When I first came to development, we used to develop everything just using manual skills, manual labor.
We'd have a 2D drawing from our design team which was one designer at the time.
Obviously that's moved on from there to now a very comprehensive, almost full 3D model that generates CAD data.
From the time I started in development, it's massively changed, it's a 360-degree turnaround really.
The tools we depend on most are Simcenter NX and obviously Teamcenter because of the version control etc.
and we can see where we've come from and where we want to aim to
if we generate views that craftsmen are capable of understanding, of seeing.
So it's important to present that information to them in a way that they can have an effect,
and they do. We're currently market leaders, and that's down to those guys having an input,
down to our designers pushing the envelope, and it's a great place to be.
The core advantages of Teamcenter and Simcenter NX, are that we can simulate and build the boat
in 3D before we start, so we're making the mistakes in the virtual world, not in the real world
and we're getting solutions to problems that have been longstanding in the marine industry.
We typically start with looking at the performance of the boat, we try to forecast the NVH performance,
then set up some targets and work towards those targets.
In development, we look at a database of the metrics available to us, and we say yes this is the level of performance
we want to have for a particular boat. Then we do a superextensive test period, every one of those boats stays in
test for a minimum of 5 weeks, for the biggest boats it's a few months sometimes.
Every Princess boat is comprehensively tested, and from my side, I use tools like Simcenter Testlab and
Simcenter SCADAS hardware to get the most information available.
Michal's been with us doing NVH for us for years now, and has taken us from nothing to quite an impressive range of data
that we're gathering. We're using that throughout the range to understand how the structure affects the vibration,
the noise that you hear, but NVH will set the benchmark for structure, will set the benchmark for our customer's
experience on the boat, because if you're drinking a gin and tonic at 25 knots, if you can get the NVH right,
get it to the correct standard, you're now enjoying your gin and tonic at a nice smooth level pace,
without hearing the noise of diesel engines or structural airborne noise around you.
In the past, we've relied on human nature, ears, eyes, to try and self-diagnose it.
Sometimes, a hit-and-miss formula, changing parts when they don't need to be changed, the data that Michal collates
can narrow that down to an engine part, or a shaft's part, or a part of the boat that we can nail down and change specifically,
rather than scattergun an attempt.
We've developed our version of the digital twin on our M Class yachts, which is going to get better as time goes on,
and as we grow into the new technology, that will also backfill through the rest of the range,
and of course, as we develop new products, it will become part of the process,
and will happen in a natural way over a period of time.