re-create the annotation.

Move UCS
Menu:

Assembly / Move UCS

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLMOVEUCS

Navigator:

None

Moves the UCS to the newly-picked location. Use this function if you want to add text or any other entity on a
different level than the current UCS.

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268 Workshop Menu

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Workshop Menu

Overview
Note: We do not recommend using workshop drawings. Use assembly drawings instead. Workshop drawings are
an outdated means of providing information to the yard. Assembly drawings are a much better means to do the same
job.
This sub-menu provides functions for workshop drawings. You can also automatically insert planar group drawings
and parts into workshop drawings.

Insert Group
Menu:

Workshop / Insert Group

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLGRPWSLIST

Navigator:

None

Inserts a 2D planar group into a workshop drawing.

1.
2.

Start the function.

Select any number of group drawings in the tree dialog. Click OK.

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3.
4.
5.

A 2D-group drawing is inserted and the move command is started.

Move the group drawing to the desired location.
Repeat until done.

Note: The 2D Group drawings are inserted as XREFS. Anytime a group drawing changes, the Workshop drawing is
updated.

Insert Part
Menu:

Workshop / Insert Part

Toolbar:

None

Command line: CLPRTWKSHP

Navigator:

None

Inserts a part into a workshop drawing.

Note: Parts are inserted as external references. They will be automatically updated when changed. Parts only
consist of the production layer entities. The solid layer is missing, as it is not contained in the nest preparation
drawings.

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Nesting Menu

Overview
The nesting menu is available when in a nest drawing. Use the Navigator to open and create nest drawings.

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Nesting Menu 271

Nesting Preparation
ShipReport Nesting Settings
All project-wide nesting settings are, as always, stored in ShipReport. The nest related settings are available on the
Settings / Nesting tab.

Nesting colors During detailing outside cut, inside cut, marking and no-process entities were given specific
colors. You can insert any number of parts into a nest drawing and decide during the nesting process which
plate the part will finally be nested on. Only then will the part be assigned to a specific plate. In the meantime
the part is un-assigned. The unassigned state is represented by a different coloring scheme. When a part is
initially inserted into a nest drawing the colors indicating the NC-process are changed to the Nesting colors.
Once the part is assigned to the final plate the colors are changed back.

Nest Name Prefix The prefix that CAD-Link will generate automatically for creating nest names.

Gap between parts Distance that CAD-link will leave between 2 parts.

Plate edge margin Distance that CAD-Link will leave between parts and the plate edge

Organizing Nesting
All structural work is carried out on a construction unit basis. However, nesting cannot always be carried out on a
unit by unit basis. You might be building more than one unit in at a time. Nesting just one unit could also create too
much unused plate space. The unused space can be treated as a remnant or drop. A remnant is the unused portion of
a stock plate. CAD-Link manages remnants for you.

Nesting Terminology
Nest drawing
A nest drawing contains one or more nests of the same stock, but may have different plate sizes including
remnants. Many companies decide to use the stock name as the drawing name. Often the unit to which most or all
of the parts on the nest belong is integrated as well into the drawing name. For example: U12PL10.DWG contains
parts for U12 on PL10 stock plate.

Nests
Each nest drawing can have one or more nests. New nests are always based on a template. The nest consists of the
actual nest plate, an automatically generated BOM, header fields with automatically updated pertinent
information, such as plate size, material, utilization, cutting time estimate and more.

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Nest templates
The first figure in the chapter shows a finished nest drawing. The border of the nest, the text and the BOM are all
created automatically by CAD-Link. In order to accomplish this task a template is used for the nest when it is
initially created. The templates are regular AutoCAD drawings. CAD-Link comes with a ready-made nest template.
You can customize the nest template to suit your needs. We will now look at the supplied template.
1.
2.

. Select the Template tab.

Select CAD-Link / Navigator or click
Select Nest / Nest01. This is the ready-made template drawing. Click Open.

3.

The nest template drawing is opened as shown. Compare the large figure at the beginning of this chapter.

The border of the template is a key element in the nest and should not be deleted. CAD-Link uses it to
determine which elements belong to this nest; this is important when you have many nests in the same drawing. The
top of the drawing has entries prepared for the project name, the nest name and more. To the right of each field
name is a KEYWORD, for example <PROJECT>. Each keyword is inside of < >. Keywords are later
automatically replaced by actual data. You can move keywords around, change size or color, or delete them if
you do not require the information.
At the bottom left you will find the keyword <NSTINSERTSTOCK>. The stock plate will be inserted at this
position. The aspect ratio of the nest template has been set to utilize an 11 by 17 or A3 sheet well when plotted on
the sheet in landscape mode. CAD-Link provides an automatic plotting function that allows you to plot many nests
with one command.

Nesting Menu
The nesting menu provides function to nest parts.

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Nesting Menu 273

Nesting Toolbar
The nesting toolbar provides access to the most commonly-used nesting functions. We will discuss the use of all of
the functions in this chapter.
Insert Parts
Snap & Gap
Slide
Align
Move & Rotate
Assign to Nest
Nest Layers

Navigator Nest Tab

The nest tab gives access to several nesting functions. It displays a tree dialog on the left side, a preview on the right
and several buttons.

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Open
Opens the nest drawing selected in the tree dialog.

New
Creates a new nest drawing. Each nest drawing can only contain a nest using one type of stock. However, nests can
use different plate sizes.
1. Click the New button. The New Drawing dialog is displayed.

2.
3.

Enter a name for the new nest drawing. Click OK.

The new nest drawing is opened and the New Nest dialog is displayed.

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Nesting Menu 275

See New Nest for details on the use of the New Nest dialog.

Un-nested Parts
Use this function to see if any parts require nesting.
1. Click the un-nested parts button. The next dialog is displayed.

2.
3.

In the dialog select the assembly for which you want to check un-nested parts.
The right pane will display any parts that require nesting.

Nest Sub-Menu
The nest menu provides function to create and modify individual nests within a nest drawing.

276 Nesting Menu

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New Nest
Menu:

Nesting / Nest / New

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLSTCKPLT

Navigator:

None

Inserts a new nest into a nest drawing. Nests are base on a nest template. The template contains keywords. Some of
the keyword are replace with ShipReport data during insertion of a nest, others are replaced at a later stage.
1. Start the function.
2. The New Nest dialog is displayed.

Nest Plates Displays the names of nest plates already in this nest drawing.
Stock Templates Displays the available templates. Select the one required.
Plate Name - The function automatically uses the next available number for the nest name. The type of name
prefix can be set in ShipReport in User settings on the nesting tab.

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3.
4.

Plate Stock - The plate stock is fixed, unless you are inserting the first nest into the drawing.
Size Displays the available stock sizes. Select the one required.
Remnants Lists all available remnants of the same stock. Use the Create Previews button to create previews
for each remnant. You can use a remnant instead of a new stock plate for a nest.
Click OK.
Pick a location for the new nest.

Delete Nest
Menu:

Nesting / Nest / Delete

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLDELSTCKPLT

Navigator:

None

Deletes a nest. Pick the nest you want to delete. You can pick on the nest border or the actual plate to select the nest.
Any part assigned to the delete nest will be updated in ShipReport. The color of each of these parts will change to
the unassigned nesting colors.

Rename Nest
Menu:

Nesting / Nest / Rename

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLRENNEST

Navigator:

None

Renames the selected nest.

Change Stock Plate

Menu:

Nesting / Nest / Change Stock Plate

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLCNGSTOCK

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Navigator:

None

Changes the stock plate used for the nest. You can only change the stock size, or change between using a full stock
plate or a remnant. You can not change the stock thickness, or quality of material.

Plot Nest
Menu:

Nesting / Nest / Plot

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLPLOTNESTS

Navigator:

None

Plots nests. You can select nests from the list or pick them in the drawing. All selected nests will be plotted to the
default printer using the default settings.

Do a manual plot first to check all plotting parameters for the nest.
The function will automatically set the plotted area to the outside border of the nest to plot. One plot will be created
for each nest.

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Nesting Menu 279

Remnant Sub-Menu

To create and delete remnants. Remnants are unused portions of a nest plate. In most cases you can use remnants
later on in a project. CAD-Link allows you to create a nest from a full size nest plate or a remnant nest plate.

New Remnant
Menu:

Nesting / Remnant / New

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLNSTNEWRMNT

Navigator:

None

Creates a new remnant.

To create a new remnant you first need to draw the border of it first. Draw a closed polyline for the remnant
outline. Make sure the to use close for the last leg of the polyline. See the fat polyline in the next figure.

1.
2.

Select Nesting / Remnant / New. Click on the remnant polyline.

CAD-Link now needs to know which portion of the remnant will be used to cut off the remnant from the
nest plate. This portion has to be exported to NC-Pyros as a cut line. NC-Pyros will then instruct the cutting
machine to cut the remnant off the plate. You have to pick the start and end point of the cutline.
Select remnant cut line start point:

3.

Select where the remnant edge meets the outside of the full plate.
Select remnant cut line start end:

4.

Select the other point where the remnant edge meets the outside of the full plate.
Select cut line to use (Red/Blue):

5.
6.

Select the portion (blue or red) that will be the used to trim off the remnant from the plate. The remnant is now
hatched.
The function requests now the size, position and orientation of the remnant piecemark.

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Delete Remnant
Menu:

Nesting / Remnant / Delete

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLNSTDELRMNT

Navigator:

None

Deletes a new remnant. Pick on the remnant to delete.

Part Sub-Menu

The part menu handles all functions regarding the nesting of individual parts.
Nesting parts onto nests involves these principal steps:

Insert the parts into the nest drawing. The parts are presented the largest first. Just place the part in an
organized manner in the drawing.

Nest parts to make best use of nest plate and consider production requirements, such as:

like and mirror cut;

sequence of production, keep parts needed at the same time on the same nest;

plate heat distortion.

Assign the parts to the nest.

Check the nest drawings for errors and un-nested parts, This function also updates the BOMs and finds
parts that have changed since being nested.

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Nesting Menu 281

Export the nests to NC-Pyros.

Create NC code.

Update Nest BOMs to reflect NC-Pyros data in the header.

Plot the nests.

Create nest reports.

Combine nest reports, with plots and NC-tapes.

Send to production.

Insert Part
Menu:

Nesting / Part / Insert

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLPRTDWGNEST

Navigator:

None

CAD-Link provides a sophisticated nest dialog that allows you to set several criteria to only nest the parts that you
need now.

1.
2.

Select Nesting / Part / Insert, or click the Insert Parts

The Nesting Filter dialog is displayed.

The left side of the dialog displays the assembly tree with all parts that match the filter setting. The assembly
tree makes it easy to nest by construction unit or any other assembly. Click the check box that is in front of the
U12 name and all sub-assemblies and parts.

The bottom of the dialog confirms the number of parts selected for nesting.

The top right displays the stock properties used in this nest drawing. In this case we are using PL10 stock.

On the right side of the dialog are the controls for the filter function. Only parts that match the selected
options will be available for nesting. In this case we have the following settings:

282 Nesting Menu

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CADLink98

Same as stock plate Only parts made from PL10 stock can be nested. Un-check this only if you want to
cross-nest. That is, you want to nest, for example, 8mm brackets onto 10mm stock.

Not nested If un-checked the filter will display also parts that are already nested for reference.

Paint If checked it allows you to select a paint option. For example you might have some primed plate and
only want to nest parts on these that are to be cut from primed plate.

Side You can select the side of the vessel the parts are on. In our case we want to nest only PS designated
parts. This allow us to do Like & Mirror cutting. A Like & Mirror plate will only be processed once, but cut
twice. Many cutting machines can do this at the same time, reducing processing time by half.
Set the options.
Select the parts to nest. Click OK.

3.
4.

Note 1: The general procedure for inserting parts into a nest drawing is as follows:

Parts are inserted at the mouse position, automatically rotated to the smallest horizontal rectangle, with the
move command active.

Move the mouse to move the part.

You can change the rotation using the function keys F5 and F6. Use the + plus and - minus keys to
increase or decrease the rotation steps.

Be sure to set the OSNAP OFF and ORTHO OFF. Otherwise you might not see the part at all.

Note 2: The largest part is inserted first, the smallest one last.
5. The first part is displayed at the mouse position. CAD-Link automatically rotates the part to the best horizontal
position. The command prompt reads:
Inserting U12F112-P04: (1 of 12)
Rotate F5/F6, Increment +/- <15>

6.

Place the parts in a somewhat organized fashion in the nest drawing for later nesting for example as shown in
the figure.

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Nesting Menu 283

Reinsert Part
Menu:

Nesting / Part / Reinsert

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLNSTUPPRT

Navigator:

None

Reinserts the selected parts using the latest change state. Run the check function before using this function. The
check function isolates all part that require re-nesting.

Unnest Part
Menu:

Nesting / Part / Unnest

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLRMVPARTPICK

Navigator:

None

Un-nests the selected parts. The parts are removed from the nest drawing. ShipReport is automatically updated.

Slide Along
Menu:

Nesting / Part / Slide Along

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLALGNPRTS

Navigator:

None

The slide function allows you to slide one part along the plate edge or any number of other parts. On the part to slide
you have to select two points. The first point is the slide point the second point indicates a tangent direction.
The tangent direction will be aligned with the outside of the other part or the plate edge. A ghost image is displayed
around the sliding part to indicate the gap.
Slide point
Tangent point
Part to slide
along
Part to slide

We want to slide the margin bracket shown in the figure into the gap between the two parts shown. The upper edge
will be sliding along the upper part.
1. Move one margin bracket into a position similar to the one shown in the figure above.
2.

Click the Slide

button.

Select part to slide:

3.

Click on the margin bracket.

Select slide point:

4.

Select as the slide point a point on the upper edge of the margin bracket. OSNAP END and NEAR are on.

284 Nesting Menu

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Select tangent point:

5.

Select a tangent point to the right on the same upper edge of the margin bracket.
Select part(s) to slide along:

6.
7.

Select the parts above and below the margin bracket.

Move the mouse. The bracket part will follow the mouse pointer. The margin bracket will rotate such that it will
be tangential to the part that it is sliding along. The part automatically keeps the distance set in ShipReport from
the nearest part. The distance is indicated by the ghost line around the part.

8.

The prompt displays:

F5 - toggle orient mode; F6 - Rotate 180 deg.:
<Tangent mode>

9.

Press function key F6, if the part is on the wrong side of the part to slide along. (sliding inside the other part
instead of along the outside) This will toggle the side the part is on. Next figure.

The slide function supports three slide modes. Press the function key F5 to activate these modes:

Tangent mode In this mode the sliding part will be aligned tangentially on the part sliding along.

Two-point mode The two selected points on the sliding part will be on the outside or inside toolpath of the
part sliding along. This mode is valuable when placing smaller parts inside of holes.

No rotate mode The rotation of the part does not change the direction as it slides along. Practice all three
modes. Press the F5 key to toggle the mode. Move the mouse to see the effect of the three different modes.
10. Make sure you are in the tangent mode. Press F5 if not until the command line displays tangent mode..
11. Move the mouse. Watch the ghost of the sliding part as you slide it. Achieve a position as shown in the next
figure and click the mouse to place the part here. Make sure that the ghost outline does not intersect with the
part on the other side.

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Nesting Menu 285

Move & Rotate

Menu:

Nesting / Part / Move & Rotate

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLMOVEGHOST

Navigator:

None

Moves and rotates parts. In some cases it is the easiest to move and rotate the part around until it fits an empty space.
In this example we now fit one of the margin brackets into the empty space shown in the figure.
1.
2.
3.
4.

button.
Click the Move & Rotate
Click on a margin bracket.
Select a base point anywhere inside the margin bracket.
Move the bracket with the mouse.
Rotate F5/F6, Increment +/- < 5>

5.

6.

You can use the F5 & F6 function keys to rotate the part. Each press of the function key rotates the part by
the angle indicated in brackets <5> on the command line. Use the + plus and minus keys to increase
or decrease the increments.
Obtain a position similar to that shown in the next figure.

Align
Menu:

Nesting / Part / Align

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Toolbar:
Command line:

CLALIGNPART

Navigator:

None

This function aligns one side of a part with the horizontal or vertical axis.
In this example we want to align the upper edge of the bracket to a horizontal position. See figure.

1.

Click the Align

button. The prompt displays:

Select part(s):

2.

Select the part.

Select alignment point:

3.

Click anywhere on the upper edge of the part. OSNAP NEAREST and END are automatically on.
Select align direction point:

4.

Click any other point on the same edge of the same part. The two points indicate the direction that we want
to align with the vertical or horizontal axis.
Rotate part:

5.

ORTHO is now on. Move the mouse until the part is rotated horizontally.

Snap
Menu:

Nesting / Part / Snap

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLSNAPPART

Navigator:

None

The snap function allows simple part placement against the edge of the plate or another part. In a second step the
function spaces the part using the Gap between parts or Plate edge margin settings set in ShipReport.
Consider the example below. The closest to the bottom of the plate edge has to be aligned and spaces to the plates
edge.

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Nesting Menu 287

1.

Click the Snap

button.

Select part(s):

2.

Select lower deck beam part. Press ENTER to finish selecting part. You could also use this function to SNAP
several parts at once.
Snap point:

3. At this point CAD-Link activates OSNAP CENTER, INTERSECTION, and END. Move the mouse over the
lower left scallop of the part. Make sure the CENTER snap tip is on (indicated by a circle). If you have
problems, click the CENTER OSNAP button to force a CENTER snap only. Click to select the center of the
scallop. The prompt displays:
Snap to:

4. Select the lower left corner of the plate. The part snaps to the plate corner.
Click direction:

5.

6.

The function expects you to pick in the approximate direction to where you want to offset the part from the snap
point. In our case we want to move it by the value to the right and up. The function will snap the closest 45
degrees direction that you pick. Click approximately 45 degrees to the right and up.
The part moves by the value set in ShipReport to the right and up. This keeps the part the perfect distance from
the plate edge. See figure.

Rotate Shortest Dimension

Menu:

Nesting / Part / Rotate Shortest Dimension

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLROTPART

Navigator:

None

Rotates the part such that it fits into the smallest horizontal or vertical rectangle.
Consider the bracket part shown.

288 Nesting Menu

CADLink98

1.
2.
3.

Start the command.

Pick the part.
Press H for horizontal. The part is rotated as shown in the figure.

4.
5.
6.

Start the command again.

Pick the same part.
Press V for vertical. The vertical dimension is minimized. See figure.

List Parts
Menu:

Nesting / Part / List

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLDATALST

Navigator:

None

Displays a list of all parts. See Planar Group/ Part / List for an explanation on the use of this function.
The right click menu provides some of the functions available in the Nest / Part menu.

Assign to Nest
Menu:

CADLink98

Nesting / Part / Assign to Nest

Nesting Menu 289

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLASNPART

Navigator:

None

Assigns one or many parts to a nest.

All parts have to be manually assigned to a specific nest. This records the parts in ShipReport. After nesting part
neatly onto the plate you assign the parts. You might have noticed that the parts have different colors from when
they where initially designed. CAD-Link changed the colors to indicate to us that they are not yet assigned. To
assign parts to a nest.
1.

Select Nest / Part / Assign to Nest, or click the Assign to Nest

button.

Select nest and parts:

2.
3.

Using the window or crossing selection to select the nest and the parts for that nest. It does not matter if you
pick any other entities. CAD-Link will only consider parts and nest plates.
The color of all parts changes to the originally set colors for outside, inside, marking and no process.

Un-assign from Nest

Menu:

Nesting / Part / Un-assign from Nest

Toolbar:

None

Command line:
Navigator:

None

Un-assigns parts from the nest. The parts remain in the nest drawing. The colors of the parts are changed, to indicate
that the parts are no longer assigned.

Layers Sub-Menu
This menu controls the visibility of the nesting specific layers.

Layer Visibility
Menu:

Nesting / Layer / Visibility

290 Nesting Menu

CADLink98

Toolbar:
Command line:

CLSELAYERVIS

Navigator:

None

Controls the visibility of the nesting layers. Select the layers that you want to display or hide from the dialog.

Nest Layer The layers upon which the nested parts, and nests reside on.
Revision Layer Layer onto which parts are moved if they have been revised since nesting. The Check function
performs this task.
NC-Pyros layers After NC-processing you can insert the NC cutting path, as created by NC-Pyros, into the nest
drawing. This overlays the nested parts and the NC cutting path for checking.

Activate All
Menu:

Nesting / Layer / Activate All

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLACTALL

Navigator:

None

Activates all layers in the nest drawing.

Flip NC-Pyros
Menu:

Nesting / Layer / Flip NC-Pyros

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLFLIPNCP

Navigator:

None

Flips between the nesting and NC-Pyros layers. You can flip back and forth. Use this to investigate specific areas of
the NC path if problems occur.

Insert Keywords
Menu:

Nesting / Insert Keywords

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLINSERTKEYW

Navigator:

None

Inserts keywords into a specific nest. Make sure you place keyword only inside of the nest outside borders. CADLink determines to which nest a keyword belongs by testing in which border it falls.

CADLink98

Nesting Menu 291

Check Nests and BOM

Menu:

Nesting / Check Nests and BOM

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLCHKNEST

Navigator:

None

See the tutorial for a discussion on this function.

Update Nests and BOM

Menu:

Nesting / Update Nests and BOM

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLNSTMPFINSHP

Navigator:

None

See the tutorial for a discussion on this function.

NC-Pyros Sub-Menu
Provides functions to export nests to NC-Pyros and import cutting paths from NC-Pyros.

292 Nesting Menu

CADLink98

Export to NC-Pyros
Menu:

Nesting / Export to NC-Pyros

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLEXPRTSTK

Navigator:

None

The final nesting step is to export to NC-Pyros for NC-Processing. NC-Pyros can not read AutoCAD drawings
directly. The drawing file must be converted to a DXF file format. Blocks have to be exploded as well. CAD-Link
provides a function to perform all this automatically. At the same time ShipReport is updated to log the export time.
1. Select Nesting / NC-Pyros Export.
2. In the dialog highlight the plates you want to export. Click OK.

Show only nests from current drawing If not checked all nests in ShipReport will be listed. The
function will open all drawings and export the nests that have been selected from that drawing.

3.

Changed since last Export If checked will only list nests that have bee changed since last exporting
to NC-Pyros.
Click the Options button.

4.

The program exports all nests with all parts inside the plate border to an individual drawing.

Processes, By Color, By Layer NC-Pyros can process by color or layer. Colors or layers can be used to
distinguish between outside, inside, marking, no process, and plate entities.

Ship Plate to Origin Check this option if you want to move the lower left edge of the nest plate to 0,0 in
the exported drawing. NC-Pyros can do this for you automatically. Other nesting software might not be able to
do that.

Explode Polylines For NC software that can not read polylines.

Objects
Only Parts and plate stock - Exports only the nested part, plus the plate edge.

All inside border Export every entity that is inside the nest template border.

Click OK when all settings are selected.

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Nesting Menu 293

Import from NC-Pyros

Menu:

Nesting / Import from NC-Pyros

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLINSTPYRO

Navigator:

None

Imports DXF files created by NC-Pyros, containing cutting paths for the NC-cutting machine. Use this function to
overlay the nested parts with the actual cutting path.
1. Start the function.
2. In the dialog select the nests to import.

3.
4.
5.

Click OK.
The function import the DXF files into temporary drawings, since AutoCAD 14 can not import a DXF file into
an existing drawing anymore. This might take a while.
The NC-paths are the laid over the nests. CAD-Link automatically moves the paths to the right position to
achieve a perfect match.

The figure below shows the result of this function.

294 Nesting Menu

CADLink98

Standards Menu

Overview
The Standard menu gives access to the function designed to create and manage standard structural parts.

Defining structural standards

Defining structural standards involves the following steps:

Create a new structural standard drawing, using Navigator.

Open the structural standard drawing.

Draft all production geometry as if creating a regular part

Define the part as if creating a regular part. The only exception is the naming. The base of the structural
standard is the name of the drawing. Add -$$$ to it. $$$ means that the numbering will be 001, 002 and so
on. Use more or less $ signs if you like.

CADLink98

Standards Menu 295

Structural Standards
Structural standards are generally made from plate stock, and are usually brackets. However, you could also
generate structural standards from profile stock.

The figure above displays a typical bracket. Observe the point at the lower left of the bracket. This is the origin (0,0)
in the structural standard drawing. The bracket will be inserted with the origin at the cursor position. You will
generally choose a location as the origin that is important for the placement of the bracket. For example, if the
bracket would always overlap 25mm onto stiffeners, then you could choose a location 25mm into the bracket as the
origin location.
When defining a standard part, CAD-Link will use the name of the drawing as the base of the standard name. You
then place a number 0f $ signs behind the base name. CAD-Link will replace the $ signs later with numbers,
such as 001.
Note: Do not actually insert a point at the origin.

Navigator / New Structural Tab

Menu:

None

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

None

Navigator:

Standard / New Structural

296 Standards Menu

CADLink98

Create a new drawing for a structural standard.

1. Start the command.
2. In the New Drawing dialog enter a name for the new standard. Click OK.
Note: The standard name must be a valid block name and a valid file name. The OK button will be
unavailable when an illegal name is used. Do not use spaces in the standard name.

3.
4.
5.

6.

A New drawing is created.

The Standard dialog is now available.
Design the standard as you would for a regular plate part.

Draw the outside toolpath.

Draw a toolpath inside if any.

Create a solid.

Draw any markings.

Use Standard Define to define the standard part.

The figure below shows a flange standard bracket.

Define Standard
Menu:

Standard / Define

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLCRPART

Navigator:

None

Defines a structural standard, inn the same way as you create a regular part. The only exception are the $ signs at
the end of the part name.

CADLink98

Standards Menu 297

You can only have one single standard part in a standard part drawing. The drawing contents will be inserted as the
standard part into a group drawing.

Rename Standard
Menu:

Standard / Rename

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLSTDPROP

Navigator:

None

Renames a standard part. Type the new name in the dialog. The part and the drawing are renamed. CAD-Link
checks that the new name is unique before renaming the part.

Note: You can not rename a standard part that is used anywhere in a group drawing.

Undefine Standard
Menu:

Standard / Undefine

Toolbar:

None

Command line:

CLUNDEFINESTDPART

Navigator:

None

Undefines a standard part. The part, the drawing and the record in ShipReport are deleted.
Note: You can not rename a standard part that is used anywhere in a group drawing.

298 Standards Menu

CADLink98

Piping Menu

Overview
Under development. Please contact ARL if you would
like to be included in the beta test group.

CADLink98

Piping Menu 299

300 Outfitting Menu

CADLink98

Outfitting Menu

Overview
Under development. Please contact ARL if you would
like to be included in the beta test group.

CADLink98

Outfitting Menu 301

302 Outfitting Menu

CADLink98

Index

2
2D group 15, 2427, 34, 44, 53, 78, 100, 17074,
178, 183, 19596, 2014, 21011, 228, 270

A
Activate All 291
Activate Layer 81, 250
Activate UCS 87, 106, 150, 15556, 175, 244, 264
Add Objects 75, 228
align function 126
Annotating stiffeners 151
Annotation 68, 14956, 225, 26267
assembly master 145
assembly annotations 150
Assembly drawings 1619, 37, 76, 85, 112, 134,
14150, 15760, 177, 18386, 253, 259, 265,
269
Assembly Levels 144, 257
Assembly Report 160
assembly tab 14548, 155, 177
assembly template 144, 184, 25458
Assembly Tree 68, 125, 224, 26365, 282
Assign 75, 93, 132, 138, 14446, 198, 25556, 262,
281, 289

B
Bevel Text 250
BOM 121, 13337, 144, 149, 156, 178, 25556, 272,
281, 292
Break Distance 234
Break Intersection 233

C
CG 9, 28, 59, 118, 15455, 160, 200, 22225, 266
CG Point 155, 266
Change Stock Plate 278
Check Current Group 97, 24748

CADLink98

Check Nests 134

Check Nests and BOM 137, 292
Condensed Assembly Report 160
Condensed Nest Reports 165
Construction Unit 8, 13, 76, 125, 272, 282
copy 39, 57, 7678, 81, 93, 1023, 111, 154, 173,
18891, 251, 264
Copy Annotation 154, 264
Copy Geometry to Layer 76, 251
Copying parts 102
Create Annotation 263
curved profile 93
Curved stiffener 218
Cutout 5051, 23639

D
Database 8, 1214, 4950, 60, 1012, 133, 137, 170,
188, 19192, 199, 204, 229, 23739, 261
Deactivate 228, 251
Deactivate Layer 251
deck girder 43, 76, 7985, 93
Define Part 40, 66, 69, 73, 222, 230
Delete Nest 278
Detailed Assembly Report 161
Detailed nest reports 166

E
Edit Properties 230
Edit Stiffener 22022
Endcut 163, 214, 22122, 264
Endcut Stiffener 221
exchange drawings 35
Export 20, 35, 139, 17073, 186, 282, 29293
export to NC-Pyros 293
Extended Data 252

F
Face Plate 83, 21113
Faceplate 9, 2833, 43, 67, 76, 7984, 99102, 162,
21112, 22224, 226
Faceplate parts 3033
far side 48, 70, 92, 209, 225
flange 8991, 215, 21822, 225, 297
Flange Plate 218
flat bar 3033, 6067, 152, 211
Flip UCS 157, 267

H
Hide 24, 58, 94, 157, 203, 24849, 291

Index 303

I
Import 17, 115, 191, 29294
Insert Group 269
Insert Keywords 184, 291
Insert Orientation Icon 244
Insert Part 270, 282
Insert Standard 40, 109, 232
Insert Stiffener 236, 240
Insert Stiffener Cutout 236
Inserting Parts 12426, 283
interference 17, 37, 59, 11417, 16970, 17781,
200, 222
interference tab 17, 115, 180
Inverse bending 163, 218

K
keymap 144, 149, 25558
Keywords 122, 135, 144, 148, 178, 18485, 24344,
249, 255, 261, 273, 277, 291

Nesting Preparation 120, 272

Nesting Terminology 121, 272
nesting toolbar 120, 274
neutral axis 218, 227
New Remnant 280
new assembly 177, 260
New Face Plate 211
new nest 123, 176, 27577
New Plate 210
New Project 8, 55, 18892
New Stiffener 213, 216
New Stock 238, 278
New Unit 19091

O
OOP 108, 231
Open Master 178, 258
Orientation Icon 71, 85, 92, 9697, 186, 24344, 249,
266
outfit tab 18, 181
Outfitting 18, 40, 59, 115, 167, 301

L
List Parts 289
List Parts 137, 228
longitudinal girder 19, 24, 41, 48, 7879, 99, 115

M
Mark Endcuts 264
mark far side 92, 225
Mark Group 45, 77, 87, 235
Mark Group Intersections 45, 235
Mark Group with Drawings 235
Mark Wit OOP Text 231
Master 16, 14445, 17780, 253, 25759
Material 50, 13336, 239
Mirror 15, 95, 110, 120, 125, 13335, 157, 174, 225,
23032, 267, 28283
Mirror Part 96, 23032
Model Space 150, 15557, 222
Move & Rotate 131, 286
move and rotate 131, 286
Move UCS 267

N
Navigator 12, 43, 100, 105, 115, 122, 144, 170, 208,
254, 269, 271, 295
NC-Pyros 31, 5455, 72, 135, 13940, 209, 28082,
29193
nest check 13435, 231
Nest Reports 160, 16466, 282
nest tab 16, 34, 122, 175, 274
Nesting colors 121, 272, 278

304 Index

P
paperspace 144, 14950, 15657, 184, 255
part definition 39, 72, 76, 103, 167
part list dialog 6970, 192
part orientation icon 71, 85, 92, 9697
Piecemark 2831, 68, 73, 84, 9395, 1016, 113,
141, 199, 222, 22531, 263, 280
Piping 17, 59, 115, 143, 16770, 181, 246, 299
piping tab 18, 182
planar group drawing 9, 14, 2427, 97, 17274, 194
96, 200203
Plate parts 29, 70, 96, 124, 143, 150, 15556, 186,
227, 243
plate solid 5964, 73, 77, 82, 89, 94, 99, 21013,
21618, 223
Plate Solids 59, 211, 246
plate stock 29, 59, 70, 83, 90, 120, 123, 173, 179,
22224, 278, 293, 296
Plot 122, 138, 144, 157, 273, 27982
Plot Nest 279
Process 55, 7072, 75, 209, 22627
Profile Library 237
Profile Report 161
Profiles & Parts Library 49

Q
Quick 7, 117, 119, 153, 192, 200, 264
Quick Annotation 153, 264

CADLink98

R
Reactivate 199, 228
Register Unit 13, 170
Reinsert 284
Remnant 121, 140, 272, 27880
Remnants 121, 135, 140, 176, 190, 272, 27880
Remove Vertices below Tolerance 242
Rename 8, 278, 298
Rename Nest 278
Rename Standard 298
Repair 112
Replicate to other Groups 52, 57, 240
Rotate Shortest Dimension 288

S
Scallop 4647, 87, 92, 12728, 24142, 288
Select Process 209
shading 1, 2326, 59, 74
Short Report 160
Show Extended Data 252
skewed 26, 4145, 85, 115, 235, 245
SLD 21, 2533, 91, 174, 19798, 210, 222
Slide Along 130, 284
slide function 12931, 284
snap function 127, 132, 287
Standard Parts Reports 163
standards 50, 105, 136, 167, 179, 18889, 232, 237,
239, 266, 295
Stiffener Report 143
Stock Sizes 278
Stocks 9, 2931, 4950, 59, 6470, 76, 82, 8995,
99100, 11925, 135, 159, 161, 173, 176, 179,
199, 21016, 22224, 23739, 27278, 282,
293, 296
Structural Standards 105, 167, 179, 295
system font 11

Unhide All 94, 249

unit 78, 1214, 2031, 3741, 46, 50, 5759, 67, 74,
11215, 121, 125, 144, 16065, 16973, 180,
190, 19596, 201, 23941, 248, 25558, 272,
282
Unnest 284
Unused Geometry 97, 103, 11314, 2013, 24748
Update Master 145, 178, 257
Update Nests 292
User Icon 186, 266

V
viewport 144, 150, 15557, 184, 25558
Visibility 20, 2425, 58, 74, 145, 177, 19596, 261,
29091
visibility toolbar 20

W
workshop 19, 143, 16770, 183, 269
workshop tab 19, 183

X
XREF 78, 80, 10711, 178, 195, 24647
Xref Groups 78, 10911, 246

T
Template 19, 35, 71, 121, 135, 144, 170, 178, 183
91, 237, 243, 25456, 27273, 277, 293
thickness throw 9, 45, 7173, 77, 8687, 112, 173
75, 225
throw line 70
throw symbol 45, 235
toolpath 31, 5459, 73, 77, 8289, 92, 100, 106,
131, 199, 2089, 21926, 233, 285, 297

U
UCS 15, 32, 8687, 1068, 112, 15051, 15557,
173, 194, 216, 23135, 24445, 26367
Un-assign 290
Undefine Standard 298

CADLink98

Index 305

306 Index

CADLink98