Designing a Nautical Chart Stand

Abstract

This thesis focuses on researching and designing a nautical chart stand, as well as stress testing, analyzing vibrations and topology optimizing the nautical chart stand design. The design was made using SolidWorks® CAD- software, and SolidWorks® was also used in stress testing, vibration analyzing and topology optimizing the nautical chart stand. By running the stress test, vibration analysis and topology optimization all in SolidWorks®, clear results were possible to be obtained from the studies. The material used is Polycarbonate (PC) and the manufacturing method is injection moulding. After designing and stress testing, analyzing vibrations (with a vessel typically vibrating at 12,8- 128,6 Hz) and topology optimizing the part the results were clear. The nautical chart stand has a factor of safety of 105, only the first natural frequency might cause some resonance and a weight loss of 28% was possible to achieve thanks to the topology optimization study. Some improvements could be made for the future, mainly reducing weight even more as there is plenty of room to reduce the thickness of some supports in the design, although at the cost of more possible resonance caused by the second natural frequency. A more lightweight design could suit less extreme use better, for example in smaller vessels operated in lakes or near the coastline where waves are smaller. The original robust version is more suitable for extreme offshore usage, being designed to withstand all possible stresses it might experience.