A Digital Mock-up System for Construction of Product Information Model in Shipbuilding Process

As a significantly complicated manufacturing process, shipbuilding requires a sophisticated product information model to achieve the seamless flow of product information. A digital mock-up system (DMU) that builds a prototype in a computer has been proposed for consistent quality control. The DMU system can simulate models and assemblies on-the-fly as well as project real-world manufacturability without the expense and time required to make a physical mock-up. However, establishing a DMU system that can facilitate the use of product information is not easy. Preparing useful product information is costly and requires skilled computer engineers. It is thus often infeasible, especially in small and medium-sized shipyards. This paper describes the development of an affordable DMU system. Newly emerged technologies such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Unified Modeling Language (UML), and virtual reality (VR) are utilized to set up a practical DMU system. The DMU system developed has been applied to various commercial ships to verify its functionality and practicability.