See Orca3D at METS in Amsterdam

Orca3D will be demonstrated at METS in Amsterdam, November 17-19. We will be in the stand of our European Master Reseller, Design Systems & Technologies (Stand 04.408, in the French pavilion). We will be joined by representatives from Robert McNeel & Associates (the developers of Rhino) and HydroComp (the developer of the drag prediction library that is used in Orca3D). This is a great opportunity to get an in-depth demonstration of the software, and speak with experts. We always enjoy seeing current users as well as those who are evaluating the software.

Complete information on METS is available at http://www.mets.metstrade.com/mets2009/e/home. We look forward to seeing you there!

Running Orca3D on a Mac

While we haven't done any testing and don't officially support Orca3D on a Mac, there was an interesting post on the Orca3D forum recently by Victor Soto, a Rhino and Orca3D reseller in Peru. He used Sun Microsystems' VirtualBox software to create a virtual XP computer on his Mac, and is running Rhino and Orca3D successfully. Click here to see his post on the forum. A reply to his original post shows a screen capture of the settings that he used.

RhinoMarine announcement

As of September 1st, 2009, Alion Science and Technology has suspended sales, maintenance, and support for RhinoMarine. Click here to view the announcement letter that Alion sent yesterday to their users. As a courtesy to RhinoMarine users, DRS Defense Solutions Advanced Technology Center (ATC) is available to provide limited technical support for RhinoMarine through the end of 2010, as well as replacement Site Keys. Because we won't have access to the RhinoMarine source code, we will not be able to make changes or fixes to the program, and there will surely be some questions that we won't be able to answer. But with our experience in naval architecture and with this type of Rhino plug-in software, we hope to be able to answer most questions. Alion has authorized us to provide replacement Site Keys for existing RhinoMarine users, so if you lose your license due to a hard disk crash, a new computer, etc. we can generate a new Site Key for you. With these resources, you should be able to confidently continue the use of your copy of RhinoMarine.

If you are a user of RhinoMarine, please click here for information on technical support and discounted pricing on Orca3D.

Attend an introductory Orca3D webinar on May 21st and save 20%!

We will be holding an introductory webinar entitled "Extending Rhino's capabilities for the naval architect" on Thursday, May 21st at 0900 Eastern Daylight Time (1300 UTC, 1500 Central European Time). The webinar will feature a live presentation of the four functional areas of Orca3D: Hull Design & Fairing, Intact Hydrostatics & Stability, Resistance & Power Prediction, and Weight & Cost Tracking, and will last for approximately 40 minutes.

Attendees will receive a coupon code good for a 20% discount on Orca3D purchases made within 30 days of the webinar. To register for the webinar, visit the webinar page on our website, where you'll also find links to recorded versions of previous webinars: http://www.orca3d.com/support/support_webinars.htm

See you there!

Interesting capsize and flotation study using Orca3D

Scott Graham of Graham Marine, Inc. is restoring a wooden Lightning class sailboat, and wanted to look at various options for adding flotation to make it easier to recover from a capsize. After building a detailed model in Rhino that accounts for the thickness of all of the parts, he looked at adding watertight bulkheads, airbags in various locations, and foam under the gunwales. Using Orca3D, he computed righting arm curves that include the effect of the crew and the buoyant mast for each configuration. Click here to see his results, as presented on the Lightning Class website.

Webinar "Speed/Power Analysis with Orca3D" available on Orca3D.com

Webinar "Speed/Power Analysis with Orca3D" available on Orca3D.com

We've added a webinar to our website, entitled "Speed/Power Analysis with Orca3D". This 30-minute recording of a recent live presentation provides background on the resistance methods in Orca3D, and demonstrates their use. Click here to go to the webinar page on Orca3D.com.

Webinar "Extending Rhino's capabilities for the naval architect" available on Orca3D.com

We've added a webinar to our website, entitled "Extending Rhino's capabilities for the naval architect". This 35-minute recording of a recent live presentation demonstrates the main features of each of the four functional areas of Orca3D: Hull Design & Fairing, Intact Hydrostatics & Stability, Resistance & Power Prediction, and Weight & Cost Tracking. Click here to go to the webinar page on Orca3D.com.