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What is OpenRP?
The STL (Stereolithography) file format is, and for the foreseeable
future, will be the standard mode of data exchange in the Rapid
Prototyping industry. It is a known fact that the STL file format does not
employ efficient methods of data storage and lacks security. Over the
years, attempts have been made to replace the STL file format with a
better, efficient and secure alternative. Most of these attempts have been
made by major RP software developers who, in one way or the other, have
tried to derive financial benefit in the bargain.
OpenRP is not another attempt to replace the STL file format. OpenRP is a
non-profit initiative which aims at offering the RP industry an
alternative mode of data exchange while maintaining perfect compatibility
with the STL file format and without any loss of data whatsoever. OpenRP offers the RP industry a new RP file
format and free software to read and write RP files. All software at
this web site is and will always remain free. None of the applications,
plug-ins or libraries ever expire. You are urged to freely use the software for as long as you like.
The OpenRP Solution
The OpenRP initiative is an attempt to offer a comprehensive solution to the data
exchange problem in RP industry.
The OpenRP Solution offers RP users, RP service bureaus and RP software
developers the tools required to incorporate the RP file format in their
current workflow, products or services. The OpenRP Solution comprises of 5
components:
(1)
RP File Format - A efficient and secure file format compatible with
the STL file format.
(2)
RP Viewer - An application to view,
read, write and print RP and STL files.
(3)
RP Plug-ins - Plug-ins for widely used CAD applications
to read and write RP files.
(4)
RP Converter - A command line program to convert
between STL and RP file formats.
(5) RP Toolkit
- A library to convert between STL and RP file formats.
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RP File Format |
The RP file format is an
efficient and secure file format created by the OpenRP initiative which
is perfectly compatible with the STL file format. Data is compressed using
state of the art compression algorithms thereby reducing the file size by 97% (when
compared to an ASCII STL file) or 90% (when compared to a Binary STL
file), which is much more than the compression achieved by WinZip or
similar compression programs. The RP file format has two levels of security: file and user level.
At the file level, the RP file is encrypted using the most advanced
encryption algorithms. At the user level, security is provided by means of
an optional user-defined password. There is absolutely no loss of data due
to compression and encryption.
more
details... |
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RP Viewer |
RP Viewer is an application to view and print RP files, which
doubles up as a bi-directional RP <-> STL file converter. Simply open a
STL file and save it as a RP file. The RP file can then be sent to another
party which can use RP Viewer to open the RP file and save it back to the
original STL, without any loss of data whatsoever.
more details and
download... |
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RP Plug-ins |
RP file support is added to commonly used CAD applications, such as
AutoCAD, SolidWorks and Rhinoceros, by means of plug-ins. These
plug-ins eliminate the need for RP Viewer in your workflow since they
allow RP files to be read/written directly from the CAD applications.
more details and
download... |
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RP Converter |
RP Converter is a command line bi-directional translator program to
convert STL to RP and vice versa. RP service bureaus can use RP Converter
to add support for the RP file format in their existing automated systems.
more details
and download... |
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RP Toolkit |
RP Toolkit is a
bi-directional translator library to convert STL to RP and vice versa.
RP software developers can use RP Toolkit to add support for the RP
file format in their applications.
more details and
download... |
What people are saying about the OpenRP Initiative
"I installed and tested the OpenRP software today and all I can
say is well done! This is the full featured product so many users
have been asking to have developed. The software is a very small
download, lightning fast install and ultra low system resource
usage. What more could we ask for. On behalf of our customers we
thank you for your effort."
Bill Bounds, Alpha Prototypes
http://www.bathsheba.com
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"RP Viewer looks nice - a robust piece of freeware. My immediate use of
the RP file format will be as a compressor for STL files. I've been using
the .mgx format, but that's only useful with correspondents who have
Magics; it's helpful to have a small format where the expander is free."
Bathsheba Grossman, CAD/CAM Sculptor
http://www.bathsheba.com
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"The encryption is well done and the compression is great."
David Weathers, Tel-Med Technologies
"Imaging and Instruments for the 21st Century"
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"If the format is so open : 'OpenRP', where is the source and a
description of the algorithms used?"
Raymond Kurzweil
Our response: "If we made the source code and algorithms
public, then the security of the RP file format would be compromised.
Anyone with a little bit of programming knowledge would be able to
write a program to bypass the password in a RP file. The OpenRP
solution gives you all the tools you need to get STL data from a RP
file. So under normal circumstances one should not be bothered with
the innards of the RP file format... unless you are interested in
bypassing the password."
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Contributing to the OpenRP Initiative
If you feel you can contribute to the OpenRP initiative in some way please
contact us.
Your valuable feedback and constructive criticism is vital to the success
of this initiative. Please click
here to send us your feedback.
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