Drawing Interchange (.dxf)

The Drawing Interchange Format (.dxf) is a standard file format used to transfer graphical information between a variety of different software packages. It is commonly used in drafting and solid modeling programs. Airfoil coordinates may be saved as either a Continuous Polyline, 2dPolyline, or Line entity. The elements may be imported into a software package that supports the .dxf format.

The "Continuous Polyline" option saves the coordinate points as a Continuous Polyline entity. The "2dPolyline" option saves the coordinate points as an AcDb2dPolyline entity. In Autocad related drafting programs, Polyline entity types may be manipulated as a single object. The "Line" option saves the entity in an AcDbLine format, composed of discreet line segments.

The chord length of the default element is 1.0, with the leading edge of the chord line located at the origin (0.0, 0.0, 0.0). Chord length and location of the leading edge may be either left as the default or scaled to the values that will be used in the graphical routines.

The element x-coordinates define the chordwise location, the element y-coordinates define the airfoil thickness along the chord, and the element z-coordinates define the span location. After the airfoil entity has been imported into a drawing package it may be manipulated as necessary, including rotation, translation, and scaling.