NAPA Chooses AutoCAD OEM to Deliver World-Leading Structural Drawings

BEND, Oregon — October 31, 2016 — Tech Soft 3D, the global leader in software development tools for engineering creating applications and worldwide distributor of AutoCAD OEM, and NAPA, the leading maritime software, data analysis and services provider, today announced that NAPA Drafting software has been developed using the AutoCAD OEM platform from Autodesk. This allows NAPA Drafting to deliver the market standard in 2D drawing functionality automatically from NAPA 3D databases, enhancing productivity for yards and speeding compliance processes.

NAPA Drafting is also able to automatically generate rich 2D section drawings from the 3D NAPA ship model created in NAPA Steel. The tool can easily and quickly extract the data from the in-progress, or completed, 3D product models and translate it into the 2D drawings required for class approval. This includes automatically importing data such as plate thickness and material or compartment name and purpose, to automatically create the annotations typically used in ship structural drawings. The drawing can then be edited and enriched using AutoCAD’s many drawing tools, including customising all imported annotations. OEM training and toolkit support provided by Tech Soft 3D ensures that NAPA developers and engineers are able to quickly and easily get up to speed on AutoCAD OEM and take advantage of the efficiencies and benefits of the product.

By connecting direct to a user’s NAPA 3D database, drawings can be created or updated at any stage of the structural design process, on demand, and exported as an industry standard .DWG file. It also has a significant advantage in ensuring that each connected 2D section is fully compatible with its neighbours, as they are each drawn from the same, highly-accurate, 3D structural model. Users will also be able to use NAPA Drafting to create specific object drawings, such as for single surfaces like knuckled decks, and expansion drawings for shells and other structures.

Tom Sundell, Chief Portfolio Officer, NAPA, commented: “NAPA has long sought to harness cutting-edge technology to continuously enhance productivity for yards and naval architecture teams. They need to be able to quickly, clearly, and accurately demonstrate the safety and viability of their designs throughout the class approval process. This is what we have succeeded in recently with class software integrations for NAPA Steel and NAPA Statutory Compliance, and it is what we have returned to here to support the automatic creation of accurate, annotated and compatible 2D section drawings. When developing NAPA Drafting, we knew we wanted nothing less than the market standard in 2D drawings. The AutoCAD OEM technology provides this, has improved the speed and efficiency of our development process, and ultimately helps us to deliver a best-in-class experience for our customers. In addition, the support, training and consultancy services we received from our partner, Tech Soft 3D, was critical to our success.”

Rob Maguire, Director, AutoCAD Platform Product Line Group commented: “Given the importance of NAPA software in serving the international shipbuilding industry, we’re delighted our technology will play such a pivotal role in serving this industry. AutoCAD OEM supports NAPA’s goal to create a premier 2D drafting solution that accurately captures the 3D models generated by its suite of market-leading software.”

About Tech Soft 3D Tech Soft 3D is the leading global provider of development tools that help software teams deliver successful applications, as well as the creator of the 3D format that is part of the PDF standard. Tech Soft 3D is also the exclusive reseller of AutoCAD OEM, Inventor OEM, SIEMENS’ Parasolid and MachineWorks’ Polygonica. Established in 1996 and headquartered in Bend, Oregon, Tech Soft 3D also has offices in California, Ohio, France, England and Japan. The company’s toolkit products power nearly 500 unique applications running on hundreds of millions of computers worldwide, while the Tetra4D brand of end-user products are used by many of the top manufacturing and construction firms for converting CAD data into 3D PDF. For more information, visit http://www.techsoft3d.com and http://www.tetra4d.com.

About NAPA In its nearly 30 years of operation, NAPA has become a global leader in software, services and data analysis for the maritime industry; providing best in class data-led solutions for safety, efficiency and productivity in both ship design and operations. NAPA operates globally, with eleven offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas supported by its Helsinki headquarters. To date, NAPA has nearly 400 user organisations for its design solutions and over 2,000 installations onboard vessels. For more information, visit www.napa.fi