Autostructure & Autoship Pro Testimonial
By Bruce Cope, Naval Architect – Cope Aluminum Boats & Design
“I purchased Autostructure (internal structural design) in 2004 and after many years of using Autostructure in conjunction with Autoship Pro (hull design), I can still say that it’s invaluable in my daily operations producing medium size aluminum design projects. I’m very pleased with how this program enables me to design and produce cut files with accuracy and speed.
In Autostructure most operations are menu driven, i.e. you put in bulkheads by pulling up the appropriate menu, supplying the information required (location, thickness etc) and ZAP there’s your bulkhead all trimmed to the hull with the appropriate cutouts for any longitudinal, girders etc that you previously put in the hull.
In Autostructure you can use a library of existing shapes to extrude longitudinals or you can draw your own shapes as I do. The big speed advantage that I see in Autostructure is that you don’t have to trim components, you merely specify what you want, and where you want it and the program does the rest.
The ease and speed in which I can put a set of longitudinals and bulkheads into a hull and have them ready to machine cut puts a smile on my face every time.
I have used Autostructure on designs ranging from 10′ Jetboats to a 56′ Twin Diesel yacht. I really appreciate the fact that the editing is done in AutoCAD® because AutoCAD® is one of the most widely used CAD programs and is familiar to most computer draftsmen. It makes the training of new employees quick and easy.
As shown here by drawings of the 26′ Charter Fishing Vessel, it is possible to produce really good isometric drawings using Autostructure and Autoship. This makes it very easy for the builder to visualize how the vessel goes together.
Building metal boats using pre-cut parts is becoming the industry norm. It is so much faster and easier than the old way of hand lofting and hand cutting all the parts that once a builder tries it, he is hooked. The ability to produce CNC ready parts is paramount in my business and Autostructure lets me do this consistently. I’m in constant communication with the boat builders who build to my designs and the feedback from them regarding part fit up is always positive.
Autoship Systems customer support for both Autostructure and Autoship is excellent. Their staff works with me and responds quickly whenever I have a question. Especially important to me is that their team understands boat construction equally as well as their marine design software.”
