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COSMOSWorks helps develop lighter furling system
in half the time
Company
Profurl |
Industry
Marine |
Location
France |
Product Used
COSMOSWorks™ |
Type of Analysis
Linear Static |
More Details
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Profurl's reefing-furling systems
are used on boats from five to 100 meters in length
and for undertakings such as single-handed round-the-world
races, trans-oceanic multi-hull speed records and
both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.
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The Challenge
Reefing-furling systems in their basic
form allow the amount of sail exposed to the wind to be increased or
decreased by rolling the sail - as one would a window blind - round
an aluminum extrusion which turns around the mast-supporting cable,
or stay. The device is designed to be operated by a single member of
the crew, often without leaving the helm, thereby allowing instant maximization
of wind power and permitting a sometimes complex and potentially dangerous
maneuver to be accomplished quickly and in greater safety.
The Solution
Over the past twenty years, the Paris-based organization Profurl
S.A. has been a major manufacturer of these systems. Always at the forefront
of design innovation, Profurl has recently introduced a new system,
called NEC (Nouveaux Emmagasineurs de Croisière, or new generation
of furling systems), which it has produced with the aid of COSMOSWorks.
It produces top grade analysis at a fraction of the cost of traditional
FEA programs and allows virtual testing and optimization through the
entire design cycle, minimizing the need for time-consuming analysis
and costly prototypes.
Summary and Metrics:
- With COSMOS, Profurl was able to test a much lighter material that
could not only hold the mast and be stiff enough to furl the sail
but also be capable of resisting the same very high loads as the other
materials - up to ten tons working load for a 20 meter boat.
- COSMOS helping Profurl produce a better product in approximately
half the time as traditional methods.
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"Normally,
when designing a new product the process is a lengthy, nail-biting
business. We have to test 'for real' all parts of an assembly
and, if one breaks before we expect it to, we have to re-design
the component, have it machined and re-test it. This is especially
tough when competition is fierce and there is so much at stake
in terms of performance and safety. We absolutely had to get
it right. Using COSMOSWorks, it was so much easier."
Marin Clausin, Director of Research and Development
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