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CAD/CAM DESIGN that allows users to de? ne radial dis- as well, and therefore the industry is designs. That’s because when it comes tributions of parameters from Hy- seeing a new generation of improved to propellers, one size does not ? t all. droComp’s library propellers, from user-generated distribution ? les, or by entering the data directly into the Adam Kaplan is a mechanical engineering graduate of the University of New Hampshire and project engineer at sections spreadsheet. The Builder in-

HydroComp, Inc. He leads the development of new versions of cludes new options, including radial

PropExpert and PropCad software.” Reach him at: control of leading and trailing edge [email protected] / www.hydrocompinc.com thickness, chordwise position of maxi- mum thickness for segmental-type sec- tions, and a CAD-friendly tip correc- tion. These added settings, and others, give PropCad users an unprecedented level of control in their designs.

Updated Interface, 3030 E. Pershing St.

Enhanced User Experience

Appleton, WI 54911 USA

Propellers can be as much as 30 years old – but propeller design soft- [email protected] ware should not be. Compatible with www.appletonmarine.com the latest versions of Windows, the

Phone: (920) 738-5432 new PropCad includes substantial de- velopment of data entry and visualiza-

Fax: (920) 738-5435 tion metrics. As a result, PropCad has moved to a table-driven interface that allows users to quickly enter and modi- fy data in their designs. The content of the interface has been consolidated so that principle dimensions, radial distri- butions, and 2D section offsets are now all visible on the main screen. A new display mode enables graphing of any radial distribution, such as chord, skew, or pitch angle. One-click graphing al- lows quick visualization of blade out- lines, thickness pro? les, and 2D sec- tion offsets. The 3D window includes hardware-accelerated anti-aliasing, smoothed 3D renders, new visualiza- tion modes, and even video recording.

Today, manufacturers are moving faster from new designs to ? nished products with PropCad’s streamlined

CAD/CAM exports, including up- dated program speci? c transfer ? les and general purpose IGES output.

PropCad also supports reverse-engi- neering of existing propeller designs 31 www.marinelink.com MN