PropCad

2005
User's Guide

HydroComp, Inc.
13 Jenkins Court, Suite 200
Durham, NH 03824 USA
Tel (603)868-3344
Fax (603)868-3366
[email protected]
www.hydrocompinc.com

Use of this product is authorized solely to registered companies and individuals, and is subject to all terms and conditions of
the HydroComp Software License Agreement. No part of this manual, nor the software described herein, may be used,
copied, modified, or transferred in any way, except as expressly provided in the License Agreement or by obtaining written
permission from HydroComp, Inc.

Copyright
Copyright (c) 1984-2005 HydroComp, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trademarks
PropCad is a trademark of HydroComp, Inc.
HydroComp Software License Agreement
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction and Getting Started ......................................................................1-1

1.01 - Installing PropCad ....................................................................................................................................1-1
Program update/upgrade ...........................................................................................................................1-1
Starting up..................................................................................................................................................1-1
1.02 - About Visual CADD ..................................................................................................................................1-2
Chapter 2: Program Operation.............................................................................................2-1
2.01 - Starting a New Project..............................................................................................................................2-1
Approaching the project .............................................................................................................................2-1
Standard design drawing ...........................................................................................................................2-1
Propeller design parameters......................................................................................................................2-2
Section offsets............................................................................................................................................2-3
Launching PropCad ...................................................................................................................................2-4
2.02 - Building a New Design .............................................................................................................................2-5
Set material and strength information ........................................................................................................2-5
Build section data.......................................................................................................................................2-5
Review section data ...................................................................................................................................2-6
Generating the 3D View .............................................................................................................................2-7
Manipulating the 3D View ..........................................................................................................................2-8
Select hub parameters ...............................................................................................................................2-9
Select tip parameters .................................................................................................................................2-9
Saving your design to a file ......................................................................................................................2-10
2.03 - Generating a Standard Propeller Design Drawing .................................................................................2-10
Generating a 2D drawing .........................................................................................................................2-10
Manipulating the CAD View .....................................................................................................................2-11
Adding a border, title block and principal characteristics.........................................................................2-12
Adding text to a drawing...........................................................................................................................2-13
Saving the drawing as a CAD file ............................................................................................................2-14
Printing the drawing .................................................................................................................................2-15
Generating a 3D drawing .........................................................................................................................2-15
2.04 - Preparing Supplemental Reports ...........................................................................................................2-15
Offset tables .............................................................................................................................................2-15
Classification reports................................................................................................................................2-16
2.05 - Modifying a Design .................................................................................................................................2-16
Adding cup to a design.............................................................................................................................2-16
Editing section parameters ......................................................................................................................2-17
Copying and pasting table data ...............................................................................................................2-18
Altering leading and trailing edge radii.....................................................................................................2-18
Adding sections........................................................................................................................................2-19
2.06 - Creating a New Derivative of an Existing Propeller ...............................................................................2-19
Applying "Current" parameters ................................................................................................................2-20
Using the IDF as a "Parent" file ...............................................................................................................2-21
2.07 - Closing Thoughts: Try Everything ..........................................................................................................2-21
Appendix A: References...................................................................................................... A-1
A.01-References ................................................................................................................................................ A-1
Appendix B: Errors and Warnings...................................................................................... B-1
B.01-Error and Warning Messages ................................................................................................................... B-1
PropCad Error Handling............................................................................................................................ B-2
Appendix C: Data Entry Screens ........................................................................................ C-1
C.01 - Main PropCad screen ............................................................................................................................. C-1
C.02 - Materials/strength properties .................................................................................................................. C-2
C.03 - Section Definition .................................................................................................................................... C-3
Buttons ...................................................................................................................................................... C-4
Fields......................................................................................................................................................... C-4
C.04 - Edit Sections ........................................................................................................................................... C-5

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C.05 - PropCad Builder...................................................................................................................................... C-6

Blade geometry ......................................................................................................................................... C-6
Hub/shafting .............................................................................................................................................. C-7
Thickness .................................................................................................................................................. C-8
Camber...................................................................................................................................................... C-8
Cupping ..................................................................................................................................................... C-8
C.06 - Tip Description ........................................................................................................................................ C-9
C.07 - Hub Description ...................................................................................................................................... C-9
C.08 - Elements [2D] ....................................................................................................................................... C-10
C.09 - Border and Title block ........................................................................................................................... C-11
C.10 - Principal Characteristics ....................................................................................................................... C-12
Weight and inertia ................................................................................................................................... C-12
C.11 - Settings ................................................................................................................................................. C-13
Appendix D: Symbols and Abbreviations.......................................................................... D-1
D.01 - Symbols and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... D-1
Sections data symbols .............................................................................................................................. D-1
Report abbreviations ................................................................................................................................. D-1
Appendix E: File Formats.....................................................................................................E-1
E.01 - PropCad Data Files................................................................................................................................. E-1
Version 4 Files (PC4) ................................................................................................................................ E-1
Version 2/3 Files (VCD) ............................................................................................................................ E-1
E.02 - Export Files ............................................................................................................................................. E-1
PropCad Data Files................................................................................................................................... E-1
CAM and Solid Modeling Files .................................................................................................................. E-2
CAD Files .................................................................................................................................................. E-2
Graphics Files ........................................................................................................................................... E-3
E.03 - Import Files.............................................................................................................................................. E-3
E.04 - IDF File Format ....................................................................................................................................... E-3
PROPSECT Entity .................................................................................................................................... E-4
MESH Entity .............................................................................................................................................. E-7
Appendix F: Library Propellers............................................................................................F-1
F.01 - AU.............................................................................................................................................................F-1
F.02 - AU CPP ....................................................................................................................................................F-1
F.03 - B-series ....................................................................................................................................................F-2
F.04 - BB-series ..................................................................................................................................................F-2
F.05 - Gawn ........................................................................................................................................................F-3
F.06 - Kaplan ......................................................................................................................................................F-3
F.07 - SK.............................................................................................................................................................F-4
F.08 - Modified Gawn .........................................................................................................................................F-4
F.09 - Thruster ....................................................................................................................................................F-5
Appendix G: Propeller Cupping.......................................................................................... G-1
G.01 - Small Propeller Cup: A Proposed Geometry Standard and a New Performance Model ....................... G-1
Appendix H: Integration With CAD/CAM Software............................................................ H-1
H.01 - Overview ................................................................................................................................................. H-1
H.02 - Export Via Data Files .............................................................................................................................. H-2
SurfCAM (ASC)......................................................................................................................................... H-2
Mastercam (DOC) ..................................................................................................................................... H-3
AutoCAD DXF (DXF) ................................................................................................................................ H-4
Virtual World VRML (WRL) ....................................................................................................................... H-4
PropCad 3D Geometry (3DB & 3DF)........................................................................................................ H-4
H.03 - Export Via Macro Files............................................................................................................................ H-4
SolidWorks 99+ (SWB) ............................................................................................................................. H-4
Corel Cad (CSC) ....................................................................................................................................... H-5
Rhino 3D (TXT) ......................................................................................................................................... H-5
PowerSHAPE (MAC) ................................................................................................................................ H-5
H.04 - Building a Solid Model in Rhino 3D ........................................................................................................ H-5
Step 1. Reading in the Command Files .................................................................................................... H-5

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Step 2. Add the Root Fillets ...................................................................................................................... H-6

Step 3. Add Fairing to the Fillet Edge ....................................................................................................... H-6
Step 4. Adding Blade Edge Surfaces........................................................................................................ H-6
Step 5. Join All Blade Surfaces................................................................................................................. H-7
Step 6. Copy the Blades ........................................................................................................................... H-7
Step 7. Join Blades to the Hub ................................................................................................................. H-7
Appendix I: Scan Converter ..................................................................................................I-1
I.01 - Overview.....................................................................................................................................................I-1
I.02 - Licensing.....................................................................................................................................................I-1
I.03 - Getting Started ...........................................................................................................................................I-1
Measuring angle..........................................................................................................................................I-1
Measuring axial distance (X or drop) ..........................................................................................................I-2
Radial sets of points....................................................................................................................................I-2
Preparing data.............................................................................................................................................I-2
I.04 - Example......................................................................................................................................................I-2
Running Scan Converter.............................................................................................................................I-2
General data ...............................................................................................................................................I-3
Scan data ....................................................................................................................................................I-4
Section data ................................................................................................................................................I-6
Saving the scan data...................................................................................................................................I-7
Building the design......................................................................................................................................I-7
I.05 - Modifying the Section Data.........................................................................................................................I-7
Setting the pitch plane.................................................................................................................................I-7
Locking the section .....................................................................................................................................I-8
Revising or excluding offsets ......................................................................................................................I-8
Effects of data precision..............................................................................................................................I-8
I.06 - Final Comments .........................................................................................................................................I-8

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iv
Chapter 1: Introduction and Getting Started
HydroComp PropCad is a parametric design/drafting tool for the automatic preparation of 2D
design drawings, 3D views, construction data and CAM file export for marine propellers. This
section will provide information about installing PropCad on your computer, and additional setup
instructions for network licensing.

1.01 - Installing PropCad

Follow the instructions below to install PropCad on your system.

Note: First install the included security key. This will be either a parallel printer port key or a USB
port key. PropCad uses the key (also know as a dongle or lock) as a means of software protection
by insuring that the program will only run on a computer that can access the key. Printer port keys
can be placed on any parallel printer port, and is transparent to printer functions. (If the port is
being used to drive a printer, place the key between the port and the printer cable.) USB keys are
placed into an empty USB port. Refer to the HydroComp License Manager help file that is installed
with PropCad for additional details.

Note: As with all installations, we recommend that you close any virus scanners or other running
applications before installing PropCad. Follow the instructions below to install PropCad on your
computer:

To do: 1. Insert the PropCad installation CD-ROM.

2. If the PropCad installation does not automatically start, click Start | Run.
3. Type d:\setup (where d is the CD drive letter) and press ENTER.
4. If this computer has never run any HydroComp software with a security key,
then run Setup Security Key Driver.
5. Run Update HTML Help Engine only if you find that you cannot open the
PropCad help files.
6. Finally, install PropCad and follow the setup instructions.
7. OPTIONAL - You can also install the Visual CADD CAD program from within the
PropCad installation. (See 1.02 - About Visual CADD).

Program update/upgrade

If you are updating from versions 2 or 3 of PropCad, we suggest that you uninstall the previous
version of PropCad first. It is always good advice to make backups of your design files before
uninstalling any software.

Starting up

If you have not installed PropCad and attached the security key as described above, do so first.
Then follow the instructions listed below:

To do: Click on Start | Programs | HydroComp | PropCad to run PropCad.

1-1
Introduction and Getting Started

You will then see the PropCad main window (as shown in the next chapter). If you see a security
key error message instead, check that the key is fully seated or try placing it on an unused port. If
you see a computer configuration error, then contact HydroComp.

1.02 - About Visual CADD

You have received a copy of Corel Visual CADD v2 with your purchase of PropCad. PropCad uses
certain Visual CADD files for its 2D CAD drawing features. We have purchased and delivered this
copy of Visual CADD for you as a requirement of our license to use these files.

PropCad uses Visual CADD function libraries for the CAD View drawing page. Visual CADD dynamic
link libraries (DLLs) are called from PropCad to create the lines, curves, dimensions and text in the
2D CAD drawing. It also uses Visual CADD library functions to save CAD-related files to disk (e.g.,
VCD or DXF), and to print the CAD drawings.

All of the Visual CADD files that are needed by PropCad are installed with PropCad. We would
recommend that you install the Visual CADD program from the PropCad installation ONLY if wish to
use Visual CADD as a general-purpose CAD tool. The Visual CADD CD-ROM and User's Guide are
included for reference only.

Using Visual CADD as a stand-alone CAD tool

If you install the Visual CADD program during the PropCad setup, please note that you CANNOT
use PropCad and Visual CADD at the same time. Both programs share the same library DLLs and
conflicts will result. You must close PropCad before using Visual CADD, and vice versa.

Visual CADD support

The Visual CADD program is no longer a Corel product, and it is an unsupported product. There are
active Visual CADD users groups on the Internet, however, where you can find answers to many
questions. Of course, HydroComp will support your use of the various functions and features of the
CAD View.

1-2
Chapter 2: Program Operation
The overall arrangement of PropCad is based on an interface of menus, windows, dialogs, data
entry fields, and many other user-oriented features. An example PropCad session will be used to
describe the program's operation and features. Each topic will have an introduction followed by
details of the example.

2.01 - Starting a New Project

You will typically prepare a propeller design by beginning with general information and ending with
detailed geometry specifications. PropCad's main project screen and data entry screens have been
organized to logically follow this path.

Of course, you will not necessarily need to follow all of these steps every time. You may decide to
run PropCad along a completely different path. However, we suggest that you follow this sequence
at least once to become familiar with all of the various features of PropCad.

Approaching the project

A PropCad design is created by defining the parameters that make up the propeller. A drawing is
then prepared to suit your required drawing elements. You will enter or edit items such as section
radii, chord lengths, thickness and section offsets. These data parameters are used to define and
create the various elements that make up the entire design.

A design can be built in PropCad in many ways:

1. Fill in the geometry completely from scratch for a completely custom propeller.
2. Allow PropCad to automatically build a “standard” propeller that meets defined design
objectives.
3. Open an existing PropCad drawing and build a new drawing based on this “template”.
4. Import a data file (IDF file) that contains the design data.
5.

Standard design drawing

Any discussion requires a common language. The common graphical language of propeller design is
the standard design drawing (see the figure below). This drawing is a combination of conventional
orthogonal views (Profile and Transverse Views) and special views that allow us to better define the
propeller geometry (Expanded View and Pitch Distribution). Our example propeller would be
described with the standard propeller drawing shown below.

2-1
Program Operation

Propeller design parameters

Before we talk about building a propeller, let us spend a little time on the "parameters" which make
up a propeller. Think about a PropCad session like baking a cake. Each "parameter" is an
ingredient. You add a certain amount of particular ingredient, mix it up, and you have baked a
propeller. For example, consider the propeller in the graphic to the right. This is a relatively
conventional propeller. Yet it is different from other propellers. Its particular combination of
parameters make it what it is.

Whole propeller parameters

There are three groups of data that we call parameters - parameters for the whole propeller,
parameters for the position of the propeller blade at each radial position (i.e., location from root to
tip), and parameters for the 2D expanded shape of the section (the offsets). The following is a list
of the principal "whole propeller" parameters (with the example propeller value and principal
drawing view shown behind):

Blades
The number of blades of the propeller. [4 blades, Transverse]

Type
Fixed pitch (FPP), controllable pitch (CPP) or nozzle (NOZP) style. [FPP]

Rotation
Right- or Left-handed rotation. Right-handed rotation is clockwise when the propeller
is moving forward. [Right, Transverse]

Prop diameter
The propeller diameter expressed in the selected units. [20 inches, All views]

Nominal pitch
The nominal pitch of the propeller in the selected units. Pitch can vary with radial
position and the nominal pitch is the value declared as the "reference pitch" for the
propeller. [20 inches, All views]

Rake aft
The rake angle of the blade in degrees. This is the angle found between the
generating line GL (perpendicular to the propeller axis) and rake line RL (the straight
line drawn from the propeller blade axis at mid-hub to the propeller tip). [10
degrees, Profile]

Expanded BAR
The Expanded Blade Area Ratio (know as EAR) is the propeller designer's parameter
for the distribution of the blade chord length (its two-dimensional width from leading
edge to trailing edge). It is a calculated measure of how much of the propeller disk is
covered by blade area (per the two-dimensional Expanded View). [0.65, Expanded]

The example propeller can thus be described as a 4-bladed, fixed-pitch, right-handed propeller. Its
diameter is 20" and so is its nominal pitch. It has 10 degree rake and 0.65 EAR.

2-2
 Program Operation

Radial blade parameters

These "whole propeller" parameters are not enough to really define the geometry. We need
another set of parameters which describe the blade geometry at different radial positions from root
to tip. A slice through the blade at each location - known as a section - defines the thickness and
"foil shape" of the blade. (Sections are seen in the Expanded View.) These radial blade parameters
(with principal drawing view) are:

r/R
The radial placement of the section as a ratio of the propeller tip radius. Thus, r/R is
the section's position along the propeller radius. For example, r/R value of 0.6
indicates that the section being described is at 60% of the propeller radius from the
propeller axis. [All views]

Chord
The chord length of the section. [Expanded]

Max thickness
The maximum thickness of the section. Note: This is the actual maximum material
thickness, not a maximum X-offset value. [Profile]

Mid-chord to GL position
The distance from the section's mid-chord point (half the section's chord length) to
the generating line (GL). This defines the propeller's skew. The GL is the reference
line perpendicular to the propeller axis. [Expanded]

p/Pnominal
The pitch at the section described as a fraction of the nominal propeller pitch. For
example, a p/Pnominal value of 0.8 indicates that the pitch at the section being
described is 80% of the nominal pitch. [Pitch distribution]

Face to RL position
The distance from the propeller face (at the section described) to the rake line (RL).
The RL is the straight reference line indicating blade inclination in the profile view.
[Profile]

LE back r, LE face r, TE back r, TE face r

Any leading edge (LE) or trailing edge (TE) radius of the section shape on the back
and face of the propeller. In the example above, the LE has a positive edge radius
for its smoothly rounded nose, while the TE has no edge radius - the blade surface is
sharply ended. [Expanded]

Section offsets

PropCad adheres to the coordinate system used by the majority of commercial stock manufacturers
and designers. This system is based on developing each section in the expanded view, as shown in
the graphic below.

2-3
Program Operation

The "base-line" of each section is also known as the pitch line. By viewing all pitch lines from root
to tip, a pitch plane is developed. The notable feature of this definition is that the base-line is
typically located along the pressure side (i.e., the face) of the propeller. This definition has been
adopted because most commercial stock propellers are based on a propeller type that has a
significant portion of its geometry as a flat face which will conveniently lie on the pitch line. (For
example, the Gawn, B-series, Kaplan, AU and SK propellers all share this feature.) All blade offsets
will thus be positive values above this base-line.

Note: Another section definition format is to define the propeller section with a base-line passing
through the leading edge "nose" and the trailing edge "tail". A section defined in this way will show
the offsets as distances above or below this "nose-tail line". The use of the "nose-tail" format is not
recommended for a number of reasons:

• The numerical performance models used in software such as PropExpert or NavCad rely on
pitch being defined in the standard way. Often, the nose-tail line is not parallel to the pitch
line (as you can see from the B-series section above), leading to an incompatible pitch value
between the performance model and the geometric definition.
• The flat face provides a logical base-line for documentation or measurement, and for repair
with pitch blocks.
• Local changes to the section may alter the nose or tail location without changing the
principal geometry of the section. For example, one alteration used to mitigate root
cavitation is to cut back on the leading edge for a more rounded nose. Another example is
cupping, where the majority of the blade remains unchanged, but the tail is deflected.

Converting data in this nose-tail format to the standard format is easy - it is simply a linear offset
correction.

Launching PropCad

To do: Start PropCad through

the HydroComp group in
the Windows Start bar, or
by clicking on the PropCad icon
from the Windows Desktop
(shown here). The main
program screen will be shown.

2-4
 Program Operation

2.02 - Building a New Design

The B-series propeller is one of the most popular style of propeller ever developed. Its design is
Dutch in origin and is a standard offering of many propeller manufacturers. For this example, we
will build a B-series propeller with the following specifications:

Fixed pitch (FPP) 20 inch diameter

Right-hand rotation 20 inch nominal pitch
4 blades 10 degree rake
0.65 expanded area ratio (this is a design "target" and will be used later)

To do: Fill in this information in the Principal Data table on the main screen. Use the mouse
to click on the option lists and select the suitable choices. Enter the numerical data as
appropriate.

In the Title block group, enter any sample text that you wish. This information is only
used as text in the drawing's title block.

Set material and strength information

To do: Click on Edit | Materials/strength... or the toolbar

button shown here to open a data entry window. This
information defines material properties and required
strength parameters.

Choose ABS Steel Vessels Under 61 Meters as the

Thickness rule for the thickness analysis. Enter a Design
power and Design RPM of 150 HP and 1250 RPM
respectively. Choose Mn-Ni-Al [5] (a nickel-aluminum
bronze) for the Material type. A typical material density is
automatically presented. This field can be overwritten with
an alternative value if desired. Click OK to proceed.

Build section data

To do: Click on Edit | Section definition... or the

toolbar button shown here to open section
data for editing. This screen is very important
because the major geometry parameters are
defined here. As you enter the window,
however, no data is present. (The figure shows a
populated screen.) PropCad's Builder feature will
help to fill in all of the necessary data.

Click on the Builder button to bring up the

PropCad Builder window. This window holds the
design objectives that the PropCad Builder
function uses to generate complete propeller
data.

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Program Operation

To do: Since we are starting a new design, you will

notice that default choices have been entered
in the option lists. These may be changed as
needed. Select B-series for Sections and r/R
and Thickness rule. Choose BB-series (a
newer variant) for Outline and Skew
distribution.

For Pitch distribution choose 80% hub.

Enter 0.65 for the Expanded BAR, 10
degrees for the Rake and Linear for the Rake
distribution and Thickness distribution. Use
0.18 for the Hub diam/D ratio.

Set Exp skew at tip/D to zero. A value of

zero means that you want to use the original
BB-series skew values. All of the thickness
parameters have been defined by selecting
the B-series defaults just above, so you can
click on the Build button to let PropCad
create your propeller.

Note: Some of the data entry fields may be disabled after certain items are selected.

A note on standard hub sizes

The Builder contains two features pertaining to the automatic creation of hub geometry - a)
standard SAE and Metric hub sizes, and b) the resizing and centering of the blade to properly fit
onto the hub. You first enter the Shaft diameter, and then choose [User], SAE or Metric from the
Hub rule list. SAE and Metric set the taper to 1/16 and 1/10 respectively, and then calculates the
proper Hub length. [User] allows any value for Taper and Hub length.

During the Builder calculations, PropCad may find that the propeller is too wide at the root to fit
onto the hub. PropCad will automatically resize the blade outline to meet the hub length, while
maintaining the required blade area ratio. This is achieved through an "area transform" where
blade area is smoothly relocated from the root out toward the tip. After any necessary blade
outline resizing, the propeller blade is axially centered onto the hub.

A note on thickness rules

Each library propeller type (e.g., B-series) has a native thickness distribution which is based on the
overall size of the propeller. Choosing B-series for Thickness rule, for example, will define the
propeller thickness based on the library propeller. You can apply a strength-based thickness rule in
place of the basic library definition, by selecting the ABS rule that you chose in the
Materials/strength screen (see the figure above). If you choose the ABS rule for the Builder, it will
iterate until it finds the proper thickness that meets the rule's requirements.

Review section data

You can see the various components of the propeller's geometry now displayed in the section data
window. At each point along the radius (defined at the r/R point, i.e. the section-radius to
propeller-radius ratio), you will find the chord length, maximum thickness, skew distribution (the
distance from the section's mid-chord to the generating line), the ratio of actual pitch to the

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 Program Operation

nominal value and the distance off of the rake line. You will also see values set for the leading and
trailing edge radii, if any.

To do: Select a radius by clicking on any cell in that

row. For example, click a cell in the 0.7000 r/R
row. Then click the Edit button to look at the
complete data for this section. A window is
displayed (as shown to the right) which exposes
the entire data for that radius, including section
offsets.

To do: Offsets are defined as Y (thickness-wise)

offsets for the face and back of the section
at given X (chord-wise) locations. Do not
alter any data now, just click on OK to close
the window. Finally, click on OK to close the
Section data window and accept the B-series
propeller geometry.

Generating the 3D View

To do: When you close the Sections

data screen, PropCad will
generate a 3D image of the
design. You can see this view
in the panel on the 3D View
tab page.

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Program Operation

Manipulating the 3D View

There are a great many viewing options available in the 3D View. Some of the options are purely
aesthetic, but other allow for unique and interesting ways to evaluate the design. With the recent
increase in export for CAM - particularly for non-traditional designs of complex shape - it becomes
increasingly valuable to study the propeller geometry during the design process. The 3D View gives
you the opportunity to evaluate details of propeller shape before a design is completed.

We will now use the various buttons and controls on the 3D View to manipulate the image. Just
follow the table of instructions below. (Associated button graphics are shown.

Button 3D View feature

Let us begin by changing the material of the propeller in our view using the
Color Obj list. Click this menu to choose from a list of available object colors or
finishes (material), such as Bronze.

Next, drop down the Preset views list and select Isometric. This will rotate the
view into an isometric position. You will find additional standard views, as well
as animated Face Rotate and Back Rotate views.

Click the Study button to rotate the image in 3D with the mouse. Hold the left
mouse button down and move the mouse to rotate the image.

You can also Zoom and Pan the image. Click the button, then hold the left
mouse button down and move to zoom or pan the image.

After zooming or panning, you may find that the image does not adequately fill
the screen. Click this Fit button to fit the image into the view space.

Occasionally, the view will need to be re-drawn (such as when dimensions are
changed in the Principal Data section). Click this button to Refresh the 3D View.
If you see the Refresh button with a red background, this means that
something about the data has changed and the image needs to be refreshed to
correspond to the new data.

Sometimes, you may want to view the blade surfaces in their basic facets.
Other times, you will want to see them in a finer smoothness. Click the Fine and
Facet buttons to change the surface texture.

Slide the Dimmer control up and down to adjust the light intensity shining on
the propeller.

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 Program Operation

The 3D View also allows for the propeller to be represented in five different types (see below).
These are, in order:

Transparent with
Solid Sections Transparent Wire
sections

Select hub parameters

To do: Click Edit | Hub description ... or the toolbar

button shown here to define basic hub geometry.
This information is for a basic description of the hub,
and to locate the blade on the hub. (See image to the
right.)

You will note that default hub diameters were

proposed by the PropCad Builder. For the most part,
we will accept these figures. The basic shape of the
hub is initially a conic section that follows the shaft
taper. Let us reduce both the Fwd and Aft diameters
a bit to give it a slightly more convex shape. Enter
3.7 for the Fwd hub diam and 3.2 for the Aft hub
diam. Enter 0.5 for the Root radius. Click OK to close
the window and accept the data.

Select tip parameters

To do: Click Edit | Tip description ... or the toolbar button

shown here to define a special blade tip parameter.
The curvature at the propeller's tip is sometimes a
difficult thing for a CAD system to manage, and we
need to expressly define its nature.

For example, a B-series propeller has a smooth transition from leading edge to trailing edge -
effectively a tip chord of zero length. A Kaplan propeller, on the other hand, has a non-smooth
(broken) tip with its largest chord length typically at the tip. A cleaver-type propeller has a zero-
length tip chord, but the tip is a hard, broken transition as is shown in the example here. (See F -
Library Propellers for more information.)

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Program Operation

To do: Select Smooth as the tip option for your B-series propeller. Click OK to
close the window and accept the data.

Saving your design to a file

To do: At this point the propeller geometry is completely defined and it is a good time to
save your work. Click File | Save, press Ctrl+S, or click the toolbar button shown
here to save your project data to a file on disk. You will see the Save As file-handling
dialog and you can enter "bs4" as a sample file name. (Choose any directory you wish
for your files.)

2.03 - Generating a Standard Propeller Design Drawing

Generating a 2D drawing

We have just saved the project parameters and data to a file on disk - but we still need to prepare
design documents, such as propeller drawings, tables of offsets or classification society reports.
Let's begin with a propeller drawing.

To do: Click the CAD View tab. You will first define
what things you want to view in the drawing.

Even though complete propeller geometry is saved with every drawing, not all elements of the
geometry may need to be displayed on the printed documents. This can be useful, for example, if
you are planning to show only a basic description of the propeller for marketing or proposals.

To do: Click on Edit | Elements [2D] to choose the drawing

elements to display.

For this example, choose all of the available items to

display except the Presentation items.

Click on the Fill all button at the bottom of the from,

then check off the Border, Title block and Principal
dimensions.

Click OK to accept and close the window.

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 Program Operation

Note: For many drawings, it is not necessary to show all of the sections. In the example shown
here, the PropCad Builder defined sections at 0.975 and 0.9875 radii. These closely-spaced
sections near the tip are necessary to properly define the shape of the propeller when the design is
to be exported to CAM software for manufacture. Many standard drawings only show sections at
0.10 spacing with one additional section inserted at 0.95. You can click off the 0.9875 and 0.9750
sections if you do not wish to show these additional sections in the drawing.

To do: Click on View | build drawing [2D] or

the toolbar button to create the graphic
drawing elements and display them in the CAD
View. A status box is shown during this
process.

Manipulating the CAD View

You can think of the CAD View as a mini-CAD program. You cannot add drawing entities - PropCad
does this for you - but you can delete or move entities, and zoom or pan through the drawing. We
will now use the various buttons on the CAD View to manipulate the image.

To do: Click the Pointer button to select entities to delete or move.

Click this Zoom All button to fit the CAD image into the view space.

To view and zoom into a portion of the screen, click on the Zoom Window
button. Then use the mouse to define the corners of the desired zooming area.

Use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons to zoom in and out of the drawing.

Click the Zoom Previous button to return the previous view of the drawing.

The Center View button allows you to center the view where you place the
cursor. Click the button, then click a spot on the image.

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Program Operation

Adding a border, title block and principal characteristics

Adding a Border
PropCad allows you to wrap a border around the drawing elements and add a title block to your
drawing. The border size is entered in page size, not the full-scale propeller size. In other words,
the border width and height, and title block dimensions, should be the size of the printed page.

To do: Click on Edit | Border/title block to open the data entry

window.

Page units = inches (or millimeters)

Orientation = Landscape
Border width = 10
Border height = 7.5 * giving us a half-inch margin around
our border.
Title block width = 3.0
Print Scale = Scale
Scale = 4 in

Click OK to finish.

Note: PropCad initially looks to your default Windows printer for information about your page size.
(The figure shown above is based on 8.5" x 11" letter-size page with units in inches. You will select
options and enter data based on your own particular printer parameters.) You will see that two
figures are shown for the Clear spacing of Border width and Border height (10.26 in and 8.00 in
respectively). These numbers are what the printer tells us is the maximum "printable area" on a
page. If your printer page standard is millimeters, you might find 250 and 180 for border width and
height, and 60 for title block width, to be reasonable values.

Principal characteristics
Attached to the title block, we can place a table of information about the design. These items are
known as the Principal characteristics.

To do: Click Edit | Principal characteristics to define a list

of information about the propeller to be displayed on
the drawing.

Click the box next to Blade finish tolerance. This tells

PropCad that you do not want to include this line. You
can choose, add, delete or edit these notes, as
needed.

Click OK to accept this information.

Note: Both standard information created by PropCad and custom user information may be shown
in the list. Standard information includes the basic parameters, weight, moment of inertia and
other physical properties. You can create and display additional information such as manufacturing
details or vessel characteristics.

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 Program Operation

Adding title block information

To do: Under the Principal Data section of the main PropCad form you will
find a section with Title Block information. This information will be
placed into the title block on the drawing.

Company = My Company
Title 1 = My Design
Title 2 = 20" B-Series
Scale = 1/4
Drawn by = DMM
- date = 10/8/01
Approved by = Name
- date =
Drawing # = 2001 1008-01

Updating the drawing

To do: Go to Edit | Elements [2D] and click Border, Title

block, and Principal dimensions.

Click OK to continue.

To do: Click View | Build drawing [2D] or

either of the Build 2D drawing or
Refresh toolbar buttons to update the drawing in
the CAD View.

Adding text to a drawing

There may be any number of text items you might want to add to a drawing - construction details,
measurement instructions, or section parameters. For this example, we will add 2D section
parameters, including information about chord length, thickness, as well as pitch, skew and rake
distribution. The first step is to export the information into a text file.

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Program Operation

To do: Click File | Export and select the PropCad

offsets (*.off) file type as shown here. Accept
the project file name (bs4 for this example) as
the name for the offset file.

You will then see an Export selection option

screen. Turn everything off, except Parameters
(which is always saved as part of the offset
file). Click OK and the offset file will be saved to
disk.

To do: You can now add the offset file text into
your drawing by clicking View | Insert
text or the CAD View text toolbar button. This
brings up a Text Editor window.

First, delete any text that may be shown in the

text panel.

To insure that the data remains in a column

form, select the font to be a well-known
monospaced font - Courier New. You can also
click the Monospace font option.

Then click the Load ASCII button and grab the

offset file (bs4.off).

Click OK to close the Text Editor.

To do: Click the mouse to locate the table of text onto

a clear space in the drawing.

You can use the Pointer to select and move the

block of text, if needed.

Saving the drawing as a CAD file

You can also save the drawing as a CAD file, for use within other CAD software or to send to
someone for review. There are several supported CAD formats - AutoCAD DXF (DXF), AutoCAD
DWG (DWG), Generic CADD (GCD), Visual CADD (VCD), or Windows Metafile (WMF).

To do: Click View | Save drawing or the CAD View Save toolbar button to save the
drawing to CAD file. (Please refer to E.02 - Export Files for more information
about file handling.)

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 Program Operation

Printing the drawing

To do: Click View | Print drawing or the CAD

View print toolbar button to print your
drawing.

Click the Preview button to expand the Print

dialog to include a print preview. Set all of the
print options as desired.

Note: Some printers can produce incomplete

documents. If this happens, click Fast
Preview to ON and try again.

Note: For this example we are setting the Print Scale to match the figure set up in our Title Block
screen. Clicking on the File/Date Stamp will place the CAD drawing name and the date of printing
on the drawing.

Generating a 3D drawing

PropCad also allows you to build a 3D CAD drawing for one express purpose - to export the 3D
drawing as a 3D CAD file.

To do: Click View | Build 3D drawing or the CAD View Build 3Dtoolbar to create the
new drawing.

Note: Once the drawing is built, you can save it as a 3D DXF file. Please refer to E.02 - Export Files
for more information about the 3D DXF file.

2.04 - Preparing Supplemental Reports

In addition to the design drawings, PropCad allows you to prepare a variety of supplemental
reports, such as

• tables of 2D and 3D offsets

• classification reports for the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas & RINA
(BV/RINA), and the Korean Register of Shipping (KR).

PropCad generates all reports in HTML format, which will be viewed in your browser. From your
browser, you can change font size, print the report, save them to disk.

Offset tables

PropCad can create tables of

• section parameters,
• 2D (expanded view) offsets,
• and two types of 3D offsets (X-Y-Z or X-angle-radius).

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Program Operation

To do: Click File | Show offsets... or the toolbar button shown

here to display the propeller offsets in your web browser.
You can select which of the offset options to include in the tables.

Classification reports

A Classification Society thickness calculation report can be generated for your design based on your
choice of thickness rule in the Materials/strength screen (see 2.02 - Building a New Design). A full
complement of American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas & RINA (BV/RINA), and the
Korean Register of Shipping (KR) classification reports are available. These include:

• ABS Steel Vessels (2003)

• ABS Steel Vessels - Thrusters (2003)
• ABS Steel Vessels Under 90 Meters (2003)
• ABS Rivers/Intracoastal Waterways (1995)
• ABS Fishing Vessels (1989)
• ABS Motor Pleasure Yachts (1990)
• ABS Steel Vessels in Southeast Asia (1991)
• ABS Guide for High Speed Craft (1997)
• BV/RINA Rules (2003)
• KR Rules (2003)

To do: To prepare a report for a design, click on Tools | Show class report... . The report
will be created and displayed in your browser.

Note: The propeller Type is important for correct calculation of the thickness. Options for propeller
Type are fixed pitch (FPP), controllable pitch (CPP) or nozzle (NOZP).

2.05 - Modifying a Design

For many designs, PropCad’s standard library propellers (e.g., B-series, Gawn, Kaplan) will fully
meet your design requirements. At some point however, you will likely want to customize a design
for some special need. We will go through the steps to develop a design with cup, to edit section
parameters, to transfer data between tables and grids, and to add intermediate sections.

Adding cup to a design

Propeller cup is a curvature applied to the trailing edge of a propeller blade. In PropCad, cup is
applied using the Builder. There are five data entry fields that need to be entered - the extent of
the cup itself (i.e., the drop from the uncapped geometry), and four points along the radius to
define the start and end of fairing of the cup at the root and tip.

The accompanying figure gives a graphical example of how the

cup might be faired into the blade. In this example, the full cup
extends from the 0.6 r/R to the 0.8 r/R. It is faired into the
blade at the tip from the 0.8 r/R to the tip itself (1.0 r/R).
Fairing at the root goes from 0.6 r/R down to the 0.2 r/R.
PropCad uses a sinusoidal distribution in the faired sections.

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 Program Operation

To do: Go back and open the Builder. (If you have forgotten, see 2.02 - Building a New
Design for how this is done.) A fairly heavy cup is about 1% of the propeller's
diameter. So, for our example propeller, let us use 0.20" for the Drop. Enter 0.2 to
0.6 for the Root fairing, and 0.8 to 1.0 for the Tip fairing. (This will use the example
distribution shown to the right). Click Build to rebuild the propeller and you can then
see how your propeller looks with cup.

Note: For additional technical information about cupping, please see G.01 - Small Propeller Cup.)

Editing section parameters

There may be instances for which you want to manually alter some of the section parameters (i.e.,
chord length, or the skew, rake or pitch distributions). A good example of this is when you want to
reduce the thrust at the tip of a propeller (to reduce noise and cavitation) by reducing its pitch near
the tip (i.e., "off-loading" the tip).

The following Table 2.24 is the data for our example B-series propeller. The highlighted cells
(p/Pnominal from 0.95 r/R to the tip) are to be changed.

r/R Max T Chord MidC:GL p/Pnominal

1.0000 0.060 0.030 1.153 1.0000

0.9875 2.460 0.071 1.081 1.0000

0.9750 3.377 0.081 1.009 1.0000

0.9500 4.593 0.102 0.861 1.0000

0.9000 5.759 0.144 0.569 1.0000

0.8000 6.832 0.228 0.130 1.0000

0.7000 7.199 0.312 -0.185 1.0000

0.6000 7.185 0.396 -0.380 1.0000

0.5000 6.933 0.480 -0.489 0.9844

0.4000 6.479 0.564 -0.529 0.9375

0.3000 5.867 0.648 -0.497 0.8750

0.2000 5.126 0.732 -0.424 0.8125

Table 2.24 - Example section data for revision

To do: We will reduce the pitch at the tip from full pitch (i.e., p/Pnominal = 1.00) to 95% of
the full pitch. So, enter 0.95 into p/Pnominal at 1.00 r/R. You will then want to fair
the data back into full pitch at 0.95 r/R. For example, you might enter 0.975 at
0.9875 r/R and 0.99 at 0.975 r/R to create a smooth pitch distribution from full pitch
down to 95% at the tip.

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Program Operation

Copying and pasting table data

All of the tables (or grids) in PropCad allow you to copy and paste columns or rows of data to a
variety of other tables. For example, you could develop a collection of smoothed parameters for
pitch distribution (as was described above) - or even for a whole new propeller - in Microsoft Excel
and copy the data directly into the PropCad table. The only consideration is to have the
spreadsheet arranged in the same way as the PropCad grids, with the same number of rows and
columns in their proper order.

Altering leading and trailing edge radii

In addition to the basic geometry of the section (e.g., thickness distribution), you also have control
over the way the back and face surfaces connect at the leading edge (LE) and trailing edge (TE).
The control is defined in the Edge radii table of the Sections data screen.

To do: In addition to the basic geometry of the section (e.g.,

thickness distribution), you also have control over the
way the back and face surfaces connect at the leading
edge (LE) and trailing edge (TE). The control is defined
in the Edge radii table of the Sections data screen.

The shape of the back and face of the section are defined by splines (i.e., mathematically created
curves). The "end condition" of the spline is defined by the figure entered into the Edge radii table.
For example, by entering an edge radii of some small figure - such as 0.00001 - PropCad will apply
a very small curvature to the end of the spline. This curvature is what makes a rounded edge. If
you enter zero for a radii, the spline will end without any curvature.

The figure above shows how edge radii are applied for a typical B-series section and what the
resulting edges will look like. By increasing or decreasing a radius, you will have some control over
how tight the edge curvature will be. You can enter any desired edge radius, but PropCad will
refine this to insure that the radius will fit into the available edge shape without unwanted
distortions.

Note: In some cases, the Builder needs to know if an edge radii is to be applied before it builds the
propeller. For example, the Gawn and SK section shapes are defined by mathematical equations.
(The B-series, Kaplan and AU are defined by an XY distribution.) When starting a new Gawn
propeller, it will initially set all edge radii to zero (sharp sections). You can revise the edge radii, as
desired, then go back and rebuild the Gawn sections, and PropCad will then used the revised edge
radii instructions as part of its mathematical definition of the section.

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 Program Operation

Adding sections

Adding new sections is easy in PropCad. The technique is based on inserting empty sections,
copying propeller data (including section offsets) from a section near the new sections, and fitting
smooth values for the chord, pitch and other parameters. For example, let's add a 0.925 section to
increase our data points near the tip.

To do: Click on the 0.95 row, then click Insert to add an empty section below. (PropCad
automatically sets the value for the new r/R to be mid-point between the surrounding
sections, but you can edit this to be whatever value you need.)

At this point, the new section does not contain any data so we will copy data from one of the
sections on either side of it to paste into the new empty section. We will use the 0.95 section to
copy, so click on any cell in the 0.95 row.

To do: Click the Copy button. This copies all propeller data (including section offsets) to a
copy buffer. Then click in the new 0.925 r/R row and click the Paste button. You will
see that new data has been entered for the 0.925 radius.

However, the data copied into the new 0.925 r/R is the same as the 0.95 r/R section - which of
course must be modified to fit smoothly into the propeller.

To do: Click the Fit button to let PropCad smooth and fit this section into the propeller.
PropCad has simplified the process described above into a single button stroke. Delete
the new 0.925 section with the Delete key. Then, click anywhere into 0.95 r/R row.
Click the Refine button and PropCad inserts, copies, pastes and fits a new 0.925
section.

Note: This smoothing process does not smooth the section XY offset data. It fits the offsets it
copied into the defined chord length and maximum thickness, and fairs the skew, rake and pitch
distribution, but it does not change the copied offsets in any way. In most cases, the new section is
completely acceptable, but you may find some cases where manual revision of the inserted section
XY points can improve the shape.

2.06 - Creating a New Derivative of an Existing Propeller

PropCad's Builder takes individual components of a propeller's geometry (e.g., sections, outline,
skew) and assembles them into a new propeller design. One powerful use of the Builder is to create
new designs from existing PropCad drawings.

Each PropCad design contains two principal parts - the graphical elements that you see and an
underlying data layer of information about that design. The data layer contains the parametric
information from which the graphical drawing is built, and it is what you enter and edit in the
various screens

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Program Operation

Applying "Current" parameters

If you are using standard propeller information, you might select the B-series style of propeller in
the Builder, for example. However, when you need a truly custom arrangement for your designs,
you can select the [Current] option in the item lists to tell PropCad that instead of using one of the
"library" selections, you wish to use the information currently displayed in PropCad as the "parent"
for the new design.

Each propeller parameter - section type, thickness distribution, outline shape, skew distribution,
pitch distribution, etc. - are "normalized" when PropCad uses them. This means that they are
treated as some non-dimensional ratio. For example, the pitch distribution is based on a ratio of
pitch at that radii to the design (nominal) pitch. Section chord length and thickness are treated the
same way, where the section shape is stretched and widened as necessary to fit the required chord
length and maximum thickness.

Normalized data makes it possible to build new propellers of varying size which reflect the same
overall design and geometry. By selecting the [Current] option, you are telling PropCad that
instead of using standard library propeller data you want PropCad to revise the "current"
parameters to suit the objectives of the Builder.

Using a parent design to create a new, derivative design is really very simple. The process is:

1. Open the PropCad design file of a "parent" design. (This might also be called a "template".)

2. Go to the Builder and set the new target design information, selecting [Current] from the
list where you want to use the normalized parameters of the parent design to generate
parameters for the new design.

3. Click Build and the new design is built using the prior data for the normalized distributions.

Note: When a new design is built, the old data from the file is replaced with the new. This means
that you must be careful not to accidentally overwrite the parent file if you wish to save this for
future designs. Save the new file with a Save as (giving the file a new name) rather than a Save
(updating the active file). One way to insure that you will not lose data is to make the parent file a
read-only file.

We will use the B-series design from earlier sections of this chapter design modified above as the
parent for a new design. The new design will take the 4-bladed, 20 inch propeller (with its
geometry) and build a new 5-bladed, 500 mm propeller with different skew, rake, hub and blade
area ratio.

To do: We have already saved the data for the example B-series example to a file. If the
example B-series propeller is not opened, click File | Open... or click on the "most
recently used" file list under the File menu to open the file (bs4.pc4).

To do: In the main PropCad window, set Units to mm, Blades to 5, Diameter to 500,
Nominal pitch to 550 and Rake to 5. (You will note that the Expanded BAR and Skew
angle figures are very small. These will be recalculated, so we do not have to worry
about them now.)

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 Program Operation

To do: Then, open the Section definition window and go to the Builder. DO NOT change any
data in the section definition window. In the Builder, set the data to the following
choices:

Sections and r/R = [Current] Thickness rule = B-series

Pitch distribution = [Current] Thickness distribution = [Current]

Expanded BAR = 0.85 Shaft diameter = 40

Outline = [Current] Hub rule = Metric

Rake aft = 5

Rake distribution = [Current]

Skew at tip/D = 0.15

Skew distribution = [Current]

Hub diam/D = 0.1667

To do: Click the Build button and your new design data is created. Then click OK in the
Section definition window to accept the new data and continue.

You will note that the Refresh keys of both the 3D View and the CAD View will be
shown with a red background. This indicates that the view does not represent
the active data and needs to be refreshed. Click this button to update the view.

Once the image is rebuilt, you can review the design - a new 5-bladed propeller based on the
existing 4-bladed design.

To do: Use File | Save as... to save this design a new file (bs5.pc4). (Remember, DO NOT
accidentally save this design to the bs4 parent file.)

Using the IDF as a "Parent" file

Instead of using a PropCad design file (PC4, VCD) as a parent, you can import an IDF file as the
"parent". (See Appendix E for complete specifications about the IDF format.) The IDF file is an
ASCII text file that can also be exported from PropCad. When completing new designs, you can
export IDF files into a Parent Designs directory, for example, for use later as parent files. One of
the benefits of using IDF files for parent files is that you eliminate the risk of accidentally
overwriting your designs.

2.07 - Closing Thoughts: Try Everything

Although these six examples provide a thorough overview of PropCad, we encourage you to try
things and investigate how to best apply PropCad to your needs. The types of propellers you can
design are endless - so try everything.

2-21
Program Operation

2-22
Appendix A: References

A.01-References
American Bureau of Shipping, Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels Under 61 Meters (200
Feet) in Length, 1983.

Bureau Veritas, Rules for the Classification of Steel Ships, 2003.

Gawn, R.W.L. and Burrill, L.C., "Effect of Cavitation on the Performance of a Series of 16 in. Model
Propellers", Transactions INA, Vol. 95, 1957.

Korean Register of Shipping, Rules for Classification of Steel Ships, 2003.

Lammeren, W.P.A., Manen, J.D. van and Oosterveld, M.W.C., "The Wageningen B-Screw Series",
SNAME Transactions, Vol. 77, 1969.

MacPherson, D.M., "Small Propeller Cup: A Proposed Geometry Standard and a New Performance
Model", SNAME Propeller Symposium, 1997.

Oosterveld, M.W.C., "Wake Adapted Ducted Propellers", NSMB No. 345.

Registro Italiano Navale, RINA Rules 2003, 2003

Yazaki, A., "Design Diagrams of Modern Four, Five, Six and Seven-Bladed Propellers Developed in
Japan", Report of TTRI, No. 52, Sep 1962.

Yazaki, A., "Model Tests on Four-bladed Controllable-pitch Propellers", Papers of Ship Research
Institute, No. 1, Mar 1964.

Yegorov, I.T., Bun'kov, M.M., Sadovnikov, Yu.M., Propulsive Performance and Seaworthiness of
Planing Vessels, Leningrad, 1978.

A-1
References

A-2
Appendix B: Errors and Warnings

B.01-Error and Warning Messages

Basic data is required before building.
Items such as number of blades, diameter and pitch are required before running the Builder. Enter
this information, then run Builder.

Error accessing hardware lock!

PropCad was unable to interrogate the attached hardware lock. Contact HydroComp.

Error searching for hardware lock!

PropCad was not able to locate the required parallel port hardware lock. Make sure it is attached to
your computer.

Incorrect number of blades.

A number less than two (2) blades was entered.

Insufficient data for [Current].

There are not enough sections to fit a spline through the current data. At least four sections are
required.

Number of blades, diameter and pitch are required before building.

Enter this information before running the Builder.

PropCad cannot start without the hardware lock attached!

A security error was generated and PropCad could not run. Make sure the hardware lock is properly
attached to a parallel port.

PropCad Help file not found.

PropCad did not find the appropriate Help file on the disk. Check to make sure that the file
PROPCAD.CHM is in the directory with PropCad.

Required Builder data is missing.

Some piece of data in the Builder window is missing (e.g., expanded blade area ratio, tip
thickness). Enter the data, then build.

There are no sections!

No sections (radii) exist. Enter or build the data first, then the drawing may be created.

There are no sections to Edit!

No sections (radii) exist. Enter or build the data first, then edit the sections.

There are no sections to export!

No section data exists. Enter or build the data, then export the sections.

There are no sections to print!

No data exists for propeller sections. Enter or build the data first, then print the sections.

B-1
Errors and Warnings

There was a problem printing to your printer.

Check to make sure that the printer is on-line and properly attached.

This application requires a valid active drawing

No drawing page is active in Visual CADD. environment.

This application requires Visual CADD

An error occurred with the Visual CADD CAD library files. Contact HydroComp.

PropCad Error Handling

PropCad contains special error trapping features to help eliminate crashes caused by fatal errors.
When such an error is trapped, the error handling system allows the user to continue or to abort
the program (which automatically saves the active design data to the project file).

Should an error occur, an integrated PropCad error reporting feature has been included. This
allows the user to automatically attach an error information file and a project file in an email to be
sent to HydroComp.

Special error trapping has become necessary due to the many different versions of Windows. It is
very likely that you will never see the error system, but since it is impossible to test for every user
scenario with all versions of Windows, we feel that this system is good insurance.

All errors are recorded in a log file (PCERROR.LOG).

B-2
Appendix C: Data Entry Screens

C.01 - Main PropCad screen

Through this main screen, PropCad allows you to define your propeller's geometry and
characteristics through a variety of data entry screens. These screens can be opened via menus
and toolbar buttons.

Units
A choice of various Imperial and SI units

Type
Fixed pitch (FPP), controllable pitch (CPP), or nozzle style (NOZP).

Rotation
Right or Left.

Blades
The number of blades of the propeller. The minimum acceptable value is 2.

Diameter
The propeller diameter expressed in the selected units.

Nominal pitch
The nominal pitch of the propeller in the selected units. This is not the p/d ratio. Nominal pitch is
the value declared for the propeller, and will be used as the reference to determine the actual pitch
at each of the sections specified in the Section definition window.

Rake aft
The rake angle of the blade in degrees. This is the angle found between the generating line GL
(perpendicular to the propeller axis) and rake line RL (the straight line drawn from the propeller
blade axis to the propeller tip).

C-1
Data Entry Screens

Expanded BAR
The Expanded BAR is not an input fields, but is computed from input data. This field is placed in
this window for reference, and is calculated as the propeller geometry is defined.

Skew angle
The Skew angle is also calculated from input data and is displayed only for reference. It is the
angle in transverse view between the propeller tip and the most leading point on the skew line.

Title Block
All of the fields in the Title Block group are text fields of arbitrary length. The information entered
in these fields will be placed in the PropCad drawing title block. The labels for these fields are
provided for convenience, and designed to collect the minimum amount on information necessary
to compose a meaningful title block.

C.02 - Materials/strength properties

The data entered in the Materials/strength window is used for reference and calculation during later
stages of PropCad execution.

Classification Society
The publisher of the desired thickness rules. PropCad's available classification societies to choose
from are American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas & RINA (BV/RINA), and Korean
Register of Shipping (KR).

Thickness rule
The thickness rule from the available rules for the chosen Classification Society. Rule-determined
thickness can also be used for reference or as a design objective in the Builder. Note: Choosing a
rule in this window does not force you to use a thickness rule when creating the propeller
geometry.

• ABS Thickness rule

The ABS thickness calculations are up to date with the newest 2002 and 2003 rules.

• BV/RINA and KR Thickness rules

Thickness calculations are included for the rules of Bureau Veritas & RINA (BV/RINA) and
Korean Register of Shipping (KR).

Material type
A selection from the supplied list of standard material types for the specified society.

C-2
 Data Entry Screens

Loading (ABS only)

A thrust loading parameter - Free-run or Thrusting. The Thrusting option is for "propellers
performing bollard pull, athwartship thrusting, dynamic positioning, and similar duties".

Density
PropCad will propose a standard density for the chosen material, but you can enter a different
value. The specified density is used in calculating the propeller weight and inertia.

Design power
Design power for the thickness rule calculations. Note: When using ABS rules (per ABS
instructions), the Design power is to be the full rated brake power less any full time parasitic power
demands (such as PTOs).

Design RPM
Design RPM is for the thickness rule calculations.

C.03 - Section Definition

The Section definition interactive input window is a remarkably powerful tool for the determination
of propeller blade shape and section parameters. The data can be built from the PropCad library
(and modified as needed) or be completely user-defined.

The Section definition window includes input fields and command buttons. There are two sets of
input fields organized in spreadsheet table fashion, and titled Geometry and Edge radii. Command
buttons are dedicated to help you edit the table fields (also referred to as section tables), while
others give you access to additional interactive input windows.

In both Geometry and Edge radii, you specify parameter values for each of the radially-placed
propeller sections. The propeller blade outline shape will be derived from the leading and trailing
edge position of the individual sections.

Note: The PropCad Builder will propose the radii from the chosen library specification. For
example, the Kaplan propeller is described by ten default sections, nine of which are placed at 10%
R intervals. You must describe at least four sections and radii on the propeller blade. Defining only
a very small number of sections may not yield a smooth blade outline, while a large number of
sections may result in a cluttered drawing, difficult to read.

C-3
Data Entry Screens

Buttons

The table edit command buttons relate to individual rows of fields. Each row of fields is selected by
clicking in any of the cells or on the row leader cell (the square to the left of the each row in the
table), before the function button is executed. The command buttons are:

Edit
Opens the Edit sections interactive input window.

Insert
Insert a row of fields in the table for you to edit.

Copy
Copy the selected row into the copy buffer.

Paste
Paste the contents of the buffer into the selected row.

Fit
Recalculate and fit a new chord, maximum thickness, etc. based on a spline fit through the other
points.

Refine
Inserts a section below the selected section at the median r/R (between the selected and next
lower section), and will automatically fit this section into the existing profile.

Delete
Delete the selected row from the table.

BUILDER
Open the PropCad Builder interactive input screen.

Fields

r/R
The radial placement of the section being described compared to the propeller tip radius. Thus, r/R
expresses the section's position along the propeller radius. For example, a r/R value of 0.6
indicates that the section being described is placed at 60% of the propeller radius from the
propeller axis.

Chord
The chord length of the section.

MaxT
The maximum thickness of the section. Note: This is the actual maximum material thickness, not a
maximum X-offset value.

MidC:GL
The distance from the section's mid-chord point (half the section's chord length) to the generating
line (GL). The GL is the reference line perpendicular to the propeller axis.

C-4
 Data Entry Screens

p/Pnominal
The pitch at the section described as a fraction of the nominal propeller pitch. For example, a
p/Pnominal value of 0.8 indicates that the pitch at the section being described is 80% of the
Nominal pitch.

Face:RL
The distance from the propeller face (at the section being described) to the rake line (RL). The RL
is the straight reference line indicating blade inclination in the profile view.

LE back r, LE face r
The leading edge radius of the section shape on the back and face of the propeller. (See 2.05 -
Modifying a Design for more information.)

TE back r, TE face r
The trailing edge radius of the section shape on the back and face of the propeller. (See 2.05 -
Modifying a Design for more information.)

C.04 - Edit Sections

This window is opened by the Edit button found in the Section definition window. The Edit sections
window allows you to enter or edit section offsets. Offsets can be entered at any location along the
section's chord length. The graphic at the bottom of the window provides visual feedback of the
defined Back and Face offsets.

Offsets entered into PropCad do not need to be dimensional chord length and thickness. PropCad
expands and reduces the offsets to fit the defined chord and thickness values. For example, most
of the library propeller used with the PropCad Builder are normalized from zero to 1 or 100, but
they are converted to the correct size for the drawing and table of offsets.

There may be times when dimensioned offsets are useful, however, such as when manually
modifying section shapes for custom features. Normalized offsets can be “transformed” into
dimensioned values with the Transform C (chord) and Transform MT (maximum thickness) target
value fields, and the Transform button. These manual modifications and transformations can be
viewed in the 2D section graph located at the bottom of the Edit Section screen. This graph

C-5
Data Entry Screens

updates anytime there is a change in the offsets allowing for quicker and easier manual
modifications.

All of the fields described in C.03 - Section Definition are also found in this window. Additional data
fields are described below.

Back offsets, Face offsets

These tables contain the X and Y coordinates of the back and face offsets from leading edge (LE) to
trailing edge (TE). These offsets do not need to be dimensioned to the chord length and thickness.
PropCad expands and reduces the entered offsets as needed to fit the defined chord and thickness
values (see above).

Transform C/MT
Transform C and Transform MT fields are target values for offset transform (see above).

C.05 - PropCad Builder

The PropCad Builder window includes several input fields collected in Blade geometry, Cupping,
Thickness, and Hub/shafting groups, and a Build command button. This command button instructs
PropCad to process all the data specified in this window along with the basic propeller parameters
and generate a complete set of propeller geometry data. (See 2.02 - Building a New Design for a
complete description of using the PropCad Builder.)

Blade geometry

Sections and r/R

A selection from the sections (offsets and radial distribution) from the PropCad propeller library, or
from the [Current] section data. In the first case, you select a propeller type from the PropCad
library and PropCad will use these section offsets and radial distribution. In the second case,
PropCad will use the values displayed in the Section definition window.

Pitch distribution
You can instruct PropCad to use Full pitch distribution from root to tip, a distribution reduced to
80% at the hub (80% hub), a distribution that reduces the pitch at the tip and root (high thrust),
or to use the [Current] values entered in the Section definition window.

C-6
 Data Entry Screens

Expanded BAR
This is a target value that PropCad will use to scale outline chord lengths so that the expanded area
ratio matches this figure.

Outline
You can specify that either the outline of a library propeller or the [Current] chord length
distribution be used to build the outline. The chord lengths themselves will be modified as
necessary to meet the desired Expanded BAR noted above.

Rake aft
The actual rake angle value shown in the profile view. This is the angle found between the
generating line GL (perpendicular to the propeller axis) and rake line RL (the straight line drawn
from the propeller blade axis to the propeller tip).

Rake distribution
Rake distribution can be defined by [Current] rake offset values, or it can be a Linear distribution
from hub to tip.

Skew at tip/D
This figure is the skew offset magnitude measured in the expanded view as a fraction of diameter.
The skew line originates at the propeller root, is drawn through the mid-chord point of the propeller
sections, and ends at the tip. To use a native skew from a library propeller, set the value to zero.
PropCad will then offset the sections by the amount specified in the selected library data. Note:
The calculated skew angle on the Main Window is measured from the Transverse (front) view.

Skew distribution
Skew distribution can be selected to be that of a standard library propeller, or defined as [Current].
(To use a library propeller’s skew distribution and magnitude, set the Skew at tip/D to zero as
mentioned above.) The user can also specify Linear, Quadratic or Cubic distributions.

Hub diam/D
This field defines the size of the hub (at its mid-section) as a ratio of the propeller diameter. This
non-dimensional parameter will have values on the order of 0.15-0.20 for fixed propellers and
0.30-0.35 for CPP propellers.

Hub/shafting

Shaft diameter
The diameter of the shaft at the forward end of the hub.

Hub Rule
You may choose standard SAE or Metric for automatic creation of hub geometry. Choosing [User]
allows you to set any value for Taper and Hub length.

Shaft taper
The shaft taper expressed as a slope ratio. For example, a slope of 1:20 represents a diameter
reduction of 1 unit every 20 units of shaft length.

Hub length
The length of the hub (along the propeller axis).

C-7
Data Entry Screens

Thickness

Thickness rule
The desired classification society thickness rule or native library propeller thickness magnitudes
selected from the list. Selecting [None] allows you to set arbitrary values below.

Tip/edge thickness
The defined thickness of the tip section and leading/trailing edges. If a library propeller magnitude
was selected above, this figure and those below are determined by PropCad and cannot be
changed.

Root thickness
The minimum propeller section thickness at the r/R position. PropCad will automatically display the
required value at the radial position indicated by r/R below.

@ r/R
Radial position of the minimum Root thickness required by the selected rule.

Thickness distribution
The thickness distribution to be used from root to tip.

Camber

Camber/chord (f/c)
The magnitude of the camber in non-dimensional form.

Peak chord-wise position

The chord-wise position (from the LE) of the camber peak.

Camber shape
Either a C-shape (arc) or S-shape (cosine) distribution.

Radial f/c distribution

Either a Constant distribution or a C-shape (arc) distribution (which is zero at root and tip, and at a
peak value between).

Peak r/R position

With a C-shape (arc) distribution, the radial position of the camber peak.

Cupping

Drop
The magnitude of the trailing edge cup drop from the uncupped geometry.

Root fairing
The start and the end of the fairing of cup into the root.

Tip fairing
The start and the end of the fairing of cup into the tip.

C-8
 Data Entry Screens

C.06 - Tip Description

The type of blade tip shape is described in the Tip description window. This information allows for
the special needs of the graphics splines used to represent the blade outline.

Tip curvature
A selection relating to how PropCad will treat the tip curvature (i.e., the tangency of the leading
and trailing edges). Most open propellers have a Smooth curvature. A Kaplan propeller is a good
example of a Broken tip, where neither leading or trailing edge is tangent at the tip. The Cleaver
option has a broken trailing edge with a leading edge that comes into the tip with a smooth (radial)
tangent at the tip.

C.07 - Hub Description

The Hub description window input fields are organized in Hub/shafting and Blade intersection
groups. You enter hub diameter values at the forward end, mid-length and aft end. Non-linear hub
diameters will be represented by a circular arc through the three specified points.

Hub length
The length of the hub (along the propeller axis).

Fwd hub diam

The outer hub diameter at the forward end.

Mid hub diam

The outer hub diameter at mid length.

Aft hub diam

The outer hub diameter at the aft end.

Shaft diameter
The diameter of the shaft at the forward end of the hub.

C-9
Data Entry Screens

Shaft taper
Shaft taper, expressed as a slope ratio. For example, a slope of 1:20 represents a diameter
reduction of 1 unit every 20 units of shaft length.

Root radius
The defined fillet radius of the blade root. Note: The only use of the Root radius is for a schematic
representation on the CAD View drawing. The 3D geometry does not include a root fillet.

Axis location
This is the location of the intersection of the blade generating line (GL) and the hub axis. It is
defined as the distance aft of the forward edge of the hub.

C.08 - Elements [2D]

The input fields in the drawing Elements [2D] interactive input window are organized in the
Presentation, Expanded view, Transverse (front) view, Profile (side) view and Pitch distribution
groups. This window also includes the Fill all and All command buttons which are used to
automatically select drawing elements for placement on the drawing.

Border
Indicates whether the border will be drawn.

Title block
Indicates whether the title block will be drawn.

Principal dimensions
Indicates whether the principal characteristics table will be drawn.

Expanded view
Indicates if any parts of the expanded view are to be drawn.

Show
This is a column of check-boxes. By clicking on a check-box, its corresponding r/R section below is
marked to be included in the final drawing

Line of max thickness

Indicates if the line of maximum thickness will be drawn on the expanded view.

C-10
 Data Entry Screens

Skew line
Indicates whether the skew line will be drawn on the selected view.

Dimensioning
Indicates if dimensions will be drawn on the selected view.

Cross hatching
Indicates if the propeller sections is to be drawn on the selected view will be hatched.

Transverse [front] view

Indicates if any parts of the transverse (front) view are to be drawn.

Developed outline
Indicates whether the developed outline will be drawn on the transverse view

Profile [side] view

Indicates if any parts of the profile (side) view are to be drawn.

Projected outline
Indicates whether the projected outline will be drawn on the profile view.

Rake line
Indicates whether the rake line will be drawn on the profile view.

Pitch distribution
Indicates if any parts of the pitch distribution view are to be drawn.

Ratio of nominal pitch

Indicates whether the non-dimensional ratio of local section pitch to nominal pitch is to be drawn
on the pitch distribution view

C.09 - Border and Title block

The size and scaling of the border and title block are defined in this window. The CAD View retains
all of its graphical elements in full scale. To correctly draw the border, PropCad will need to convert
the printer page size to an appropriate drawing scale.

Page units
The units to be used for the dimensions of the printed page (inches or millimeter).

C-11
Data Entry Screens

Orientation
The orientation of the printed page, Portrait or Landscape. (Note: This does not alter the printer
setting.)

Border width
The width of the drawing border as it will be printed on the page (e.g., 250 mm or 10 inches).

Border height
The height of the drawing border as it will be printed on the page (e.g., 180 mm or 7.5 inches).

Title block width

The width of the title block as it will be printed on the page. The height of the standard title block is
automatically calculated.

Print scale
Establishes the scale of the drawing on the printed page. Fit to page will calculate the scale that
will fit the entire drawing into the maximum printable area of the page. Fit to border will calculate
the scale that will fit the entire drawing into the selected border dimensions. (See 2.03 -
Generating a Standard Propeller Design Drawing.)

C.10 - Principal Characteristics

This screen contains a list of Principal characteristics that may be optionally included with the title
block. This is a summary of information about the propeller, including calculated items such as the
required thickness, weight and moment of inertia. Items may be selected for display, deleted,
added or edited as needed.

Weight and inertia

Weight and Mass moment of inertia (in air) calculations are based on volumetric integration and
material density.

The calculation of Additional wetted inertia is based on an integration of virtual mass moment with
empirical coefficients, per the work of Burrill & Hobson [1962]. The figure gives the added moment
of inertia for the entrained water (above the material's mass moment). The calculation method was
developed for propellers of 3 to 5 blades and BAR (DAR) from 0.50 to 1.10.

C-12
 Data Entry Screens

C.11 - Settings
This screen is where program Settings can be defined. There are three groups allowing you to
define program and new file start up values, font characteristics for the CAD View, and the axis
orientation for the ASCII export files. Click Edit | Settings to open the window.

Units
The units selection that will be set on program start up or a File| New. Note: Choose the units that
will be most frequently used for your designs.

Company name
The company name that will be displayed on program start up or a File| New.

Font
The text font for the CAD View drawing. Note: Select a font from the list of available True Type
and vector fonts.

True Type rotate on print

Option to rotate vertically oriented text with True Type fonts on printouts. Note: Certain printer
drivers rotate vertical True Type text 180º when printing the drawing - even though the drawing is
displayed properly. Click this option ON only if you need to fix this printing problem.

Propeller axis
Option to set the orientation of propeller axis in the exported file to X, Y or Z. Note: Select the
desired axis from the list. Standard orientation is for the propeller axis to be on the X-axis. This
option is only applied to ASCII file export (e.g., SurfCAM, Mastercam, Rhino).

C-13
Data Entry Screens

C-14
Appendix D: Symbols and Abbreviations

D.01 - Symbols and Abbreviations

Sections data symbols

Chord
The chord length of the section.

Face:RL
The distance from the propeller face baseline (at the section described) to the rake line (RL). The RL
is the straight reference line indicating blade inclination in the profile view.

LE back r, etc.
Any leading edge (LE) or trailing edge (TE) radius of the section shape on the back and face of the
propeller. In the Chapter 2 example, the LE has a positive edge radius for its smoothly rounded nose,
while the TE has no edge radius - the blade surface is sharply ended.

MaxT
The maximum thickness of the section. Note: This is the actual maximum material thickness, not a
maximum X-offset value.

MidC:GL
The distance from the section's mid-chord point (half the section's chord length) to the generating
line (GL). This defines the propeller's skew. The GL is the reference line perpendicular to the
propeller axis. Skew values are positive when toward the trailing edge.

p/Pnominal
This is the symbol for the pitch distribution - defined by the pitch at the section as a fraction of the
nominal propeller pitch. For example, a p/Pnominal value of 0.8 indicates that the pitch at the
section being described is 80% of the nominal pitch.

r/R
The radial placement of the section as a ratio of the propeller tip radius. Thus, r/R is the section's
position along the propeller radius. For example, r/R value of 0.6 indicates that the section being
described is at 60% of the propeller radius from the propeller axis.

Report abbreviations

C
See Chord above.

GL
The Generating Line (GL), which is the vertical position by which all locations are referenced in the
Expanded and Transverse Views.

LE
Leading Edge.

D-1
Symbols and Abbreviations

MT
See MaxT above.

P
Local pitch at given r/R. (Also see p/Pnominal above, as P = nominal Pitch * p/Pnominal)

PA°
Local pitch angle (in degrees) at given r/R.

r
Local radius.

r/R
See r/R above.

RL
Distance from section baseline to rake line at given r/R. (See Face:RL above.)

SK
Propeller skew equal to distance from mid-chord to generating line (GL). (See MidC:GL above.)

TE
Trailing Edge.

D-2
Appendix E: File Formats

E.01 - PropCad Data Files

Version 4 Files (PC4)

PC4 files are binary data files that contain all of the information about your propeller design. You
can open and save these files only through PropCad.

Version 2/3 Files (VCD)

VCD files are Visual CADD v2 data files. Previous versions of PropCad used Visual CADD as a "host"
for PropCad, so all data was processed through these files. PropCad made use of a "user block" of
space in the VCD file to store information about the propeller design, as well as the CAD entities on
the drawing. This version of PropCad can read and write VCD files for backward compatibility.

E.02 - Export Files

PropCad exports a number of file format types. Most of these are used to transfer data to CAM
software for milling or prototyping. These export formats are:

Description Extension
PropCad 2D and 3D offset files OFF
PropCad 3D geometry files 3DB, 3DF
PropCad template files PCT
IMSA IDF marine vehicle data files IDF
SurfCAM ASCII ASC
Mastercam ASCII DOC
Virtual World VRML WRL
SolidWorks 99+ Macro SWB
Corel Cad Macro CSC
Rhino Macro TXT
PowerSHAPE Macro MAC
CAD files VCD, DXF, GCD

PropCad Data Files

OFF files are text files which contains a coarse description of the section data in both 2D and 3D.
There are four parts to the file - parameters, 2D offsets, 3D XYZ offsets and 3D radial offsets. One
useful application of this file is to export the table of parameters and/or 2D offsets, and then insert
them onto your drawing in the CAD View.

E-1
File Formats

PCT files are PropCad template files to be used as a "parent" or "template" for a new design. PCT
files are saved from a PropCad design.

IDF files are international neutral data exchange files for marine vehicle design. HydroComp
sponsored the development of a propeller section entity for version 3.03+ of the IDF specification.
This is an ASCII text file which has been adopted by a number of companies involved in marine
propeller design, as well as hydrodynamic or structural analysis. (See E.04 - IDF File Format for
specification of the format.)

3DB (back) and 3DF (face) files are text files of 3D XYZ offsets. The data is in a surface mesh
(i.e., point cloud) of XYZ triplets.

WRL files are Virtual World (VRML) files which can be viewed in any VRML viewer. VRML is a 3D
graphics design protocol that is popular in Web based applications, which require a 3D solid view
port. VRML viewers are generally hosted by a Web browser and will automatically recognize the file
type if a path to a VRML file is entered into the address field of the browser.

CAM and Solid Modeling Files

Refer to H - Integration With CADCAM Software for more information.

ASC files are text based SurfCAM data files. This is an ASCII file that can be imported directly into
SurfCAM.

DOC files are text based Mastercam data files.

SWB files are script files for the SolidWorks solid modeling program. This is macro that runs
directly from inside SolidWorks 99 (or newer) to create a solid part object for the blade and hub.

MAC files are text based macro files for DELCAM PowerSHAPE. Due to limitations in PowerSHAPE,
this macro only exports the points along the sections.

CSC and TXT files are macro script files for Corel Cad and Rhino.

CAD Files

PropCad can export the 2D and 3D CAD view drawings (standard propeller drawing and 3D view)
into five different CAD file types:

• VCD files in native Visual CADD format (without any project data block)
• DXF files in AutoCAD DXF format
• DWG files in AutoCAD DWG format
• WMF Windows Metafiles
• GCD files in Generic CADD format

Note: Successful transfer of data via DXF and DWG files are dependent on version. DWG format is
likely to be more successful as not all CAD software can read DXF files created by PropCad.

You can export a 3D DXF file of the propeller by first building the "3D drawing", then saving the file
as a DXF file. This saves the 3D definition of the propeller face, propeller back and hub external
surfaces as faceted panels.

E-2
 File Formats

Graphics Files

PropCad can export the 3D View image as a JPEG file.

E.03 - Import Files

PropCad imports a variety of file types for the purpose of building new designs or design variants
from the imported file.

IMSA Definition File (IDF)

The IDF file is a cross-platform marine design data transfer file developed by the International
Marine Software Association (a trade consortium). The file contains propeller characteristics
including the section offsets in XYXY format (i.e., suction surface x-offset, suction surface y-offset,
pressure surface x-offset, pressure surface y-offset). As IDF files are text files, they are often used
as a convenient way to manually prepare and import data for a known design. Refer to E.04 - IDF
File Format for a description of the file tags and structure.

PropCad Template (PCT)

The PropCad Template file clarifies the process of using an existing PropCad design as a "parent" or
"template" for a new variant. You can develop a custom design and Export the design as a PCT file.
When starting a new project derived from the saved template file, you Import the PCT file and
enter all of the dimensional information about the new design (e.g., diameter, pitch, rake). If you
need to modify the design in the Builder - for things like different BAR, blade outline or skew - you
would set the appropriate Builder selection options as [Current].

PropCad v2/v3 (VCD)

PropCad reads legacy PropCad v2/v3 files (in VCD format) from the Import command (moved from
Open).

PropExpert 2004+ (HXF)

HydroComp's PropExpert propeller sizing software is a popular companion to PropCad. Data from a
PropExpert project can be imported into a new PropCad design. This will import basic propeller
parameters (e.g., diameter, nominal pitch) and Builder target values (e.g., BAR, Series).

E.04 - IDF File Format

The IDF file is an ASCII open data exchange specification in wide use within the marine industry.
IDF stands for IMSA Definition File, and was originally presented by the International Marine
Software Associates (IMSA) in 1991 for hull form data exchange. The subsequent addition of
propeller definition entities provided a way for propeller CAD, CFD and FEA software to exchange
geometric data in a common format. HydroComp has coordinated the development of the propeller
specification with other industry organizations involved in propeller design and analysis.

There are two propeller definition entities within the IDF file - PROPSECT and MESH. The PROPSECT
entity is used to define the propeller with 2D section and offset parameters. The MESH entity is
used to define the 3D geometry of the face and back surfaces with a mesh of XYZ points (also
known as a "point cloud").

E-3
File Formats

PROPSECT Entity

Entity This format was developed considering the many different international approaches used in
defining propeller geometry. It defines the 2D expanded section geometry in a manner which will
be easy for anyone familiar with a table of propeller offsets to understand. It is meant to be a
consensus solution to the problem of common data exchange and will not exactly match any one
company's internal format. Some internal manipulation of the data, such as sign convention, may
be necessary.

Note: Indenting and spacing is for clarity only; it is not required to be used in actual data file.

$IDF
3.03 (or greater)

$ENTITY
PROPSECTS

$VESSEL NAME
Identifier for this vessel (or job)

$DATA SOURCE
Program that wrote the file

$DATE
mm/dd/yy

$TIME
hh:mm:ss

$UNITS
This line must be either SI (meters) or User Defined
If User Defined, then the following line(s) must be specified:
# of user units/meter (e.g., 3.2808399 for units in feet)

$COMMENTS
This is a comment about the propeller about to be described.
A comment can be any number of lines,
with no more than 79 characters per line.

$GEOMETRY
rotation = "Right" or "Left" hand
number of blades,
expanded blade area ratio,
propeller diameter [dim],
nominal pitch [dim],
hub diameter [dim]
blade thickness ratio (may be zero),
rake at tip (positive downstream) [dim]
n = number of sections
type = "XY Offsets" or "XYXY Offsets" (See Comments below)

section 1
...
section n
where each expanded section format is:

$SECTION

E-4
 File Formats

section name (e.g., 0.7R),

radial position [dim],
chord length [dim],
max thickness [dim],
location of max thickness from LE [dim]
local pitch [dim],
distance of GL to mid-chord (+ toward the LE) [dim],
rake (+ downstream) [dim]
maximum camber [dim],
location of max. camber from leading edge [dim]
j = number of offsets defining the face and back for the section

point 1
...
point j
where each offset point format is:

"XY Offsets":
common X chord position [dim],
Y ordinate suction side [dim],
Y ordinate pressure side [dim]
or
"XYXY Offsets":
X chord position suction side [dim],
Y ordinate suction side [dim],
X chord position pressure side [dim],
Y ordinate pressure side [dim]

$END ENTITY

Comments
IDF files may contain any number of these entities. However, when writing to files, entities are
typically appended to existing files. Therefore, only the last entity is typically used when reading
entities from files.
There are minor differences between the "XY Offsets" and "XYXY Offsets" definitions. For many
propeller designs, the X-position of each offset is common. For example, many organizations
involved in propeller design use points based on logical and regular spacing, such as at the leading
edge (LE), 2.5% chord, 5% chord, etc. continuing to the trailing edge (TE). This requires, however,
that the "chord length" of the two sides of the section (back and face) be the same. Many propeller
design are better served if the lengths are different, leading to the use of the "XYXY Offsets"
definition. For example, in propellers with cupping, the TE thickness is not on a vertical plane but
on a plane perpendicular to the curvature of the cup, making the back longer than the face.

Example file
The IDF file shown below is for the example B-series propeller from Chapter 2. It is in units of
inches, and some intermediate sections have been removed to minimize the text shown.

$IDF
3.03
$ENTITY
PROPSECTS
$VESSEL NAME
Propeller design
$DATA SOURCE
PropCad 4.01
$DATE
09/29/01

E-5
File Formats

$TIME
15:29:45
$UNITS
User Defined
39.37008
$COMMENTS
$GEOMETRY
Right
4, .6538529847, 20, 20, 3.6
0, 1.7632698071
10
XYXY Offsets
$SECTION
1R, 10, .06, .03, .028589
20, 1.153, 1.7632698071
0, 0
28
0, .0088170318, 0, .0088170316
.0006, .0123604562, .0006, .0068109732
.0012, .0138711851, .0012, .0059564242
.0018, .0150434471, .0018, .0052968207
.0024, .0160386149, .0024, .0047408666
.003, .0169192747, .003, .0042531787
.0045, .0188002959, .0045, .0032311295
.006, .0203841374, .006, .002401558
.009, .0230052659, .009, .0011400657
.012, .0251339369, .012, .0003218136
.015, .0268919465, .015, 0
.018, .0282449658, .018, 0
.021, .0291656612, .021, 0
.024, .0297191252, .024, 0
.027, .0299691789, .027, 0
.03, .0299779076, .03, 0
.033, .0297940236, .033, 0
.036, .0294174006, .036, 0
.039, .0288294556, .039, 0
.042, .0280018165, .042, 0
.045, .0268919465, .045, 0
.048, .0254759499, .048, 0
.051, .0237889533, .051, 0
.054, .0218754429, .054, 0
.0555, .0208526303, .0555, 0
.057, .0197979325, .057, 0
.0585, .0187215038, .0585, 0
.06, .0176340633, .06, 0

... (intermediate sections from 0.95 to 0.3 removed)

$SECTION
.2R, 2, 5.163, .732, 1.8070499989
16.25,-.424, .3526539614
0, 0
28
0, .2692320006, 0, .269232
.05163, .3298696836, .05163, .2103544275
.10326, .3623106668, .10326, .1837169818
.15489, .3937558564, .15489, .1653370091
.20652, .4235899791, .20652, .151173586
.25815, .4506087491, .25815, .1376732633

E-6
 File Formats

.387225, .5037369702, .387225, .1078273004

.5163, .5474035207, .5163, .083584731
.77445, .6153343153, .77445, .0480560875
1.0326, .6685071642, 1.0326, .0240697428
1.29075, .7039779866, 1.29075, .0088371714
1.5489, .7252038064, 1.5489, .0012774725
1.80705, .732, 1.80705, 0
2.0652, .7281296381, 2.0652, .0018819429
2.32335, .7167040196, 2.32335, .007097356
2.5815, .6979956069, 2.5815, .0150053309
2.83965, .6728344562, 2.83965, .0251213539
3.0978, .6427675997, 3.0978, .0371656015
3.35595, .6083932074, 3.35595, .0512724834
3.6141, .5687746057, 3.6141, .0673241341
3.87225, .5244815627, 3.87225, .0847029642
4.1304, .4754635266, 4.1304, .103542823
4.38855, .4209090815, 4.38855, .1237470008
4.6467, .36217173, 4.6467, .145230038
4.775775, .3315489318, 4.775775, .156585058
4.90485, .30018721, 4.90485, .1685192897
5.033925, .2720826346, 5.033925, .1799821478
5.163, .2499072, 5.163, .1899072
$END ENTITY

MESH Entity

This entity allows for the back and face surfaces to be defined by a "rectangular" mesh. The term
"rectangular" does not mean a true rectangle in space, but that it has a fully populated grid of
points along a "row" and "column" rectangle. For example, a surface defined by 12 points of 3 rows
and 4 columns is a rectangular mesh.

The orientation of the mesh can be in any direction, but the orientation must be consistent for all
"rows" and "columns". PropCad defines the 3D data by points along a radial section, and all points
for a section are grouped together. If you had 28 points per section (PropCad's export standard)
and 10 sections, you would see all 28 points from the first section from LE to TE, followed by 28
points for the second section from LE to TE, and so on for all sections. There would be a total of
280 points.

Note: Indenting and spacing is for clarity only; it is not required to be used in actual data file.

$IDF
3.03 (or greater)

$ENTITY
PROPSECTS

$VESSEL NAME
Identifier for this vessel (or job)

$DATA SOURCE
Program that wrote the file

$DATE
mm/dd/yy

$TIME
hh:mm:ss
E-7
File Formats

$UNITS
This line must be either SI (meters) or User Defined
If User Defined, then the following line(s) must be specified:
# of user units/meter (e.g., 3.2808399 for units in feet)

$COMMENTS
This is a comment about the propeller about to be described.
A comment can be any number of lines,
with no more than 79 characters per line.

$GEOMETRY
n = number of parts (2 is used for back and face)

$PART
name of part (first "Back", then "Face")
number of sections, number of points per section
X, Y, Z of first point of first section [dim]
X, Y, Z of second point of first section [dim]
...
X, Y, Z of second-to-last point of last section [dim]
X, Y, Z of last point of last section [dim]

$END ENTITY

Example file
The MESH entity shown below is also for the example B-series propeller from Chapter 2. It is in
units of inches, and many intermediate points have been removed to minimize the text shown.

$IDF
3.03
$ENTITY
MESH
$VESSEL NAME
Propeller design
$DATA SOURCE
PropCad 4.01
$DATE
09/29/01
$TIME
15:29:45
$UNITS
User Defined
39.37008
$COORDINATE SYSTEM
-1,-1,-1
$COMMENTS
$GEOMETRY
2
$PART
Back
10, 28
-2.1895763567, 1.3749341686,-1.4524310765
-2.1858283437, 1.4316033909,-1.3966072215
-2.1648313204, 1.4709871829,-1.3550633593
-2.1432251317, 1.5086488469,-1.3130036774
...
2.1008556376, 9.9363010965, 1.1269075029

E-8
 File Formats

2.1023156209, 9.9361760128, 1.1280098596

2.1037963112, 9.936051551, 1.1291056534
2.1052874947, 9.9359273458, 1.1301981147
$PART
Face
10, 28
-2.1895763563, 1.3749341682,-1.4524310769
-2.1127162456, 1.3640084925,-1.4626964252
-2.0555786656, 1.3716777296,-1.4555068554
-2.0034925008, 1.3840318926,-1.4437644269
...
2.1207259112, 9.9370118672, 1.1206226623
2.1211808829, 9.9368515911, 1.1220429835
2.1216358546, 9.936691112, 1.1234632818
2.1220908263, 9.9365304298, 1.1248835571
$END ENTITY

E-9
File Formats

E-10
Appendix F: Library Propellers

F.01 - AU
Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
Aerofoil blade section

Max thickness location

32% chord length at hub to 50% chord at tip

Skew
Modest skew Section = AU
Outline = AU
Skew = AU
Hub diameter
18% diameter

Remarks
The AU propeller is similar to the B-series, but with a flat face fully to the
hub.

F.02 - AU CPP
Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
n/a

Max thickness location

n/a
Section = AU
Skew Outline = AU CPP
Modest skew Skew = AU CPP

Hub diameter
30% diameter

Remarks
This selection only provides outline and skew options. Any blade section may
be used, but the root section will be at or above 0.30R hub radius.

F-1
Library Propellers

F.03 - B-series
Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
Aerofoil blade (Troost) section

Max thickness location

35% chord length at hub to 50% chord at tip

Skew
Modest skew Section = B-series
Outline = B-series
Hub diameter Skew = B-series
16.7% diameter

Remarks
The tip thickness is used as the blade edge thickness in the B-series offset
algorithm. Some of the original published B-series data has been smoothed
in PropCad. All changes are minor and are intended only to remove
unfairness in the data.

F.04 - BB-series
Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
n/a

Max thickness location

n/a

Skew
Modest skew Section = B-series
Outline = BB-series
Hub diameter Skew = BB-series
16.7% diameter

Remarks
This selection only provides outline and skew options. Some of the original
published BB-series data has been smoothed in PropCad. All changes are
minor and are intended only to remove unfairness in the data.

F-2
 Library Propellers

F.05 - Gawn
Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
Flat faced (ogival) sections

Max thickness location

50% chord length

Skew
No skew Section = Gawn
Outline = =Gawn
Skew = Linear
Hub diameter
20% diameter

Remarks
The Gawn section has a flat face and a back of circular arc. The tip thickness
is used for both leading and trailing edge thickness in the numerical
development of the offsets.

F.06 - Kaplan
Configuration
Ducted

Sections
Aerofoil section at hub leading to flat faced at tip

Max thickness
35% chord length at hub to 50% chord at tip

Skew
No skew
Section = Kaplan
Outline = Kaplan
Hub diameter Skew = Kaplan
16.7% diameter

Remarks
Some of the original published Kaplan data has been smoothed in PropCad.
All changes are minor and are intended only to remove unfairness in the
data.

F-3
Library Propellers

F.07 - SK
Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
Cambered (progressive pitch) blade section

Max thickness location

50% chord length

Skew
No skew Section = SK
Outline = SK
Hub diameter Skew = Linear
16.5% diameter

Remarks
This is a 3-bladed, high-performance design developed in Russia for high-
speed craft.

F.08 - Modified Gawn

Configuration
Open-wheel

Sections
Flat faced (ogival) sections modified in the root

Max thickness location

50% chord length

Skew
No skew Section = Gawn
Outline = Gawn
Skew = Linear
Hub diameter
16.5% diameter

Remarks
The Modified Gawn section is based on the Gawn propeller, but with a
curved face surface near the root. The role of this geometry is to provide
greater clearance between the blades, and also to reduce the camber in this
region (with a corresponding reduction in local thrust and blade pressure)
without altering the strength characteristics at the root.

F-4
 Library Propellers

F.09 - Thruster
Configuration
Ducted

Sections
Symmetric blade section

Max thickness location

50% chord length

Skew
No skew
Section = Thruster
Outline = Kaplan
Hub diameter Skew = Linear
Not applicable.

Remarks
This section is symmetric both in thickness and chord, and is developed from
circular arcs (similar to the Gawn section). It is typically used for applications
such as bow thrusters.

F-5
Library Propellers

F-6
Appendix G: Propeller Cupping

G.01 - Small Propeller Cup: A Proposed Geometry Standard and a New

Performance Model
This is a technical paper delivered to the SNAME Propellers/Shafting 1997 Symposium.

Donald M. MacPherson
VP Technical Director, HydroComp, Inc.

ABSTRACT

A widely used technique to correct and enhance vessel performance is propeller "cup" - a
curvature applied to the trailing edge of a propeller blade. Although cupping has become a regular
procedure in small propeller shops, it is typically applied without any systematic rules or
quantifiable understanding of its effect on performance. The traditional definitions of cup (e.g.,
light, heavy) vary greatly from one company to the next, and even from one project to the next
within the same company. It is the goal of this paper to provide a consistent definition of cup
geometry for practical use in industry, as well as a new performance model that can be used in
propeller calculations.

INTRODUCTION

Recent evolutionary changes in marine vehicle design and engine performance have resulted in
an increasing number of heavily-loaded small propellers. Vessels are continuously pushed faster,
and engines of a given size and weight have become more powerful to accommodate this increased
demand for performance. Unfortunately, all too often the propeller - the central element in
performance - is not considered during early design stages.
Such an oversight results in stern geometries which do not allow for adequate propeller
diameter and clearance. The ultimate result is very high thrust loadings leading to noise, vibration
and loss of performance due to excess cavitation. Control of cavitation has become the focus of
many of the efforts of commercial propeller manufacturers and specialists in the field.
One can always consider a different type of propulsor (e.g., waterjet or surface drive), but if
fully submerged propellers are required, there are a few ways to mitigate the problem of excess
cavitation:

1. Use cavitation to your advantage (e.g., super cavitating propellers).

2. Prepare a custom design including features such as high skew or camber (also known as
progressive pitch).
3. Apply cup to the propeller in conjunction with an appropriate change in pitch.

Custom propellers clearly offer the best hydrodynamic solution to the problem of excess
cavitation as they can be designed specifically for the engine, gear and vessel. Custom propellers
are not without their shortcomings, however. They are typically effective only within a narrow
design range, are costly to manufacture and repair, and require special design capabilities. Also, of
course a custom propeller can only replace a poorly performing propeller - one cannot realistically
redesign and existing propeller after-the-fact. Propeller cup, while not as hydrodynamically elegant
as a proper custom design, can be applied by any competent propeller shop to help resolve poor
performance due to excess cavitation. It can also be applied to a new propeller of conventional
design.

G-1
Propeller Cupping

WHAT IS PROPELLER CUP?

Propeller cup is simply the deformation of a propeller's trailing edge toward the pressure face
(Figure 1). Providing a measure of camber to the blade, it changes the pressure distribution along
the blade's chord length - adding lift toward the trailing edge.

Figure 1 - Example of propeller cup

How is this change in lift distribution useful in controlling cavitation? Typically you will find a
peak in the lift distribution somewhere on the leading half of the blade. Cavitation occurs in this
region when the local lift is greater than the vapor pressure of the water - causing it to vaporize or
"boil". (This vaporization creates the vapor "cavity" which gives cavitation its name.) Cavitation can
be controlled if the peak lift can be reduced below the vapor pressure, while still generating the
necessary total lift.
Here is where cup comes in. By adding lift away from the peak via cupping, the entire lift can be
reduced by a reduction in pitch. The more we need to reduce pitch to lower the peak lift, the more
cup we need to add to compensate for the lost thrust. See Figure 2 below for a descriptive
comparison of this effect.

Figure 2 - Performance comparison

The history of propeller cupping is not clear, but has been in use for decades. Unlike progressive
pitch propellers, cupping is not generally part of the original propeller design or manufacture. It is
indeed an "aftermarket" performance boost applied in the best of propeller shop tradition - heat it
and beat it. Of course, some shops are more elegant than others about the precision and tolerance
of their application of cup.
The lack of consistency in cup geometry is perhaps the greatest individual roadblock to a
systematic understanding of the effect of cup on performance. No two organizations use the same
definition of cup, and it is common to find differences in the application of cup even within the
same shop. We can never develop a methodical understanding of the effects of cup without a
consistent definition of the geometry.

G-2
 Propeller Cupping

A PROPOSED STANDARD DEFINITION OF CUP GEOMETRY

To most members of the general marine community, cup comes in two flavors - light and heavy.
Unfortunately, one person's light cup is another person's heavy cup. These trailing edge
deformations are very small - typically less than 10 mm (3/8 inch) for the heaviest of cups on most
work boat and motor yacht propellers - so differences on such a small scale are easy to appreciate.
It is also easy to see why a systematic definition of cup is so important. Some propeller
manufacturers have proprietary systems of rating cup. Cup gauges classed as A, B, C, etc.
document the amount of cup which was used and insure that a consistent cup is applied to all
blades. Still, a quantifiable system is needed to determine performance changes.
One systematic treatment of the shape and amount of cup was developed by the U.S. Navy's
small craft group (Hankley, 1983) (Denny, 1989). Hankley and Denny used the terms Light,
Medium and Heavy to describe the extend of trailing edge drop based on the maximum thickness
of the blade. These terms proved to be much more aggressive than commercial terminology.
(These terms correlate well to a percentage of diameter for typical commercial propellers. The Light
cup is typically about 0.5% of diameter, Medium is 1% and Heavy is 1.5%. Thus, the US Navy
Heavy cup on a 36 inch propeller suggests more than one-half inch of deflection!) These terms are
also subjective and are not "measurable".
This author proposes a standard definition loosely based on the Hankley/Denny definition
described above. The goal is to remove any subjective terms like Heavy and Light. We propose that
cup be defined by:

1. The trailing edge drop in millimeters. (Dimension X in Figure 1.) For example, a propeller
might have a 3 mm cup, another a 7 mm cup. No more Light and Heavy.
2. Cup curvature is to be an arc with a radius 7.5 times the drop, giving an extent of curvature
of 30 degrees.

This now gives us a measurable definition with which we will build a performance model to
determine how cup does affect thrust and torque.

A NEW PROPELLER CUP PERFORMANCE MODEL

Before considering a new model of cup performance, a review of current views is in order.
Starting with the public at large, this author has witnessed a seriously misguided sense about cup.
To quote a few published comments:

• "cupping the prop acts like increased pitch (approximately 1 inch)"

• "select blades with 1 inch or 5 percent less pitch than a similar uncupped blade"
• "they serve no useful function on most vessels operating under 30 knots"
• "add cup and your engine will lose about 200 RPM"

All of the above may be true for individual circumstances, but as universal statements of fact
they fall short. These statements assume that all cupping is of the same size and has the same
effect on all propellers. Of course, this is not the case. What is useful about the above statements
is the notion of "effective" pitch.
In other words, a propeller with cup acts as if it were a propeller with a somewhat higher pitch.
(See Figure 2 where the cupped propeller of a lower pitch generates the same thrust as an
uncupped propeller of a higher pitch.) The use of effective pitch makes a great deal of sense as it
allows us to use conventional propeller performance curves for the analysis of cupped propellers.
Rather than stating that "cup was worth one inch of pitch", Denny offered a thoughtful analysis
of effective pitch. For their Light, Medium and Heavy cups, the authors prepared a chart of effective
pitch vs. geometric pitch, and Kt curves for a variety of 3-bladed Gawn-style propellers.
Unfortunately, no correlation for torque (Kq) was presented and the authors' definition of
geometric pitch included the cup deformation, making the correlation difficult to evaluate. This has

G-3
Propeller Cupping

lead this author and others in industry to the conclusion that the charts significantly over-estimate
the effect of cup. (Full scale analysis of a number of motor yachts by this author also supports this
conclusion.) Finally, three magnitudes of cup are inadequate to be useful to the industry at large. A
finer distinction is required (i.e., something less than Light and between Light and Medium).
Hwang (Hwang, 1995) reached many of these same conclusions in their presentation of model
tests and effective pitch for a 3-bladed Gawn-style propeller. They intentionally used a propeller
geometry and Medium cup definition following that of Denny. The published results included both
Kt and Kq curves over a range of P/D ratios, and show an increase in pitch to be significantly less
than that of Denny.
The following simple performance model attempts to eliminate the subjective terms of Light,
Medium and Heavy, and follows the more modest pitch increases from Hwang and HydroComp sea
trial data. Based on analysis of model test results and comparisons to full scale trial results, it was
found that the value of the geometric pitch had little effect on the increase in pitch. Only the
amount of cup deformation influenced the effective pitch.
The new performance model is:

PEFF = PGEO + 21(XCUP)

where, PEFF = effective pitch

PGEO = geometric (uncupped) face pitch
XCUP = trailing edge deformation (drop)

For example, the 250 mm propeller from Hwang had an average cup of 1.85 mm. The effective
increase in pitch would then be approximately 39 mm. A summary of geometric pitch, calculated
effective pitch (from the above relationship) and as-tested equivalent pitch (from corresponding
Kt/Kq curves) is shown below.

P<spangeo/D Pgeo Peff Pequiv

0.8 200 239 240 (0.96 P/D)
1.0 250 289 285 (1.14 P/D)
1.2 300 339 340 (1.36 P/D)
1.4 350 389 390 (1.56 P/D)

Table 1 - Corresponding effective pitch

At no point was the calculated effective pitch more than 2% from the tested equivalent pitch,
and there was very good correlation with both Kt and Kq. So, to find the necessary cup, first
determine the pitch increase needed for performance and then divide the pitch increase by 21.
There is one final point to remember when using this performance model. As you can see,
effective pitch can increase substantially with cup. One must be sure to check that the effective
pitch does not exceed the range of P/D ratio in the data set of the Kt/Kq formula. For example, the
above propeller with a geometric pitch of 400 (1.6 P/D) is within the upper limit of the Gawn-AEW
equations (Blount, 1981), but the effective pitch of 439 mm (1.76 P/D) is outside of the range and
the extrapolated results may be unreliable.

Cavitation and effective pitch

How is cavitation evaluated for a cupped propeller? The simple answer is that while performance
corresponds to a propeller with a higher effective pitch, the levels of cavitation correspond to the
geometric pitch of the propeller ahead of the cup.
The traditional criteria for cavitation are all empirically-derived functions of blade pressure
(MacPherson, 1991). They were developed over time to represent relationships between amounts
G-4
 Propeller Cupping

of cavitation and "average" blade pressure for conventional (uncupped) propellers. To use these
criteria with cupped propellers, it is necessary to calculate two different thrust values - a
performance thrust at the effective pitch and then a theoretical "cavitation thrust" calculated at the
geometric pitch. Average blade pressure, subsequent levels of cavitation and thrust loss are then
derived from this "cavitation thrust".

MEASUREMENT OF CUP

Knowing how much cup to apply is only half of the battle. The other half is actually getting the
proper cup onto the propeller. Using the geometric definition of cup corresponding to Hankley and
Denny, this author suggests the use of a propeller cup gauge similar to that shown in Figure 3.
Each gauge is labeled for the amount of trailing edge deformation (drop) in millimeters (e.g., 5
mm). It would have a step of the proper dimension (e.g., 5 mm) to measure the drop, and a radius
of 7.5 times the drop (e.g., 37.5 mm) to measure the curvature. Two marks of 0 and 30 degrees
would be scored on the radius to show the extent of curvature. A typical propeller shop would have
gauges in 1 mm increments up to 10 mm or so.

Figure 3 - Cup gauge

Consistency of pitch and cup is very important, so industry practice is to apply the same amount
of cup across the blade. Typically, the required cup would be fit from the mid-radius (40%-50%R)
to near the tip (90%R), with a smooth transition to no cup at both extents. (One note of interest: a
few companies have had some success in varying the cup distribution, typically with greater cup
near the tip, in an attempt to fine-tune performance at various speeds.)

CONCLUSION

The simple geometric definition and performance model described above are intended to bring
some sense of consistency to the community of propeller manufacturers, after-market propeller
shops, naval architects and other marine professionals interested in cupped propeller performance.
An earlier generation of the performance model implemented in a commercial software package
(HydroComp, 1996) has been used successfully by dozens of marine professionals for numerous
new and repowered vessels.
Work is continuing to improve the performance model by segregating thrust and torque, by
evaluating the effect of other propeller parameters (e.g., mean width ratio) and by refining the
relationship with new data from model tests and sea trials, particularly for 4- and 5-bladed
propellers of very high blade area.

G-5
Propeller Cupping

REFERENCES

Blount, D.L. and Hubble, E.N., "Sizing Segmental Section Commercially Available Propellers for
Small Craft", SNAME Propeller Symposium, 1981.

Denny, S.B., Puckette, L.T., Hubble, E.N., Smith, S.K. and Najarian, R.F., "A New Usable Propeller
Series", Marine Technology, Vol. 26, No. 3, July 1989.

Hwang JL, Tsai JF and Li CY, "Cupped Propeller Test and Analysis", Ship Technology Research, Vol.
32, 1995.

Hankley, D.W. and Denny, S.B., "Performance Characteristics for a Series of Commercially
Available Propellers for Small Craft", SNAME, San Diego Section, Feb 1983.

HydroComp, Inc., HydroComp PropExpert™ program and documentation, 1996.

MacPherson, D.M., "Reliable Propeller Selection for Work Boats and Pleasure Craft: Techniques
Using a Personal Computer", SNAME Power Boat Symposium, 1991.

DISCUSSION

Dudley Dawson, P.E., Member

I'd like to thank the author for this significant contribution to the field of small craft propeller
technology. As a designer specializing in power vessels up to about 60 meters in length, I am well
aware of the current uncertainties and problems in specifying propellers with an unquantified light,
medium or heavy cup. The proposed measurement system will address these problems, but only if
propeller manufacturers and distributors put into place a system of implementing and verifying cup
dimensions. It is up to naval architects and marine engineers to use the system regularly in their
specifications and insist that suppliers adhere to it. Once it has been given a fair trial and any bugs
worked out of the system, then an ABYC or SAE standard formalizing the measurement system
would be in order.
In addition to those cited in the paper, there are several other reasons that the specification of
cup may be desirable. One of the unfortunate trends in modern power vessel design and
construction is a general increase in both weight and power for a vessel of given physical
dimensions. While weight and power have increased, indicating additional propeller blade area, the
depth of water has not increased in the Caribbean for yachts nor in the Gulf of Mexico for
crewboats nor in rivers for workboats and ferries. Some commercial vessels have addressed this
problem by installing additional propellers (4 or more) of the same limited diameter. Although
there are a few yachts with 3 engines and propellers, most have been limited to 2 engines and
propellers by owner demands. For this market, the use of hull-bottom propeller tunnels with larger
diameter, high-area ratio propellers is finding increased acceptance (Dawson, 1997). In many
cases, this is sufficient to provide the necessary propeller blade area without increased draft but in
some extreme cases, the specification of cup in a new installation is necessary to avoid or abate
cavitation that cannot be designed out by other means.
There are also sound economic reasons for specifying cup in a new installation. It is generally
much less expensive to include cup in a manufacturer's stock propeller than to specify a custom
propeller with cambered and skewed blade patterns. Often, the theoretical difference in
performance is quite small, and in full-scale tests, unmeasurable. Also, one of the most common
uncertainties between the preliminary design and complete vessel stages is the full-load
displacement of the vessel as built, and it is for this condition that most propellers should be
specified. By specifying a propeller that is slightly underpitched, but provided with moderate cup,
the problems of under- or over-displacement (cavitation, inability to attain full engine RPM, inability

G-6
 Propeller Cupping

to attain full power loading or speed) can often be addressed by adjustments in cup rather than
having to repitch the propellers.
Although both the title and the text of the paper indicate that the proposed measurement
system and effective pitch methodology are for small craft and small propellers, no quantification
of "small" is given. It would be of benefit if the author could indicate recommended lower and
upper limits based on the trial data used and his verification of the methodology.
Finally, there is one item of practical concern. The author proposes that the radius of the cup
vary directly as a percentage of the drop (or deflection), resulting in a discrete radius for each
value of drop, and larger radii for larger drops (heavier cups). Many of the propeller shops working
on small propellers are indeed of the "heat it and beat it" variety with a minimal investment in
equipment. Often, current practice is for a piece of round steel bar stock to be used as a rough
mandrel to cup the trailing edge, and light vs. heavy cup is thus a matter of varying the extent
rather than the radius of the curved portion. Also, when an existing heavy cup is modified to a light
cup, it is often done by bending the trailing edge back toward the flat, so a lighter cup may end up
with more radius than a heavy one. The author's comments on technical considerations of the two
differing systems would be appreciated, along with his thoughts on whether it would be possible to
use a discrete number of mandrel radii (say, 2 or 3) to cover the range from 1 to 10 millimeters of
cup without significant loss of effectiveness.

Additional reference Dawson, D.A., "Faster, Farther, and More Fuel-Efficient", Professional
BoatBuilder, No. 44, December/January 1997.

Author's Closure

Many thanks to Mr. Dawson for his real-world perspective on the use of cupped propellers. They
are a valuable addition to the paper.
Regarding acceptance of the measurement system by some regulating body (e.g., ABYC, SAE),
any system will have to stand on its own merits - and this proposed system is no exception. It is
my hope that this will not be the industry's final effort on this topic, but will lead to additional
interest, research and practical development.
The term "small" is meant nothing more than to provide some scope for the topic. As the
fundamental research was conducted and trial data evaluated on propellers germane to small
vessels (i.e., diameters under about 32"), the model should not be extrapolated to large propellers.
Fortunately since cupping is typically a "small" propeller practice, extrapolation to larger diameters
is moot.
Using a smaller mandrel to extend the cup onto the blade so as to create an "effective" radius of
cup would depend on the skill of the craftsman, I suppose. Unfortunately, I have no data to
support or dismiss this from a performance standpoint. I would not endorse altering the proposed
geometry, however, simply because it is the way that things are done today. Cupping is indeed a
"performance tweak", and it is not unreasonable to suggest that if propeller builders and vendors
want to develop this expertise, then they should have the proper tools - just as they do now with a
range of proper pitch blocks or even digital measurement devices, for example.
My thanks again to Dudley Dawson for his comments and to Peter Lapp of the Bird-Johnson
Company for this technical review.

Copyright © 1997 HydroComp, Inc. All rights reserved. Presented at the Propellers/Shafting '97
Symposium, SNAME, Sep 1997.

G-7
Propeller Cupping

G-8
Appendix H: Integration With CAD/CAM Software

H.01 - Overview
For the most part, the objective of propeller design is to have a propeller built - either by milling,
molding or rapid-prototyping. Therefore, we need to create export the geometry into other
software that can build a full 3D solid CAD/CAM model.

Transfer of geometric data to CAD/CAM software can cause complications since a) each CAD/CAM
modeling software represents and manipulates 3D surfaces in different ways, and b) modeling
requirements differ for the various types of manufacture. For example, a milled product needs to
have cutter path and milling instructions added to the design.

PropCad serves this broad collection of CAD/CAM modelers by creating and exporting ASCII files in
two types:

• "data files" which contain a grid of the 3D XYZ points on the surface, or

• "macro files" (also known as "scripts") which contain instructions to the software to
accurately "re-build" the principal blade and hub surfaces.

With this approach there is no particular need to know how the software relates to surfaces. Some
of the data files are little more than a grid of the 3D XYZ points on the surface. Macro files, on the
other hand, include instructions to the software to manipulate the data. Some macro files even
directly build solid parts.

PropCad currently exports data files for SurfCAM and Mastercam, and macro files for SolidWorks,
CorelCAD, PowerSHAPE and Rhino. PropCad also exports surface data in general-case data file
formats, such as the VRML format. With a little manipulation of these general-case files, PropCad
data can be imported into virtually any modeler, as some users have done for UniGraphics.

Below is a graphic of a PropCad design being finished off in a CAD/CAM modeler. (This example
was done with Rhino 3D v1.1 for the PropCad example propeller from Chapter 2, and is
representative of the process for most modelers.) The definition of the blade surfaces were
transferred via a macro file, along with the basic definition of the hub. In this example, commands
were also included in the file to loft the blade surfaces according to the modeler's requirements and
to revolve the hub. Other modelers have different command capabilities.

H-1
Integration With Cad/CAM Software

A note on blade geometry

Most milling (CAM) software can take data and "loft" a smooth surface over the 3D points. We have
found that the basic requirements for preparing a PropCad design to be lofted in CAM software are:

• The blade tip must be an actual section with chord length and thickness (although a very,
very small section). If you created the design with the Builder, this has been done
automatically for you. If not, you can copy the 0.95 section to the tip and give it a chord
length equal to the edge/tip thickness (from the Builder) and a MaxT equal to half thickness.

• There must be sections very near the tip to help define curvature. We find that 0.95, 0.975,
0.9875 and 1.0 works well, but you can add as many sections as you wish. For some
designs, you may need to manually revise the chord lengths near the tip to get a completely
smooth profile shape. You can view the shape of the blade with the 3D View before
exporting data to insure a smooth shape. If you use the PropCad Builder for Gawn, SK or B-
series style propellers, these intermediate sections are automatically included.

H.02 - Export Via Data Files

SurfCAM (ASC)

ASC files are text-based SurfCAM data files. This is an ASCII file that can be imported directly into
SurfCAM.

To do: You will find the ASC file listed as an option when you click the File | Export... menu
command. A number of files will be built and saved to disk with the ASC extension.
The files contain data for the blade surfaces, edges and tip and root sections, as well
as the outline of the hub.

The files will have words such as "_blade", "_back", "_face" or "_hub", for example, added to the
file name that you selected to export. If the blade can be defined as a single surface (one of the
edges is rounded and continuous), then one file with "_blade" is created. If the blade requires two
surfaces (such as when a finite edge thickness is defined), then two files with "_back" and "_face"
are built.

Since we are not the developers of SurfCAM, we cannot support that program, but we can give you
a brief introduction to the process of transferring data from PropCad to SurfCAM:

To do: 1. Build your design in PropCad and Export... the SurfCAM ASC
files for your design. You will see the XYZ Export Options
screen shown here. This screen allows you to indicate which
output coordinate axis will correspond to the propeller axis.

2. In SurfCAM, click Files, then Open.

3. Select ASCII Files (*.asc) as the file option from the Open
file dialog and choose one of the files just exported from
PropCad.

4. You will see a Select Output Type window asking how you
want the data to be used after being imported. If you select

H-2
 Integration With Cad/CAM Software

Nsurface, SurfCAM will take the data and "loft" a smooth

surface over the points.

5. Repeat the process for the remaining ASC files. Remember

to click Append in the Open dialog to add the surfaces to
the SurfCAM project.

6. You can now add, copy and rotate the blade surfaces to
make the required number of blades and modify the design
as needed (e.g., add fillets).

Note: We have validated this process only for SurfCAM version 7.

Mastercam (DOC)

DOC files are text-based Mastercam data files of the XYZ points on the blade surface. They are
very similar to the ASC files noted above. (Please refer to the above section for details on exporting
the data.)

We are not the developers of Mastercam, so we cannot support that program. We can, however,
give you a brief introduction to the process of transferring data from PropCad to Mastercam:

To do: 1. Build your design in PropCad and Export... the Mastercam

file (in the same manner as noted above).

2. In Mastercam, click File, then Converters, then ASCII.

3. Click Read file and select ASCII Files (*.doc) as the file
option from the Open file dialog and choose one of the files
just exported from PropCad.

4. Bring these in as Splines. Then click MAINMENU.

5. Click Create, followed by Surface and Loft. Choose the

imported splines and click Done. Note: It is very important
that you select the splines consistently for vector direction.
For example, make sure that you choose all splines
(including the tip) at their trailing edge (or leading edge).

6. Now click Do it to instruct Mastercam to loft the surface from

the selected splines.

7. You can now add, copy and rotate the blade surfaces to
make the required number of blades and modify the design
as needed (e.g., add fillets).

Note: We have validated this process only for Mastercam version 7.

H-3
Integration With Cad/CAM Software

AutoCAD DXF (DXF)

To export a 3D DXF file, first build a 3D Drawing in the CAD View, then save the CAD View file as
DXF. This saves the 3D definition of the propeller face, propeller back and hub external surfaces as
faceted panels.

Virtual World VRML (WRL)

WRL files are Virtual World (VRML) files which can be viewed in any VRML viewer. VRML is a 3D
graphics design protocol that is popular in Web based applications that have a 3D solid view port.
VRML viewers are generally hosted by a Web browser and will automatically recognize the file type
if a path to a VRML file is entered into the address field of the browser.

PropCad 3D Geometry (3DB & 3DF)

3DB (3D-Back) and 3DF (3D-Face) files are text files of 3D XYZ offsets. The data is in a surface
mesh (also called a point cloud) of XYZ triplets. As these files only contain the XYZ data, they are a
good starting point if you need an special file for your data transfer.

H.03 - Export Via Macro Files

SolidWorks 99+ (SWB)

SWB files are macro instruction files files for the SolidWorks solid modeling program. This is macro
that runs directly from inside SolidWorks 99 (or newer) to create a solid part object for the blade
and hub.

When you click the PropCad | Export... menu command and choose the SolidWorks Macro file
type, PropCad will create a file with the SWB extension. This file will create 3D solid part(s) for the
blade and hub when run inside of SolidWorks.

Running a macro inside of SolidWorks is as simple as opening the macro file:

1. Build your propeller design in PropCad and Export… the SolidWorks macro file.

2. From the SolidWorks Tools menu click Macro | Run… .

3. A dialog box will open allowing you to browse for an SWB file.

4. Open the SWB file that you created with PropCad, and SolidWorks will automatically draw
the propeller part(s).

Note: SolidWorks has exhibited problems with its lofting routines for propellers of small size.
Scaling up the data points, lofting, then reducing the scale back to its original size can be a solution
to this problem.

H-4
 Integration With Cad/CAM Software

Corel Cad (CSC)

CSC files are macro instruction files for the Corel Cad solid modeling program.

Using the Corel CADD Script

PropCad can generate a script to draft the blade of the current propeller in Corel CADD. This script
must be run from Corel CADD.

1. Create the script file by exporting a *.CSC file from PropCad using Draw menu> Export...

2. Run Corel CADD.

3. Run the script by going to the Tools menu and selecting Scripts> Run Script...

4. Locate the file just exported from PropCad and open it. This will draw the blade sections as
defined in PropCad. A surface can then be lofted using these sections to create the blade
surfaces. Refer to Corel CADD documentation for help in lofting surfaces.

Rhino 3D (TXT)

TXT files are macro instruction files for the Rhino 3D solid modeling program. Please review H.03 -
Building a Solid Model in Rhino 3D for a set of example instructions on using a Rhino macro file
created by PropCad to build a complete solid model of the propeller.

PowerSHAPE (MAC)

MAC files are macro instruction files for DELCAM PowerSHAPE. Due to limitations in PowerSHAPE,
this macro only exports points along the sections. It will be necessary to manually develop curves
and then surfaces from these points.

H.04 - Building a Solid Model in Rhino 3D

This example will illustrate how PropCad data can be brought into the Rhino 3D general-purpose 3D
CAD/CAM modeler and used to build a complete solid model. This example is a good overview of
the typical development procedure used in most CAD/CAM software.

Step 1. Reading in the Command Files

1. Build your propeller design in PropCad and Export… the Rhino Macro (TXT) files for your
design. This creates and saves a file for the blade and the hub. The file names will be
NAME_blade.txt and NAME_hub.txt.

2. In Rhino, select Tools | Commands | Read from file… .

3. Read in and open the NAME_blade.txt file (exported from PropCad). This will read and
process the data and command instructions in the file to create the two principal blade
surfaces (face and back).

4. Repeat the process for the NAME_hub.txt file (exported from PropCad). This creates the hub
surfaces. You will be requested to provide additional instructions for revolving the hub

H-5
Integration With Cad/CAM Software

geometry. Select Exact and Delete curve to revolve. The start angle should be zero (0)
degrees, the end angle will be three hundred-sixty (360) degrees.

Step 2. Add the Root Fillets

5. Right click on the Zoom Extents tool button to zoom all of the views. Choose the active
view to be whatever allows you to achieve the detailed selection control that is needed.

6. Click on the Explode tool button. Select the revolved hub as the object to explode. Press
Enter. This explodes the hub into its individual surfaces.

7. Lock portions of the hub for editing with Edit | Visibility | Lock. Select the inner shafting
surface of the hub, the front face surface (forward), and the rear face surface (aft). Press
Enter. This will make it easier to select only the outer surface later on.

8. Add a fillet to one of the blade surfaces, by clicking Surface | Fillet. Change the Radius to
whatever you require by typing "r" and entering the appropriate value. Verify that Extend =
no, and Trim = yes. Type their individual letter keys (e.g., "e", "t") to change these values.

9. Return to the Top view for this step. In response to the Fillet command, select one of the
blade surfaces, then select a point on the hub that is facing the selected blade face. (A point
on the central hub diameter to the side facing the blade seems to work well.) A basic fillet
should now be developed between the selected blade surface and the hub.

10. Repeat for the other blade, rotating the view as needed.

11. Join each fillet to the corresponding blade with the Join tool button, then join the two
blade-fillet surfaces to each other.

Step 3. Add Fairing to the Fillet Edge

12. Add a 3-point curve on the hub surface as a control curve for fairing the fillet between the
blade surfaces at the leading and trailing edge. Select Curve | Free-form | Interpolate
on Surface.

13. Point to one of the end points of the fillet at the hub by first selecting Tools | Object Snap
| End. The point to the end corner of the fillet where it meets the hub. Then add a point on
the hub ahead of the fillet intersections to make a "nose-cone" type of fairing shape. Then
repeat the first step for the third and final point of the curve at the other fillet. Press Enter
to finish drawing the line. (This is often easiest in the Top view.)

14. Repeat this process for the other blade edge. (You can get to a workable view by rotating
the Top view about the hub axis until the other fillet corners come into view.)

Step 4. Adding Blade Edge Surfaces

15. This step is to add a surface along the leading or trailing edges. If your propeller's face and
back surfaces meet (such as with the leading edge of a B-series propeller, for example),
then:

16.
a. Create a surface to fill the empty spaces with Surface | Sweep One Rail. Select
the Free-form curve added above as the rail curve. Select its two corresponding fillet

H-6
 Integration With Cad/CAM Software

edges as the cross-section curves. Press Enter. Select Endpoint Pivot as the Style.
Make sure that Do Not Simplify is selected in the dialog box.

b. Repeat as necessary for the other edge of the propeller.

Or, if your propeller's face and back surfaces are offset by some distance:

c. First, bound the upper extent of the fillet fairing area with Curve | Line | Single
line. Choose one end of the line by first selecting Tools | Object Snap | Snap to
Intersection. Select the upper intersection of one fillet and its respective blade
surface (not the hub). Repeat for the end point of the line at the other blade surface.

d. Create a surface to fill the empty spaces with Surface | Sweep Two Rails. Select
the inside edge of one fillet, then the inside edge of the other fillet. Select the Free-
form curve added above as one rail curve. Select the single line generated above as
the other rail curve. Press Enter. Make sure that Do Not Simplify is selected in the
dialog box.

e. Fill the offset between the blade surfaces with a new surface. Select Surface | Edge
curves. Enter 4 as the number of edge curves. Select the single line generated
above, each blade surface edge and the line at the blade tip that joins the two blade
surfaces. Press Enter.

f. Repeat as necessary for the other edge of the propeller.

17. There is still a small hole at the outer edge of the propeller at the tip section. Zoom in on
this hole. Create a surface for this space with Surface | Edge Curves. Click on the two
curves that make up the tip section. Press Enter.

Step 5. Join All Blade Surfaces

18. Click the Join button on the toolbar. Click on the propeller blade surfaces and all of the
newly added surfaces (fillets and fairings) to join them into one poly-surface. Press Enter.

Step 6. Copy the Blades

19. To rotationally copy the finished blade around the hub for the other blades select
Transform | Rotate 3-D. Select the newly joined blade poly-surface. Enter "0,0,0" for the
Start of rotate axis, and "1,0,0" for the End of rotate axis. Type "c" to indicate that you wish
to copy the blade around.

20. Type the appropriate Angle for the next blade. For example, use 120 (degrees) for the
second blade of a 3-bladed propeller. Repeat as needed, such as 240 (degrees) for the third
blade of a 3-bladed propeller.

Step 7. Join Blades to the Hub

21. It is necessary to create a "watertight" bounded poly-surface to build a solid. So, the area
on the hub where the blade fillet intersects must be cut out. Select Edit | Trim. Select the
blade fillet edge as the cutting edge. Press Enter. Point to a spot on the hub underneath the
propeller as the object to be trimmed. Press Enter. (The best way to check to see if the cut
has been properly made beneath the propeller is to turn the visibility of the propeller off and

H-7
Integration With Cad/CAM Software

then shade.)

22. Repeat for all blades. (It may be necessary to make two trims at one of the blades if the
Trim function cutting edge crosses what Rhino staff refer to as the "parting line" of the
revolved hub.)

23. Once this process is complete, you should have a solid part. You can confirm this with Edit |
Object Properties… . If Info indicates that you have selected a Closed Polysurface, then
the object is a fully enclosed solid part.

H-8
Appendix I: Scan Converter

I.01 - Overview
PropCad's "Scan Converter" utility is an add-on to the regular design features of PropCad. The role
of Scan Converter is to take scanned blade surface data (in XYZ or polar format) and convert it into
a PropCad design file. With carefully scanned data for the surface of the pressure face with its
corresponding thickness, Scan Converter can develop the full geometric representation of the
propeller blades.

HydroComp developed Scan Converter in response to user requests for a tool to document and
compare a propeller to an original PropCad design, as well as to create PropCad design files for
existing wooden patterns. Scan Converter would also allow a user to extract important design
characteristics about legacy product models, or to precisely determine hydrodynamically significant
changes to a propeller after damage or repair. It would also allow a user to quickly and accurately
make improvements to an existing product or to create new variants of the propeller.

I.02 - Licensing
Scan Converter is not part of the standard version of PropCad. An upgrade to PropCad Level 2 is
needed to use Scan Converter. (Contact HydroComp for licensing information.)

I.03 - Getting Started

It is important that the user of Scan Converter approach the project in a systematic fashion. Before
starting a project, however, the user should plan out a measurement strategy. This will require, of
course, an understanding of what Scan Converter requires for data.

The overall approach to collecting data for Scan

Converter is to scan a collection of points (sometimes
know as a "point cloud") on the pressure face of one
propeller blade, along with a corresponding blade
thickness at each point along a radius. Most blade
measurements are taken using a polar coordinate
system, with each point indicated by (a) an angle from a
"zero angle" and (b) an axial "drop" (the X dimension)
from a "zero X" position.

The following sections will be shown using a polar

measurement system, although the use of an XYZ
coordinate system is supported. The figure below
illustrates the measurement of one point in this system.

Measuring angle

All angular measurements must be taken relative to a "zero angle". In most cases, the "zero angle"
is set to approximate a propeller's design generating line (or a line through the tip). A positive
angle is clockwise relative to the "zero angle".

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Scan Converter

Measuring axial distance (X or drop)

All axial distances must correspond to a common "zero point". In other words, the measurements
must be taken as an axial distance from a horizontal plane. One point on the aft hub face is often
used to register this "zero point", and the axial drop (the X-dimension) is the distance below this
point (as shown above).

Radial sets of points

Scan Converter uses data measured for a collection of individual points along a number of radii. For
example, you might measure eight points along each of seven radii. (The maximum number of
radii is 20, with a maximum of 50 points per radii. These numbers are much larger than is needed,
however, with a typical set of measurements taking 6 to 10 points along 6 to 10 radii. More points
would be needed in areas of greater curvature.)

Data sets along a radius must be taken on the pressure face, ordered from trailing edge (TE) to
leading edge (LE). This means that the first point (at the TE) is the highest point on the radius
(assuming the pressure face is up).

Preparing data

To assist the user, we have prepared a Scan Converter data entry form that is attached at the end
of this appendix. This form provides convenient tables for the entry of:

1. General data (units, orientation, diameter, pitch, blades, radii, number of scan points)
2. Scan data (angle, X-drop, thickness for each measured point)

I.04 - Example
The following example is for a fictional propeller, built from a generic Gawn-style propeller design.
It will be useful in demonstrating the use of Scan Converter.

Running Scan Converter

To do: Start Scan Converter by

clicking Tools | Scan
Converter. You will see the
Scan Converter screen as
shown in the accompanying
figure.

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 Scan Converter

General data

To do: Enter or select the following General data:

1. Units = in
2. Rotation = Right
3. Scan coordinates are = Polar
4. Positive X [axial] is = Fwd (this sets the axial data orientation)
5. Blades = 4
6. Diameter = 32
7. Nominal pitch = 30

Enter the following Sections data as shown in the following table. Insert rows as needed.

Section r/R Radius Points

1 1.00 16.00 3

2 0.95 15.20 7

3 0.90 14.40 7

4 0.80 12.80 7

5 0.70 11.20 7

6 0.60 9.60 7

7 0.50 8.00 7

8 0.40 6.40 7

9 0.30 4.80 7

10 0.20 3.20 7

Information in this table will tell Scan Converter the location of each measured radius, as well as
the number of scan points to use. It is important to set up the sections from tip to root, as shown.
A minimum of three radii - one of which is at 1.00 r/R - are required.

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Scan Converter

To do: When you are finished

entering this data, click the
Scan data tab. You will see
the page as shown in the
accompanying figure.

Scan data

To do: This is where you will enter the measured data for each scan point on the pressure
face - the angle from the "zero angle" (positive clockwise), the axial X drop from the
"zero point" (positive downward in this case), and the thickness at each point (as
measured by a caliper or micrometer).

The following tables provide the example data. Use the right and left arrow keys (or
the drop down list) to choose a section to enter or edit. Then enter the data as shown
in the tables below.

Note: As you enter angle and X drop, you will see the newly calculated Y and Z values for the
conventional XYZ coordinate system.

Section 1 (r/R = 1.00)

Scan point 1 2 3
Angle -16.7 -16.5 -16.3
X [axial drop] -1.13 -1.11 -1.09
Thickness 0.10 0.10 0.10

Section 2 (r/R = 0.95)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -25.3 -22.8 -17.9 -12.9 -8.0 -3.0 -0.5
X [axial drop] -1.75 -1.54 -1.14 -0.73 -0.33 0.08 0.28
Thickness 0.10 0.12 0.15 0.16 0.15 0.12 0.10

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 Scan Converter

Section 3 (r/R = 0.90)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -25.7 -22.3 -15.6 -8.9 -2.2 4.5 7.8
X [axial drop] -1.68 -1.40 -0.85 -0.29 0.27 0.83 1.11
Thickness 0.10 0.14 0.21 0.23 0.21 0.14 0.10

Section 4 (r/R = 0.80)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -25.2 -20.6 -11.5 -2.3 6.9 16.1 20.7
X [axial drop] -1.41 -1.02 -0.23 -0.55 -1.33 2.12 2.51
Thickness 0.10 0.19 0.32 0.37 0.32 0.19 0.10

Section 5 (r/R = 0.70)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -24.2 -18.6 -7.5 3.6 14.7 25.9 31.4
X [axial drop] -1.05 -0.57 0.38 1.34 2.29 3.24 3.72
Thickness 0.10 0.24 0.43 0.50 0.43 0.24 0.10

Section 6 (r/R = 0.60)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -23.6 -17.2 -4.4 8.4 21.2 34.0 40.4
X [axial drop] -0.70 -0.16 0.93 2.02 3.11 4.21 4.75
Thickness 0.10 0.29 0.55 0.63 0.55 0.29 0.10

Section 7 (r/R = 0.50)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -23.6 -16.4 -1.9 12.5 27.0 41.5 48.7
X [axial drop] -0.37 0.23 1.43 2.63 3.83 5.03 5.63
Thickness 0.10 0.34 0.66 0.77 0.66 0.34 0.10

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Scan Converter

Section 8 (r/R = 0.40)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -24.4 -16.3 -0.1 16.1 32.3 48.5 56.6
X [axial drop] -0.06 0.58 1.86 3.14 4.42 5.70 6.34
Thickness 0.10 0.39 0.78 0.90 0.78 0.39 0.10

Section 9 (r/R = 0.30)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -26.6 -17.6 0.5 18.6 36.6 54.7 63.7
X [axial drop] 0.20 0.87 2.19 3.52 4.84 6.17 6.83
Thickness 0.10 0.44 0.89 1.04 0.89 0.44 0.10

Section 10 (r/R = 0.20)

Scan point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Angle -29.4 -19.5 0.2 20.0 39.7 59.4 69.3
X [axial drop] 0.43 1.10 2.45 3.80 5.15 6.50 7.18
Thickness 0.10 0.50 1.01 1.17 1.01 0.50 0.10

To do: When you are finished

entering the tables of 3D
scan data, click the Section
data tab. You will see the
page as shown in the
accompanying figure.

Section data

When you click this tab, Scan Converter calculates the various propeller parameters and the 2D
offsets for each section. The calculation determines parameters for chord, rake, skew and pitch
distribution. (Maximum thickness is also calculated when the design is built.)

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 Scan Converter

To do: In most cases, you will only need to review the data in this section. Use the right and
left arrow keys (or the drop down list) to select a section to review. The parameters
are shown in the group at the top, and the offsets are shown in both the plot and the
table at the bottom.

Note: You will also see user controls on this page for setting the pitch plane, locking the section,
and editing the offsets. These are explained in the next section.

Saving the scan data

You can use the Open and Save buttons to store and retrieve your scan data. The data will be
saved to a specially formatted text file with the SCV extension.

Building the design

When you are finished reviewing the section data, you can click Build to close Scan Converter and
build the design in PropCad. Depending on the amount of scan data you have entered, you may
want to refine the propeller design with additional sections. (This process is described in 2.05 -
Modifying a Design.)

I.05 - Modifying the Section Data

Sometimes your scan data will need modification. This might be due to bad or imprecise data, or
by local characteristics of the sections.

Setting the pitch plane

For most designs, you will probably set the pitch plane so that it extends through the pressure face
leading and trailing edge points on the pressure face. However, if your propeller has cup, then you
might want to set the design pitch plane to lie on the pressure face - and not be defined at the
trailing edge. The following two figures illustrate this concept.

Pitch plane using edge point

Pitch plane using face point

The basic design of this propeller has a flat face. The cup is an add-on that may change with each
installation. Therefore, it is most logical to define the pitch plane - and the calculated pitch for that
section - to be based on the face geometry, not the cup geometry.

On the Section data page, you will see a Pitch plane group and two list boxes - Trailing and
Leading. In the first of the two figures above, the Trailing selection would be TE (or the first point).
To lay the face of the section on the plane, move the Trailing selection to 3 (the third point).

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Scan Converter

Locking the section

When you have determined that the calculation of the Section data parameters and 2D offsets from
the 3D scan data are correct, then you can Lock the section. Once a section is locked, you can edit
the offsets as described below.

Note: If you unlock a section and return to the Scan data page, the Section data will be
recalculated. This will cause you to lose any changes that you have made to the section offsets.

Revising or excluding offsets

In the case where you have a bad data point, you can use the section offset table to change the Y-
face value (distance from the pitch plane). The Y-back will then be recalculated based on your
measured thickness. If you cannot alter the point to your satisfaction with a revision to Y-face,
then you can turn the point OFF. A point that is turned off will not be used in building the design in
PropCad.

Effects of data precision

The example shown here uses a relatively loose measurement precision. Commercial measurement
devices typically can read to a much closer precision. One of the effects of a low data precision can
be seen in the calculation of pitch for the tip section. Since the tip is so small, the imprecision
yields a calculated pitch that is in error (too high). To correct this, simply alter p/Pnominal for the
tip within PropCad.

I.06 - Final Comments

Scan Converter is not meant to allow a user to automatically create a design from a propeller. The
precision of the scanning equipment and the number of points scanned will all contribute to how
well Scan Converter builds a design. Even in the best of cases, you will likely need to smooth the
data within PropCad if you want to develop a proper propeller design.

And remember, Scan Converter just tells you what a design is, not what it should be. That is up
to you, the designer.

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