Pete, Airfoils are basically wings. Airplane wings. They are also Propellers and turbine blades.
Airfoils are typified by a shape that creates lift when passed through the air. They are generally convex on the upper surface and either less convex, flat or concave on the lower surface. They have length. On an airplane, the length is known as the wingspan. The part of the airfoil closest to the airplane fuselage is the root. The outboard end is the tip. If the root and tip have the same or similar cross section, with straight lines connecting the sections, the airfoil may be described as a ruled mesh or ruled surface. Most airfoils are more complex, and require more complex descriptions. Lofted, Formed and Coons are some of the complex forms. SmartCam Advanced 3D contains Mesh descriptions for airfoils. These are generally intended for machining single shapes. If you have the case where two or more shapes intersect each other and you want to machine them simultaneously without gouging either, you need FreeForm machining. That is a very shallow comment upon a very deep subject. It takes a lot of understanding to properly describe all types of airfoils. And it takes even more understanding to properly machine these airfoils. Search the publications of NASA, ASME, Battelle Memorial Institute and others for "Machining" and "Airfoil" to get more information. Gene Bowen SMARTCO "Zsiros, Pete" wrote: > Happy Monday Gentlemen (and Ladies if any) ! > > Forgive my ignorance, but what are airfoils? I mean I know they are > basically prop or turbine blades, and vanes. However, I am unsure as to what > the big deal is. A company I program for wants me to program some for them, > and I have not done it before. Does anyone out there program airfoils with > SmartCam? Can you shoot me some sample files, so I might get the idea? > Any help, pointers, or warnings will be greatly appreciated. > Is SmartCam the right tool for it? Must I have Freeform? ====================================================================== To find out more about this mailing list including how to unsubscribe, send the message "info mfg-smartcam" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================================
