DWG is AutoCAD's native format and its structure has never been published. DXF was created by Autodesk for exactly the opposite purpose: so that other programs can read and write drawings. That is why a laser or waterjet shop asks for DXF, why nesting and CAM software imports DXF more reliably than DWG, and why free CAD programs and GIS tools usually open DXF without trouble. Upload the DWG above and you get a DXF with the same drawing.
What happens during the conversion
Our converter reads the DWG, runs an audit that repairs common errors in the drawing database, and writes an ASCII DXF in the AutoCAD 2018 version (internal code AC1032). It accepts DWG files from Release 12 up to the 2018 format, which AutoCAD has kept through version 2026.
This is a translation of the drawing database, not a redraw. What you get:
- the same geometry in the same units and coordinates, nothing is rasterised or rescaled,
- layers with their colours, linetypes and lineweights, including layers that are off or frozen,
- blocks with attributes, dimensions with their styles, hatches, text and multiline text,
- layouts with viewports and the drawing unit setting ($INSUNITS),
- 3D solids, stored inside the DXF as ACIS data.
What a DXF cannot carry by itself: external references stay as links to files on the author's disk, attached images are referenced, not embedded, and fonts are referenced by name. If the receiving program does not have the SHX font, it substitutes another one.
Which DXF version you get and why it matters
The output is always DXF 2018. Current CAD and CAM programs read it. Older software is another story: some laser and plasma controllers, older nesting programs and machine-side editors only accept R12 or R2000 DXF, and complain about an "unsupported version" or open an empty drawing.
In that case open our DXF in any CAD program and save it as R12 DXF. Autodesk's free DWG TrueView can also save older versions with its DWG Convert function. Saving as R12 turns newer object types into simpler ones; splines, for example, become polylines.
Common problems with DXF for laser cutting and CNC
The part comes out 25.4 times too small or too large
The unit is stored in the DXF header, but many CAM programs ignore it and assume millimetres, or ask in the import dialog. A drawing made in inches then shrinks or grows by a factor of 25.4. Check the unit when importing, or ask the designer which unit the drawing uses.
The DXF opens empty in CAM software
Many machine programs read only the model space and only loose geometry. If the contour sits in a layout, inside a block or on a frozen layer, they show nothing. Explode blocks, thaw layers and move the geometry into model space before conversion.
Text or curves are not cut
A laser follows lines, not fonts. Text has to be exploded into outlines (TXTEXP in AutoCAD) and some controllers also need splines converted to polylines or arcs. The converter does not change geometry, so this has to be done in CAD.
The DXF is much larger than the DWG
That is normal. DXF is plain text, two lines for every value, while DWG is a compressed binary format. A ZIP brings the size back down if you need to e-mail it.
When you do not need us
If you have AutoCAD, use Save As and choose the DXF version the recipient asked for. Without AutoCAD, the free Autodesk DWG TrueView for Windows converts whole batches of drawings to another version with DWG Convert. Our converter makes sense when you need a DXF quickly without installing anything, are working on a phone or a borrowed computer, or have a handful of files: up to 10 at once, 100 MB each, results as a ZIP. If you only want to look at the drawing, convert DWG to PDF instead.
DWG versus DXF
| DWG | DXF | |
|---|---|---|
| Encoding | compressed binary | text (a binary variant exists but is rare) |
| Specification | not published | published by Autodesk as the DXF Reference |
| File size | small | several times larger |
| Typical use | working file in AutoCAD | exchange with CAM, GIS and other CAD programs |
DXF has existed since AutoCAD 1.0 in December 1982. A DXF file is a sequence of pairs: a numeric group code on one line and its value on the next, with the drawing version written in the header as $ACADVER. The Library of Congress lists DXF among its preferred formats for CAD drawings because the specification is public; see its DXF format description. More on both formats: DWG and DXF.