Arc adopts Siemens Xcelerator to power electric boat design

Arc Boat Company has adopted Siemens Xcelerator portfolio software to support the design and manufacture of its fully electric boats for the recreational and commercial marine industries.

Arc, based in Los Angeles and founded in 2021, produces all components for its electric boats in-house, including battery packs, powertrain systems, thermal control systems, and proprietary software. The company's first offering, Arc One, sold out its initial production run, while its latest boat, the Arc Sport —a 500-horsepower all-electric wake boat —is entering the market as Arc expands further into the sector.

Arc's product development process leverages several tools within Siemens Xcelerator, including NX for parametric 3D modelling, Teamcenter for product lifecycle management, and Simcenter for engineering simulation. The Arc team's prior experience with Siemens' software at former employers contributed to its decision to implement the platform from the company's inception.

Ryan Cook, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Arc, commented on this strategic decision, stating, "We thought if Siemens Xcelerator is going to be our long-term software, we might as well just start with it so we don't have to migrate later."

With the adoption of NX, Arc can develop adaptable parametric 3D models to streamline its design, build, test and redesign approach. Cook explained, "There's a lot of parameters involved in hull design – deadrise, beam at chine, keel angle, etc.– so we used NX to parameterise them all. With our fully parametric hull model, we would build one boat, gauge performance, collect data and tweak one or two parameters and then build a second boat based on what we learned."

He added, "Fast forward to today and we're even more sophisticated because we know the performance characteristics we want out of the vehicle. With a given center of gravity and the type of shape we want to go with, we can do it in one shot with NX."

Simcenter is used to simulate vessel performance, which is particularly vital as Arc targets an industry still reliant on traditional gas-powered engines and established marine engineering practices. The company's focus on fully electric propulsion presents novel challenges in design, engineering, and manufacturing, which Arc addresses through the use of simulation technologies.

Arc relies on Simcenter to optimise the centre of gravity—complicated by the weight of the battery pack—and also to optimise weight across the composite hull, deck, and hard top. This attention to lightweighting is crucial for meeting the necessary performance benchmarks. Additionally, Simcenter supports structural, vibration, and thermal analyses on smaller components throughout the vessel.

As Arc moved to develop Arc Sport, its second major product, it implemented Teamcenter for product lifecycle management to better coordinate the growing complexity in its products and supply chain. The company is now venturing into commercial marine projects and is broadening its offering of recreational boats, including the new Arc Coast, a centre console all-electric model designed for fishing and other aquatic activities.

Alongside new product development, Arc is establishing a research and development facility at the Port of Los Angeles. The company is also contributing to infrastructure by developing charging solutions to support the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach's goal of transitioning to zero-emission equipment by 2030.

Arc has partnered with Diversified Marine, a shipyard in Portland, Oregon, to retrofit a 26-foot tugboat for electric, zero-emission operations, further extending its impact beyond recreational craft into the commercial sector.

Discussing the company's broader mission, Cook stated, "We're moving very quickly and it's a lot of fun to try and apply some fundamental engineering principles to the marine industry and see if we can come up with something better. Siemens Xcelerator helps us to get there quicker, develop new category defining products that delight our customers and create the electrification revolution we want to see in the marine industry."

Arc's efforts align closely with a wider industry move towards more sustainable operations and zero-emission technology, with Siemens Xcelerator providing an integrated platform for digital design, simulation, and management of complex marine products.