Fully Exploiting Technology

     The last few decades have seen a revolution in design and manufacturing technology, much of which is fairly readily available to small businesses. This would include the obvious CADD programming (Computer Assisted Design and Drafting), and the ability to go straight from the design-by-computer stage to cutting parts (through CNC, Computer Numerical Control technology). It is the intent and planned business model of Jon Persson Designs to make full use of these technologies, in ways which will make designs simpler and more economical to build. 

     This process will include the digitizing of existing and new designs, which is the (binary) process by which drawings are plotted on computers in a format that allows individual pieces to be cut by CNC machines. This will naturally open up a wide range of possibilities for the production of boat parts and boats, including materials options, precision interlocking parts and set-up jigs, the scaling up or down of designs, and so on. Many concepts of structure and layout are feasible, to which a great deal of thought and conceptualizing has already been dedicated. 

     In developing a boat design, including all of the necessary components, to a point that may be considered "fully tooled and processed," it is best to start by considering the basic steps required to build the boat once the design and tooling are completed.Generally, for boats that meet the fully-tooled criteria, I prefer to divide the building process into four segments:


     1) Acquisition of all materials, hardware, parts, components, etc. This means having a detailed and dimensioned list of all of the above, which allows for everything needed to be ordered, assembled, and stored on site. It is, of course, an ideal to be strived for in one-off boatbuilding.


     2) Next, all parts that can be are cut out to final shape, milled to final dimension, etc. This can be accomplished with greater accuracy and completeness depending on the sophistication of tooling and processes in place: CNC cut parts are of course the most accurate and economically cut, while pieces needing final fitting can best be cut to rough dimension when an accurate manifest is available.


     3) And next, assemble all of the pieces. This is best accomplished with a well thought out chronology of steps, written in detail, supported by drawings and photographs/videos. Naturally, the level of experience possessed by the builder will weigh heavily on the amount of this information that need be included; however, even the most experienced builder appreciates the luxury of detailed plans and instructions.


     4) And finally, there is the finishing out of a boat. This includes the final shaping and fairing of  trim, filling and fairing of fastener holes, fiberglass weave, etc., followed by sealing, priming, and final painting. I would include installation of hardware, lights, and fittings as part of the "finishing out" of the boat. This is the always the busiest time in a boatbuilding project, but also the most rewarding short of using the boat.


     I will continue with this stream of thought with my next posting.