2.1 Initialize your GA process

The GA as part of the concept assembly

Your 3D GA model will be a part in your ship concept assembly. This assembly can contain different processes. To generate a General Arrangement model you need to have the following components/input:

• Hull Surface Model
• A GRID part

Depending on your internal creation process you may prefer to start this process with a hull model you should consider then it which stage you want to finalize your model to a hull surface model. We recommend having a hull surface model before you start to generate your Deck Reference Components.

For practical reasons you prefer to collect all your input references in a subassembly. You may also consider any internal naming convention within your organization.

The GRID Part

The GRID part is an important part for your project. It contains several types of datum planes which are representing the frame bar system of your NX Ship Project.

You will need a GRID part in you concept assembly. Each product should have only one GRID part, so you need to ensure that you do not create a second GRID part for this project. You can use Teamcenter search to find an existing GRID part for your project. Also your Project Administrator should be aware about if there is already a GRID part existing.

In case you have an existing GRID part ensure that it contains the concept spreadsheet within its dataset in Teamcenter. You will then add the GRID part to your concept assembly using add component.

In case you do not have a GRID part for this project you will create a new GRID part. See video how to create a GRID part. As an input you will need a concept spreadsheet, you can download a Concept Spreadsheet example here.

If you have decks in this project designed with a camber, a sheer or steps you need to replace the deck datum planes within your GRID part now. Your sheet bodies representing each deck should be located in a component each. They should be located within your Reference-Sub-Assembly.

If your project will have such decks, which are not created so far, you can use either modelling functionality or NX Ship Structure Basic Design functionality to create those. You should ensure as a result that there is one component per Deck within the Reference-Sub-Assembly before you use the Replace Deck Plane With Sheet functionality.

Deck Reference Components

A deck reference component contains a solid body and GRID-Datum planes. NX generates this Reference Component from your Hull Surface Model using defined deck limits. The solid body in this reference part is a linked sectioned body of the Hull Surface model. The GRID datum planes are linked from the GRID part if they are within the defined deck limits.

Each Deck Reference Component represents and provides the boundaries and datum planes for a specific deck. When you work with the GA Model it helps you to see and use only relevant reference objects for a deck. It also helps you to meet the exact shape of the ship for each area and room within your GA.

See the video tutorial to learn how to use the Section Reference Deck Bodies command to generate your Deck Reference Components. To use this command you need to define your deck boundaries within an Excel spreadsheet you can download a Section Spreadsheet example here.

Deck Container Parts

Inside your concept assembly you want to have an assembly which later will represent your 3D-GA model. You can just generate a new assembly component according to your organizations naming convention. To organize your NX ship project deck wise you need to have a component for each deck. As the main duty of this kind of component is to collect data, we will call this a Container Part.

Within the GA Application from Summit you can use the functionality Create Deck Container which will access the section spreadsheet within your GRID part to create all needed Deck Container for your project.