Convert ORK Fin File to .dxf

[WFWalby]

I want to use a water jet to cut fins out of a carbon fiber sheet. I'm told I need to have the file converted to dxf for cutting.
Is there a way to convert the .ork fin file to .dxf? Or do I need to draw them myself in some CAD program (never used a CAD program). I used to use Illustrator if that'll work.
Thanks for the assist
William

 

[Sandy H.]

I wrote a script a long time ago to get fins from openrocket to CAD to hopefully save time on the laser cutter. Its been forever since I did it, but it worked OK-ish.

If the fins are simple, it might be quicker to just post the ork file and I (or someone else, possibly) could convert them for you. If you want to do it yourself just for the learning aspect, my routine basically imported the *.rkt file (it needed to be saved as an rkt instead of ork since I think the ork file is compressed or something), looked for the fin set and drew a line based on the point list. Here's an example of what the point list looked like in one model:

<CustomFinSet>
<KnownMass>73.64313051334362</KnownMass>
<Density>1049.21</Density>
<Material>Polystyrene PS</Material>
<Name>Custom Fin set</Name>
<KnownCG>160.941</KnownCG>
<UseKnownCG>0</UseKnownCG>
<Xb>403.225</Xb>
<CalcMass>73.64313051334362</CalcMass>
<CalcCG>160.940503875969</CalcCG>
<DensityType>0</DensityType>
<RadialLoc>0.0</RadialLoc>
<RadialAngle>0.0</RadialAngle>
<LocationMode>0</LocationMode>
<Len>0.0</Len>
<FinishCode>1</FinishCode>
<SerialNo>2</SerialNo>
<FinCount>3</FinCount>
<RootChord>0.0</RootChord>
<TipChord>0.0</TipChord>
<SemiSpan>0.0</SemiSpan>
<SweepDistance>0.0</SweepDistance>
<Thickness>3.175</Thickness>
<ShapeCode>2</ShapeCode>
<TipShapeCode>2</TipShapeCode>
<TabLength>0.0</TabLength>
<TabDepth>0.0</TabDepth>
<TabOffset>0.0</TabOffset>
<SweepMode>1</SweepMode>
<CantAngle>0.0</CantAngle>
<PointList>206.375,0.0|247.65,82.55|180.975,76.2|107.95,25.4|0.0,0.0|</PointList>
</CustomFinSet>

So, you'd save your openrocket file to a rkt file, open it in a text editor, search for </CustomFinSet> and look at the line called <PointList> to get the coordinates that made the fin shape. If Illustrator has the ability to enter precise coordinates when drawing lines, you could use that to draw the shape and then save to dxf (if Illustrator does that - not sure).

Not sure if any of the above helps or not. For all I know, maybe newer versions of OpenRocket can export a list of points or similar.

Good luck with your project!

Sandy.

 

[SiboVG]

The next release of OpenRocket will have the ability to export fin profiles to SVG files. There are a lot of conversion tools to convert SVG to DXF. Potentially, we will support DXF exporting natively some day.

 

[SolarYellow]

There are a ton of PDF to DXF converters available. Google will find them for you.

 

[thzero]

it needed to be saved as an rkt instead of ork since I think the ork file is compressed or something)

Its just a zip file. Rename it to .zip or open it in a zip program and you get a <drumroll>...... XML file. Well you get an ORK file, but its just a XML text file which should have something similar to the above finset tag.

 

[atestani]

I want to use a water jet to cut fins out of a carbon fiber sheet. I'm told I need to have the file converted to dxf for cutting.
Is there a way to convert the .ork fin file to .dxf? Or do I need to draw them myself in some CAD program (never used a CAD program). I used to use Illustrator if that'll work.
Thanks for the assist
William

If you right-click on the fin set in the rocket components box there is an "export as OBJ" function. Export it and use one of many OBJ to DXF converters. Here is an example: https://products.aspose.app/cad/conversion/obj-to-dxf. I just tried this and it works but the DXF is 3D when opened in my CAD program. Assuming you want a 2D DXF of one fin you need to "split" the fin set before exporting as an OBJ. One other thing is if I open the resultant DXF in my CAD program or Lightburn (laser cutting software), the fin comes in "on edge". You will need to rotate it in Illustrator or get a copy of FreeCAD and do it there. Actually, FreeCAD can open OBJ files as well as DXF.

 

[Sandy H.]

Well, in an effort to procrastinate and not do what I should be doing, I wrote a quick excel macro that lets you type in the data from Openrocket and create a dxf from that. Feel free to give it a try. I attached the file with the extension .txt, as the forum won't allow *.xlsm files, so you'll need to rename the file to *.xlsm before running it.

It was kind-of fun to look back into DXF codes. I think the last time I really looked at that stuff was in the early 2000's. . .

Sandy.

 

[atestani]

Well, in an effort to procrastinate and not do what I should be doing, I wrote a quick excel macro that lets you type in the data from Openrocket and create a dxf from that. Feel free to give it a try. I attached the file with the extension .txt, as the forum won't allow *.xlsm files, so you'll need to rename the file to *.xlsm before running it.

It was kind-of fun to look back into DXF codes. I think the last time I really looked at that stuff was in the early 2000's. . .

Sandy.

You can export a CSV file from OpenRocket which might be used for entry into the macro