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Design guidelines

How to export a clean DXF or SVG.

A good file is one part, at full size, made of closed outlines. Here's how to get one out of the tools most people draw in, and how to check it before you pay.

Check your file Laser cutting rules

Before you export

The checklist.

  1. 01Several different parts can share a file. Set the quantity in the quote rather than copying a part.
  2. 02Full size, 1:1, drawn in inches or millimetres.
  3. 03Every outline closed: no gaps, no stacked duplicate lines.
  4. 04Text converted to outlines (or removed).
  5. 05No dimensions, title blocks, borders or construction lines.
  6. 06At least 1/16 in between cuts. Parts over 23.2 x 11.6 in are fine; a person checks them before cutting.

By app

Export steps for four common tools.

Menu names shift between versions. If one has moved, search the app's help for the command named here.

DXF from a sketch

Autodesk Fusion

  1. Start a sketch on the flat face of the part, and project the face into it so the outline and every hole are sketch lines.
  2. Right-click the sketch in the browser and choose Save As DXF.
  3. Upload the DXF and check the width and height next to the preview.

Watch for: Only what's in that sketch is exported. Leave dimensions and construction lines out of it, or make a fresh sketch that holds just the projected outline.

DXF from a face

Onshape

  1. In the Part Studio, right-click the flat face of the part (or a sketch) and choose the DXF/DWG export.
  2. Pick DXF, and set the units to the ones you designed in if the dialog asks.
  3. Upload the DXF and check the size next to the preview.

Watch for: Export one face of one part. Exporting a whole drawing brings its border, title block and dimensions along.

SVG or DXF

Inkscape

  1. Set the document units to mm or in, and draw the part at its real size.
  2. Select everything and use Path > Object to Path, which turns text and shapes into plain outlines.
  3. Save as Plain SVG, or as Desktop Cutting Plotter (AutoCAD DXF R14).

Watch for: A shape with a stroke but no fill is still an outline, which is what we want. Delete any image you traced from; images aren't cut.

DXF preferred

Adobe Illustrator

  1. Select all text and choose Type > Create Outlines.
  2. Put the part on an artboard drawn in inches or millimetres, at real size.
  3. Use File > Export > Export As and pick AutoCAD Interchange File (DXF). Keep the scale at 1 to 1.

Watch for: Illustrator writes SVG sizes in points without a unit, and an SVG without units is read at 96 per inch, so an Illustrator SVG can arrive at three quarters of its size. Export DXF instead, or type the real width into the quote after uploading.

Check it

Let the quote check your file.

Drop the file on the instant quote. The preview shows exactly the outlines we read, with the width and height, and any problem is listed with a link to the rule that explains it. Nothing is ordered until you pay.

No CAD at all? Start from a template and type the dimensions instead.

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