Case Study
Sylvain Peretti
Professional Surf Kite
Designer
Before Surfplan
"I have been a professional sail-maker since 1976, and also a paraglider
designer since 1985. Since 2001, I have been designing inflatable surf kites.
Over the years, I have used several software packages from different sources, all
based in AutoCad, but these programs were only of limited help.
Designing kites with AutoCad was very time consuming! Even with AutoCad
add-on software to help build the 3d model, plus a 3D/2D ruled surface converter to
assist with projecting the plans, and many years of experience, it was still a very
lengthy process, taking days of CAD work to produce the plans for each prototype.
Discovering Surfplan
About 2 years after
starting work on inflatable kites, I discovered Surfplan. After taking a look
at the demo version, I called David immediately, and have been using Surfplan for
designing my kites ever since.
Benefits
The main benefit is time saving. In building around 15 prototypes a month,
it is very important for me not to spend time in doing repetitive jobs. Surfplan does
all the work for me, and my plans are ready in a couple of hours instead of several days.
The time savings allow me to make more prototypes in the same time, so the final kite
is refined to a better design.
There are also some specific features of Surfplan that have been very useful. 2-piece
curved struts are something that previously had to be done by trial and error to get the
right shape to match the curvature of the kite. Now it's a simple matter of selecting
this type of strut, and Surfplan creates the perfect shape to match the canopy - easily
done for a whole range of kite sizes.
Another useful feature has been the curved wingtips. Again, it's just a matter of
clicking this feature on, and the kite design is updated.
Results
David has done some amazing work to make Surfplan such a very powerful and
versatile program, but the most important thing about Surfplan is that it is
constantly improved to fit closely with kite design innovations and designer’s wishes.
Surfplan is a true professional tool for kite and paraglider designers."
(Kite photos and text courtesy of Sylvain Peretti)