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Australia, NZ & South Africa |
Bruce Roberts Yacht Design |
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![Bruce[2].jpg (4158 bytes)](NEW-IMAGES\Bruce%5B2%5D.jpg)
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What are CUTTING FILES & Assembly PLANS ? We offer "Cutting files and
Plans" for most of our kit boats. What does this mean ? EMAIL FROM
CUTTING FILE CUSTOMER: |
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OPTION 1. Cutting files, assembly drawings, engineering plans. This option allows you to have the kit cut locally and this may be less expensive than a kit delivered from ourselves. Your location & other factors such the ability of the local cutting shop to undertake the bending and forming of parts that are part of the kit will have a bearing on your decision if a cutting files or option 2 ( KIT ) are best for you….See CUTTING FILES EXPLAINED BELOW OPTION 2. Pre-cut KIT delivered to your location. This is our recommended choice of the low cost options as you will know that all the kit parts a perfectly cut and marked. All the formed and bent parts will have a perfect fit and we guarantee the kit to be complete and perfect in every way…. See KIT ASSEMBLY EXPLAINED OPTION 3. Assembled Hull, Deck, Superstructure, Bulkheads, Engine beds & Rudder. This option will suit those that want to get off the mark as quickly as possible and still maintain a reasonable initial outlay at this stage. The H, D & S will be full prime-coated both inside and outside and all welds will be ground and touched ready for final painting. This option is ideal if you are located in an area where we have a recommended builder available to assemble the kit on your behalf. OPTION 4. Hull, deck and superstructure with engine, steering, rudder and steering gear all fully installed and tested. Other items such as windows, ballast, bow and or stern thrusters, cabin soles etc. may be included in this package at your request. OPTION 5. Turn key boat … This is a compete boat ready for you to take delivery and either sail or motor away on your first cruise. A nice option if you can afford it. |
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Above is a set of parts cut and laid out as they will be assembled into your hull deck and superstructure.
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This is the type of machine your local cutting shop will use to cut out your kit. |
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CUTTING FILES LIST OF DRAWINGS ETC. CUTTING FILES CAN BE NESTED TO A VARIETY OF SHEET SIZES.
Regards sheet sizes used to nest the cutting files. We are prepared to re-nest the parts on to smaller or larger or different size plates but the following should be kept in mind.
If the kits is cut from plates that are too small; a width of say 1200 mm / 4 ft is considered too narrow and for best results the plates should be at least 1.8 m / 6ft wide. Due to the enormous amount of extra welding involved, the chances of having a perfectly fair hull deck and superstructure will be greatly reduced if your kit is cut from narrow plates. The larger the sheet sizes used to cut the kits ... the smaller number of hull and deck plates ... the fairer the hull. We have cut over 200 kits for sail and power boats ranging in size from 34 ft / 10.4 m to 85 ft / 26 m and in all cases the resulting plates avoided excessive welding and were easily handled using the minimum equipment.
In our cutting shops we use 6000 mm x 2000 / 19 ft 6 in x 6 ft - 6 in size sheets and occasionally 8000 mm x 2000 mm / 26 ft 3 ins x 6 ft - 6 in sized plate. We can of course re-nest these parts to shorter plates ( more cutting and welding ) but we feel that the width of the plates is even more important ... any plate under 2000 mm / 6 ft - 6 in in width will mean some hull plates have to be cut lengthwise; not recommended because of excessive welding which will adversely effect the final appearance of the hull.
If the larger plates cost more then the extra expense is justified when considering the reasons outlined above.
If in doubt, let us know what plate sizes are available locally, try more than one supplier for quotes and most importantly, DO try and obtain pre-shot blasted and primed plates and profiles.
Finally make sure you get
competitive quotations for both Bruce Roberts and more than one local cutting
shop. The local cutting shop may need 'cutting and marking lengths' as this
governs the cutting machine times for cutting a particular kit, Bruce Roberts
can supply this information. HOWEVER: When we supply the Cutting files or the KIT Study plans on CD we do include all the drawings in .DWF or .PDF format ... PLUS we include a reader so you CAN view all the drawings on your computer PLUS you can print them out on the PRINTER attached to YOUR computer. The Various calculations are on XL files so you
would need access to MS-XL to read these files or if necessary you have
prints made by ourselves or your local print center. SHEET 1AA ….Accommodation profile and accommodation plan with notes on arrangements. SHEET 1BB ….Alternative accommodation plan with
Accommodation profile and accommodation plan with notes on arrangements. SHEET 1AAAA….Detailed accommodation plan in both
plan and profile with measurements for the interior joinery etc. SHEET 3….Engine installation details including
installation of fuel tanks, all shown in plan, profile and sectional view.
Many explanatory notes included on this sheet. SHEET 5…. Details of chain plate construction,
sizes, hole sizes for attaching correct size rigging screws, and instructions
for cutting to correct dimensions etc. Suggested method of installing chain
plates. SHEET 2A 02 (3) Shows each frame separately with measurements and layout of the numbered parts that go towards assembling each frame. SHEET 2A 02 (6) Complete welding schedule for all
parts of the boat. Each weld is shown in graphic form so all can
understand the exact weld required. 1 set of kit assembly photographs (.jpg) format Cut parts list with numbers The STUDY PLANS show most of the above sheets of
drawings but do not include cutting files! The main steps in preparing a new design for a boat that is destined to be cut out by a computerized plasma-oxygen cutter is as follows. Firstly it is usually the customer who gets the process started by contacting the designer with a brief outline of what they have in mind. Further correspondence quickly establishes the clients ‘wish list’. The list usually includes things such as type and style of boat, intended usage, overall length and beam. Draft limitations should be specified at this stage. Accommodation requirements, number of regular crew as
opposed to occasional guests should be stated. Speed requirements are
important as are the clients attitude to fuel costs. This list may need some
refining as some elements may conflict one with the other. It is part of the
designers brief to ensure that the client ends up with a boat that meets most
if not all their desires and overall requirements. So far the process is very similar to what would be
followed no matter from which material or building method was to be used to
construct the vessel. The next step is that the client and designer enter into a
(in our own case) simple agreement where the designer agrees to prepare
preliminary plans for the proposed vessel for a reasonable (a relative term!)
fee. In our office we consider that the lines plan, general arrangement
drawings consisting of exterior profile, deck plan, accommodation profile and
plan views plus sufficient calculations to ensure that the final design can meet
the clients requirements, constitutes a ‘Preliminary plan’. Before a preliminary plan can be produced it is necessary
to produce a 3D computer generated model of at least the hull of the vessel.
Once the preliminary plans are completed and both the designer and the client
are satisfied with the overall concept and layout of the vessel then we can
proceed to preparing the complete plans for the vessel. For the design to move forward it is now necessary to
complete the 3D computer model that would at this stage need to include all
items such as hull including transom, keel and rudder, all decks, cockpits,
complete superstructure, main interior bulkheads and any other features such
as Flybridge, radar arch, exhaust stack. Special items such as transom steps
and other similar features are all included in this model. Depending on
the complexity of the design, this process can take between 500 and 600
design man hours. From this model all of the salient hydrostatics such as
detailed weight calculations to enable material requirements and final
displacement to be calculated. This allows stability calculations to be made
at this time. During this process fine-tuning of the model can be undertaken
to make sure that the finished vessel will meet all the design requirements. Once the 3D model is completed and checked, then copies of
this model are provided to the specialized designers who prepare the final
model that includes all the scantlings such as transverse and longditunal
framing, sole bearers, deck beams and engine beds. This same team then
separate out all the parts for the frames, stringers, engine beds, bulkheads,
hull, deck and superstructure plating etc., and add notches to the frames and
bulkheads before ‘nesting’ the parts on plates. The design team put the correct number on each item and
also reference lines are drawn on each part to represent frame locations etc.
The purpose of the numbers is to identify each part and the lines are used
during the assembly process to locate frames and other structural members. Next it is
necessary to work out a ‘path’ for the computerized plasma-oxygen cutting
machine. The ‘path’ is the point at which the cutter enters the plate and
starts to cut the parts. In addition, the path has to determine which part is
cut next and so forth. This is all necessary so that the parts are cut in the
correct order. For instance, if a window has to be cut from a cabin side,
then the window aperture must be cut before the larger cabin side part is cut
otherwise any movement in the cabin side after cutting could cause the window
to be cut in an incorrect location. ASSEMBLY PLANS: The assembly plans we supply with the CUTTING FILES or KITS cover several sheets of drawings and include all the information that your will need to assemble you kit. Also included are several sheets of engineering drawings showing lay-out of your engine room, exhaust system, steering system, fuel and water thanks etc. Depending on the complexity of the design, the process from design to cutting files and plans can take between 500 and 600 design man hours. |
Copyright (c) 1997