How to
How to convert PNG to DXF
A laser cutter or a CNC router follows lines, and a PNG has none: it is a grid of colored pixels. Converting PNG to DXF means tracing those pixels into closed outlines first, then writing the outlines into a DXF file at a real size. This converter does both steps on your device, also for JPG, WebP, GIF and BMP images.
- Add your image. Choose a PNG or JPG, drop it on the box or paste it from the clipboard. It is never uploaded.
- Set the tracing. Black and white traces the dark parts, with a threshold set for your image. Colors as layers traces each main color onto its own layer.
- Clean it up. Ignore specks drops dust and noise. Smooth curves suits logos; straight segments suit pixel art and technical drawings.
- Pick the units and the width. Type the real width of the part in millimeters or inches and the height follows.
- Download the DXF. Or download the traced SVG as well, for your design app.
Black and white or colors
For cutting, black and white is nearly always right: every dark area becomes a closed outline, and holes inside letters and shapes stay holes. Move the threshold to the right to catch faint lines, to the left to drop a gray background, or tick Trace the light parts instead for white artwork on a dark background. Colors as layers suits multicolor artwork you want to cut or engrave in passes, with one DXF layer per color.
How big will it be?
Pixels have no physical size, so the DXF needs one from you. With Set the width, the drawing is scaled so its outlines are exactly that wide. Without it, one pixel of the original image counts as 1/96 inch, which suits screenshots but rarely a real part.
Tip
Already have the artwork as an SVG? Use the SVG to DXF converter: no tracing is needed, so every curve stays exactly as drawn. To print the shape in 3D instead of cutting it, try SVG to STL, which also takes PNG and JPG.
Want an SVG rather than a DXF? PNG to SVG and JPG to SVG use the same tracing engine, and vectorize image has presets for photos and line art.
Questions people ask
Can you convert a PNG to a DXF file?
Yes, but not by changing the file type. A PNG is a grid of pixels and a DXF holds lines, so the picture has to be traced: the edges of each dark area, or each color, become closed outlines. This page does the tracing in your browser and shows the outlines before you download the DXF.
What is a dxf file?
DXF, the Drawing Exchange Format, is a text file format Autodesk published so CAD programs could swap drawings. It stores lines, arcs, polylines and layers in real units such as millimeters. Nearly every CAD, CNC and laser cutting program can open one, which makes it the usual way to send a shape to a machine.
Can you open a PNG file in AutoCAD?
You can attach a PNG to an AutoCAD drawing as a raster image, which is fine for tracing over by hand, but it stays a picture: you cannot select its edges, offset them or send them to a cutter. To get real lines, trace the PNG into a DXF here and open that in AutoCAD instead.
How do I turn an image to DXF?
Drop the image on this page. For a logo or silhouette, keep Black and white and move the threshold until the preview shows the shapes you want; for artwork with a few flat colors, choose Colors as layers. Set the units and the width, check the outlines in the preview, then download the DXF.
Which images trace best?
High contrast images with clean edges: logos, silhouettes, line art, stencils and scans of ink drawings. Use the largest version you have, since more pixels give smoother outlines. Photos trace into many small shapes, which suits engraving better than cutting. Raise Ignore specks to drop dust and JPEG noise from scans.