Italian luxury yacht builders use Altair’s advanced integrated engineering framework to optimize new composite material for their designs. - Altair Engineering, a leading global provider of technology and services that strengthen client innovation and decision-making, announced today that Ferretti Group, the Italian-based international group of yacht builders, has chosen Altair’s HyperWorks computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology to optimize the structure of new composite materials. HyperWorks’ open, programmable engineering framework is a comprehensive set of technologically advanced solutions that streamline the product development process. The tools also improve product quality, increase productivity, reduce time to market and enable a business to outperform the competition. Ferretti Group regards quality and technological innovation as important forces in driving production. The yachts combine high performance with advanced design, ergonomics, form and function. More than 60 specialists supervise the progress of each single yacht from design to construction, and all stages of planning and testing are carried out using leading-edge computer technology. Ferretti Group implements a virtual development process to ensure that their yachts will be superior in terms of performance and technology. "We chose the HyperWorks engineering framework to optimize our development process and our material," said Andrea Crucianelli, CAE manager at the Engineering Division of the Ferretti Group. "Quality, form, function and security are major goals at Ferretti Group in building new yachts. It is important that we combine our handcrafting work with design and modern simulation technologies to reach those goals. "Today, building outstanding boats such as ours, it is not enough to simply provide standard marine architecture," he continued. "We need to find a perfect balance between different parameters and requirements. Quality is a major issue of marine engineering, but cruising performance, safety, comfort, and the space and brightness of the interiors are also critical. Furthermore, we have to guarantee the standard of materials and appearance, and the functional efficiency of the boat. The integrated CAE framework from Altair helps us to decide on and optimize the composite material we need in order to meet all the listed requirements in yacht building, with the opportunity of fast-changing the parameters." "I am proud that a respected yacht builder such as Ferretti Group has chosen Altair HyperWorks to develop and construct their boats," said Cosimo Panetta, managing director of Altair Italy. "Ferretti Group builds yachts that combine the pleasure of cruising with a skilled understanding of the sea and modern materials, technology and engineering skills. Yacht builders produce only a limited number of one design, and can’t afford to optimize the material on real prototypes. HyperWorks will meet their demands for constant innovation and fast product development cycles, as well as ensure high product quality."