SVG to DXF Converter
An SVG is already vector, so nothing is traced: every path, rectangle and circle is rewritten as DXF geometry. What needs attention is what SVG can do and DXF cannot, chiefly units, fills, text and clipping, and this page walks through each.
CAD Converter
or drop DWG, DXF, DWF … files here ·
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Model space is the full drawing. All layouts exports each paper-space sheet as its own page, as set up in AutoCAD.
Fit to page scales the drawing to fill the sheet. Actual size keeps drawing units 1:1 (1 mm in the drawing = 1 mm on paper) and may span a larger page.
Same as source uses the size set in each layout. A1 and A0 are the usual plotter sheets for architectural drawings.
Auto turns the page to match the drawing's longer side.
Monochrome prints every line black, like plotting with a monochrome.ctb style — best for printed plans on white paper.
White suits printing. Black looks like the AutoCAD drawing area; transparent works for placing the drawing in other documents (not available in JPG).
300 DPI is print quality; 150 is enough for screens. At A1 and 600 DPI an image is 14,000 px wide, so higher values make very large files.
Only used when the input is a photo or scan (JPG, PNG). Outline draws the edges of shapes, good for logos and laser cutting; centreline draws single lines through strokes, good for scanned line drawings and plotters.
Pixels darker than this become lines. Raise it if faint lines are missing, lower it if background noise turns into shapes.
Higher values give fewer, smoother curves; lower values follow the pixels more closely but create more points.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the SVG files
Add up to 20 files, 95 MB each. Convert text to paths in your design program first so letter shapes are fixed.
- 2
Choose the DXF version
AutoCAD version starts at AutoCAD 2000, which current CAD, Fusion and most laser software read. Switch to Release 12 for older CNC controllers that reject anything newer.
- 3
Convert to DXF
Press Convert to DXF, then check one known dimension in the program that opens the file.
SVG and DXF both store lines instead of pixels, so this conversion keeps every node exactly where you drew it. The traps are size and the features DXF never had.
What happens to SVG paths in a DXF
SVG is a W3C standard from 2001 built for screens: paths have fills, strokes, opacity, gradients and CSS styles. DXF dates from 1982 and was built for drafting, where an entity is a line, an arc, a polyline or a spline with a layer and a color. Converting keeps the geometry and drops the paint. A rectangle with a 3 px red stroke becomes a closed four-sided polyline; the stroke width, which was only ever visual, does not become a 3 px wide cut.
Grouping maps onto layers where the SVG gives a clear structure, and every shape keeps its exact coordinates. Because nothing is traced, a 2 mm slot in the SVG is a 2 mm slot in the DXF once the units are right. That makes this route far more accurate than exporting a PNG and tracing it, so always start from the original vector file when you have it.
SVG to DXF scale: pixels, inches and millimeters
96SVG user units (CSS pixels) per inch
SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
SVG is an XML-based vector format standardised by the W3C in 2001. Instead of pixels it describes shapes, paths and text, so it stays sharp at any size and is usually tiny for logos and icons. It supports transparency, CSS styling, scripting and animation, and every browser renders it natively. SVG is unsuitable for photographs, and complex illustrations can become slow to render. Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma and browsers can open and edit it.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- Yes
- Introduced
- 2001 · W3C
DXF
Drawing Exchange Format
DXF is a CAD data exchange format published by Autodesk in 1982. It describes drawing geometry and layers in a documented text (or binary) structure, so many programs that cannot read DWG can read DXF. It is widely used for laser cutters, CNC routers, plasma cutters and vinyl cutters. DXF files are larger than DWG and may lose some advanced features during exchange.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 1982 · Autodesk
Designers draw in SVG, but CAD, CAM and many CNC programs expect DXF, so SVG to DXF is the hand-off from the design desk to the machine that cuts the part.
The reliable fix is to give the SVG real units before you export it. In Inkscape, set the display units and the document size in millimeters under Document Properties; in Illustrator, use a document in millimeters or inches. When the root element carries width="200mm", the size is unambiguous and the DXF can record it in its $INSUNITS header. CAM software that ignores the header will still ask you for the unit, so know which one you meant.
Common SVG to DXF problems and fixes
Text is missing or set in the wrong font.
DXF text depends on fonts installed where it opens. Use Object to Path in Inkscape or Create Outlines in Illustrator so each letter becomes a fixed shape.
Hidden parts of the artwork reappear.
Clip paths and masks have no DXF equivalent, so the full shape underneath comes through. Bake the clip with a boolean intersection before exporting.
The cutter shows curves as faceted segments.
The file was saved as Release 12, which has no splines. Choose AutoCAD 2000 or newer if your software reads it.
Every shape appears twice.
The SVG holds duplicates stacked on top of each other, often from copy and paste. Delete them in the design program; a laser would cut each one.
SVG to DXF questions
Does SVG to DXF keep my curves smooth?
Bezier curves are carried over as curves in versions that support them. Release 12 predates the SPLINE entity, so there they are approximated by short polyline segments, which look smooth at normal sizes but add vertices.
Why does my SVG import into Fusion or AutoCAD at the wrong size?
SVG measures in CSS pixels, 96 to the inch, unless the file states millimeters or inches on its width and height. A drawing made at 72 or 90 pixels per inch ends up at 75% or about 94% of the intended size. Set the document size in real units before exporting, or scale by reference after import.
Will fills and gradients survive in the DXF?
No. DXF describes geometry for cutting and drafting, so a filled shape arrives as its outline and a gradient disappears. Lasers and routers only follow the outline anyway; set the fill or engrave mode in the machine software.
Can I convert an SVG that contains a photo?
The vector parts convert, but an embedded bitmap is not geometry and is left out. Save the picture separately and trace it with image to DXF if you need it as cut lines.
Is DXF or SVG better for a laser cutter?
Both carry vector paths, and LightBurn opens either. DXF wins with CAD and CAM tools, which often expect it, and it states its units in the header; SVG wins with design software and Cricut-style cutters. Going the other way is covered by DXF to SVG.