As if from the pages of some Sci-Fi novel, Rapid Marine Prototype has made a tidal splash in the world of marine engineering and yacht design. By employing some of the most sophisticated prototype technologies from both the automotive and aerospace industry, RMP has managed to move a Rodger Martin Design, the Derecktor 66 fast cruising yacht, from concept to exact physical model faster then you can say “come about”!

Rodger Martin Founder and owner of Rodger Martin Yacht Designs in Newport, RI explored RMP’s capabilities to deliver an accurate product, at a palatable expense when he decided to take the next step and move the Derecktor 66 from a virtual model on the computer screen to a physical model. The aggregates of this decision can be found in the dollars saved by decreasing his concept to model cycle time. With an accurate model in his hands he can streamline the creative process and eliminate costly engineering changes all the way to the shop floor.

Rapid Prototyping is a technology that has been developing for the past decade and has managed to become the standard by which almost every automotive and aerospace company proves out it’s designs, going from concept to model in a controlled proven environment. Rapid Prototyping, “RP”, has also served designers and engineers in various other industries including product design, reverse engineering, jewelry, architecture, medical and mechanical design for years.

Rapid Marine Prototype LLC has dedicated itself to solely serve the prototype needs of the marine industry.

Rapid Marine Prototype has a very simple business philosophy. “Build it Fast and Build it Accurate”. By accepting almost every 3D CAD file, Rapid Marine Prototype can turn a design into a physical product faster then you could have ever imagined. 2D drawings and 3D renderings are effective visual aids during the development of a design, yet a physical model can be an invaluable tool. A physical model early in the design process allows designers, engineers and their clients to study form, proportions and style early in a design’s development, effectively shortening the time through the design spiral. Rapid Prototyping can also be used to design and develop custom parts for on board systems and hardware.

This is the tool that RMP is bringing to yacht designers.

The idea of introducing rapid prototyping technology to yacht designers was a seemingly natural conclusion for RMP founders, Dan Clarke and Don O’Brien. Acknowledging their individual strengths and the marine industries need to have a dedicated Rapid Prototyping service Clarke and O’Brien have teamed forces to serve the marine industry like nobody else. Clarke is a graduate of the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Yacht Design in Kennebunkport, ME and has a practical knowledge of yacht design and all that it takes to construct a worthy vessel and has gained valuable hands on experience while working for respected Rhode Island yacht builder Eric Goetz Custom Boats. O’Brien is a yachting enthusiast and seasoned Rapid Prototyping veteran who has experience working for the global leader in Rapid Prototyping software and has presented prototyping software solutions to hundreds of prototyping companies throughout North and South America. He has also recently served as a Rapid Prototyping industry advisor for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

After the Landing School, Clarke decided to go back to work for a custom boatbuilder as opposed to going to work right away for a yacht designer. In managing a small design and engineering department for a custom boat builder Dan understands the importance of being the direct link in the process where the yacht design is realized on the shop floor.

“I have a deep interest in design and manufacturing. When I came across the rapid prototyping world, I was completely enthralled by the technology. I started reading and talking to as many people as I could in the RP industry and was able to gain hands on experience with the help and support of the Brown University Materials Research Facility.”

Clarke took his idea to Rodger Martin of Rodger Martin Yacht Design. Rodger is a very intuitive designer. In addition to being a talented yacht designer, he is also an automotive enthusiast and is open to new ideas and technologies. A friend of Clarke’s and fellow Landing School graduate, Ross Weene, works with Rodger Martin and a meeting was arranged to discuss the preliminary design of a 66′ sailing yacht for Derecktor Shipyard. This was to be RMP’s first project.

Rodger thought it was a great idea and was excited about the project. “I wanted to take the computer rendering we had developed to the next level; a physical model. I have found, over & over again, that to meet a potential client with a physical model on the table in front of you is the catalyst to advancing a design project to the full design & construction stage. We had last shown the client early 3D renderings and Preliminary Drawings. Something was needed for us, as designers, to consolidate our interpretation of the client’s original brief so that we could push the project to the next stage with confidence. After speaking to RMP’s Dan Clarke, it was clear that ‘printing’ our computer model in 3D was going to give us the two things we needed: 1. A finely detailed exact representation of our visualization, (unlike a hand-built model or one hand-sanded from a milling-machine model), and, 2. We needed it yesterday!”

The drawings and the renderings of the 66′ cruising yacht were reviewed. The 2D CAD drawings had made it through the recent design iterations, but the 3D model had not. Dan and Ross worked together to update the 3D model to reflect the drawings that were presented to the client.

The Derecktor 66’s 3D CAD model that was a composite model, that is the hull was created with a hull development program called Multisurf and then imported into Rhino, a 3D surface modeler where the rest of the geometry from the deck up was created. This is actually a very common method used by designers, where the hull is developed in a dedicated yacht design software package and then imported into another program such as Rhino, Pro E or another 3D CAD program to complete the rest of the styling.

When the Derecktor 66’s 3D model was completed, it was time to export the model’s geometry as an STL file for rapid prototyping. As mentioned earlier, most 3D CAD programs will export geometry as an STL file; however, the integrity of the data varies with each program. Some do it better than others, yet, depending on the complexity of the model, no matter which programs were used, most STL files require some degree of healing.

Rapid Marine Prototype was able to resolve and heal the file in less then 24 hours and 48 hours after that a full scale model of the Derecktor 66 was produced.

Two models of the Derecktor 66 were prototyped in less than a week. RMP kept one model and the other was delivered to Rodger Martin. The model was painted and finished with standing rigging and made its debut in December at The Newport Shipyard’s Holiday Party hosted by Roger Martin Yacht Designs”.

Rapid Marine Prototype has now established itself as a cost effective solution and asset to any yacht or engineering design. Founders Dan Clark and Don O’Brien will be actively introducing their talents and capabilities to the marine industry in the year 2004 and we expect to see many more cutting edge developments from the offices of RMP.