How to
How to convert SVG to DXF
SVG is the format design apps export; DXF is the format CAD programs, laser cutters and CNC routers read. Both describe shapes, so the conversion keeps your drawing as vector outlines rather than pixels. What changes is the bookkeeping: DXF has no fills, gradients or styles, only lines, polylines and layers measured in real units.
- Add your SVG. Choose the file, drop it on the box, or paste the SVG code. It is read on your device and never uploaded.
- Pick the units and the size. Millimeters or inches, and either the size written in the SVG or an exact width for the drawing. The height follows.
- Choose what goes in. Everything, only the outlines of filled shapes, or only the lines. Curves are turned into short segments within the accuracy you pick.
- Check the preview. It draws exactly the outlines that will be in the DXF, one color per layer.
- Download the DXF. Open it in AutoCAD, Fusion, LightBurn, LibreCAD, QCAD or your cutter's software.
Getting the size right
An SVG from Illustrator or Inkscape usually carries its size, such as 80mm by 50mm, and the DXF keeps it. Many SVGs from the web only have pixel sizes; then 96 pixels count as one inch, the CSS standard, which may not be the size you meant. If the part has to be a set size, choose Set the width and type it. Check one known dimension in your CAD program before cutting.
Fills, strokes and text
A filled shape becomes its outline, which is what a laser cuts along. A line drawn with a stroke becomes its center line, not the two edges of the thick stroke; to cut around a thick line, use Outline Stroke in Illustrator or Stroke to Path in Inkscape first. Text needs the same treatment, Create Outlines or Object to Path, because a DXF cannot carry the font. The converter tells you when it left text or embedded pictures out.
Layers by color
With One layer per color, every fill or stroke color gets its own layer named after its hex code, such as COLOR_FF0000, and the nearest standard AutoCAD color. Laser software like LightBurn assigns cut, score and engrave settings by layer, so drawing cuts in red and scores in blue in your design app carries straight through.
Starting from a PNG or JPG instead? The PNG to DXF converter traces the picture first. To make the SVG itself from an image, use PNG to SVG or vectorize image. For 3D printing, SVG to STL raises the same shapes into a solid, and SVG to PDF keeps the vectors for print.
Questions people ask
How to convert SVG to DXF using Inkscape?
Open the SVG in Inkscape, select everything and turn text and strokes into paths with Path, Object to Path and Path, Stroke to Path. Then use File, Save As and pick one of the Desktop Cutting Plotter (AutoCAD DXF) formats. If you only need the DXF, this page does the same in the browser without installing anything.
How to convert SVG to Silhouette Studio?
The free Basic Edition of Silhouette Studio opens DXF files but not SVG, which needs a paid edition such as Designer. So convert the SVG to DXF here, in inches or millimeters, then open the DXF in Silhouette Studio. Tick One layer per color if your design has several colors you want to cut separately.
Can you convert DWG to DXF?
Yes. In AutoCAD, use Save As and pick a DXF format. Without AutoCAD, the free ODA File Converter from the Open Design Alliance converts DWG files to DXF. This page does not read DWG: it makes DXF from SVG, which is the shorter route when a design starts in Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma or Canva.
Which DXF version does this converter write?
It writes an ASCII DXF in the AutoCAD R12 format, the oldest and most widely read version. Every outline is a POLYLINE, closed when the shape is closed, and you can switch to single LINE entities for older laser software. The units are stored in the file header, and colors go on named layers.