Best way to create airfoils in Pro-E  
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD >> Best way to create airfoils in Pro-E
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Best way to create airfoils in Pro-E - 5/28/2008 3:52:05 PM   
AeroDuke



Posts: 8
Joined: 5/19/2008
From: , VA, USA
Status: offline 		I'm using a CNC foam cutter and am trying to create some airfoils to cut. I'm using Pro-E, and I wasn't sure if anyone knew of any easy ways to make the airfoils. Also, I found a database of .dat files for a bunch of airfoils. However, I would like to alter them so to put spars in certain locations. Any advice?
       Post #: 1

RE: Best way to create airfoils in Pro-E - 5/28/2008 4:33:13 PM   
DAN REISS


 

Posts: 200
Joined: 12/15/2002
From: MANHATTAN BEACH, CA, USA
Status: offline 		AeroDuke. Try Compufoil at www.compufoil.com. I have been using it for many years to generate .dxf files that I import into AutoCAD. You can modify the airfoils to all you want. I don't know what it can do for Pro-E but ask them. The selection of airfoils is immense. Dan.

(in reply to AeroDuke)
       Post #: 2

RE: Best way to create airfoils in Pro-E - 5/28/2008 5:03:39 PM   
OffroadBEAR



Posts: 69
Joined: 8/4/2005
From: Wichita, KS, USA
Status: offline 		I can't remember the exact procedure, but it goes something like this for Wildfire 3.0.

Airfoil shapes are imported into Pro-E (Wildfire 3.0) by modifying splines from a points file. The airfoil is made by drawing a spline for the top surface and modifying it, and then for the bottom surface.
File Preparation:
-First, download your airfoil points file and open it in notepad. From here, separate it into upper and lower points and in different files.
-Open the upper and lower points files in excel. For Pro-e to accept the file, the coordinates must have an X, Y, and Z component and they must be ordered from leading edge to trailing edge. The .dat you downloaded contains X and Y coordinates in the first and second columns respectively. Add a third column of zeros for the Z coordinate. I would also use excel to order the coordinates. Save the excel file as a .txt file.
-Open the new .txt file in notepad. You must save it as a .pts file for pro-e to recognize it. To do this, click the save as button and enter "airfoilnametop.pts" or the appropriate name for the file-.pts in quotation marks.

This is the part I am not too sure about. I use SolidWorks and its been a while since I have done this in Pro-e, but this is what I remember of it. In solidworks, its a matter of about 3 clicks.
Importing into pro-e:
-Open a new file and create a sketch. In the sketch, insert a new coordinate system (I think through the sketch->references menu, but I am not sure since it has been a while since i have used it and I don't have access to it anymore, I graduated a few weeks ago and moved away from campus).
-Create a construction line along the x axis of the new coordinate origin.
-Draw a 3 point spline in the shape of an arc with a point at the origin of the coordinate system, a point above the x axis and to the right of the origin, and a point on the x axis to the right for the trailing edge.
-Dimension the x-length of this spline. I usually dimension it to be 1 inch long and the mid point of this spline to be 1 inch tall. The length dimension of the spline will later be modifiable to determine the chord length.
-Right click the spline and select "modify" in the menu.
(From here I don't remember exactly, maybe if you get hung up, take a screenshot)
-At the bottom left menu, select the added coordinate system, and then modify/add points from file. You should be able to select the file "upper.pts." It should ask you if it is okay to add more points to the spline, select OK.
-The spline should appear as an airfoil curve.

Most of the problems I had were in the prep of the file. I will attach a file of a NACA 2412 upper and lower points file as an example if I can find them. Good luck.

Paul

(in reply to AeroDuke)
       Post #: 3

RE: Best way to create airfoils in Pro-E - 5/28/2008 8:39:11 PM   
AeroDuke



Posts: 8
Joined: 5/19/2008
From: , VA, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks guys. I'll give these a shot tomorrow when I get back to work.

(in reply to OffroadBEAR)
       Post #: 4

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