Opening DXF and DWG CAD drawings in Vectornation
Vectornation by Zaweba reads and writes DXF R12 and later, and opens DWG from R13 to 2018 (not 2007) with units taken as millimetres.
Architects, engineers and makers send drawings as DXF and DWG, the common formats of CAD software. Designers and print shops then need to do something with them: turn a floor plan into a brochure illustration, put a part outline on a technical sheet, or tidy a cutting file. Vectornation by Zaweba opens both, and writes DXF back out.
The support is clear about its limits. DXF from R12 and later can be opened and saved. DWG from R13 to 2018 opens, apart from the 2007 version, and DWG is opened only, not saved. Units in a DWG are taken as millimetres.
DXF both ways
DXF is the more open of the two formats and the easier one to pass between programs. Open a DXF, make your changes, and save or export it as DXF again for the next person or machine in the chain. That makes Vectornation a reasonable tool for adjusting a laser cutting file, adding an outline to a plan, or cleaning up a sign maker's cut path.
DWG for reading
DWG is the native format of many CAD programs. Vectornation opens the versions listed above so that you can use the geometry in an illustration or layout. When the result needs to go back to a CAD user, send DXF, which they can open.
If a DWG will not open, the version may be outside the supported range or be the 2007 version. Ask the sender to save it as DXF, or as an earlier DWG version, which most CAD programs offer.
Units and scale
CAD drawings are usually made at real size. A floor plan might be twenty metres across, a machine part a few millimetres. Because DWG units are read as millimetres, a drawing made in millimetres comes in at its true size. A drawing made in other units will come in at the wrong scale, by a factor you can work out, and you can scale it to correct it.
Check a known dimension after opening. A door width, a hole spacing or a title block measurement tells you straight away whether the scale is right.
Making a CAD drawing look designed
CAD line work is precise but plain. Once it is in Vectornation, the whole drawing toolset applies. Set stroke weights so walls read heavier than furniture. Fill rooms with soft colour. Add labels with real type. Put dimensions and notes on their own layer so they can be hidden for a cleaner illustration.
Large drawings can contain far more than you need: hidden layers, construction lines, blocks of furniture repeated many times. Delete what you do not need early, and the file is easier to work with.
Going on to a machine
For laser cutters, pen plotters and drag knives, a drawing from CAD can go out again as DXF, or through File > Export > G-code, which writes in millimetres, cuts holes first and carries speeds, passes, laser power or pen heights. A part outline drawn in CAD can then be cut without a separate CAM program for simple jobs.
Things to watch
Text in CAD files often uses fonts specific to the CAD program. Expect labels to need resetting or replacing with fonts you have.
Very small curves in CAD are sometimes many short straight segments. They look fine but make the path heavy. Simplifying them helps if you plan to edit by hand.
And if a file must stay precise, avoid moving points by eye. Use exact values in the transform controls, so the measurements in the drawing stay true.
