SVG → DXF
Laser and CNC software reads DXF, but most “SVG to DXF” converters forget two things: units and curve subdivision. This one writes DXF R12 with millimetres declared, flattens Béziers and arcs to polylines at a 0.2 unit tolerance, and lets you set the finished width so the part comes out the size you meant.
Reviewed by the AISVG Pro editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · How these tools are tested
Drop an SVG file
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Filled shapes and stroked paths are both exported. Curves become polylines at 0.2 unit tolerance so laser software can cut them.
THE TOOL, WITHOUT GUESSWORK
| Input | SVG (filled shapes and stroked paths) |
|---|---|
| Output | DXF R12 · AC1009 · millimetres |
| Entities | POLYLINE per contour, closed where the source closed |
| Curve tolerance | 0.2 source units, 2–48 segments per curve |
| Size | your width in mm, aspect ratio preserved |
| Vertex ceiling | 200,000 per conversion |
| Cost | Free, unlimited |
Numbers above describe this implementation, not a generic promise. If a limit here disagrees with the tool, the tool is the bug — report it to [email protected].
SVG is a web format; DXF is a machine format. Laser cutters, CNC routers, plasma tables and vinyl plotters mostly speak DXF, and their software expects lines and arcs in real units on a flat plane.
An SVG can carry gradients, filters, fonts, clip paths and CSS — none of which a cutter understands. A DXF carries geometry and nothing else, which is exactly what a toolpath needs.
Each contour becomes one POLYLINE entity on layer CUT. Closed contours are flagged closed, so laser software treats the outline as a loop rather than an open path you have to join.
The header declares DXF R12 (AC1009), $INSUNITS as millimetres and $MEASUREMENT as metric. R12 is deliberate: it is the version every laser program still opens, including older LightBurn builds, LaserGRBL, AutoCAD, QCAD, Inkscape and Fusion.
A DXF polyline has no Bézier segment. The only faithful way to move a curve into it is to sample the curve densely enough that the difference is invisible at cutting scale.
This converter samples at 0.2 source units and caps each curve at 48 segments. On a 200 mm part that is well below the kerf width, so the cut path is not measurably different from the curve. The trade-off is vertex count: a circle becomes about 40 vertices instead of one arc, which is fine for cutting and awkward if you plan to edit the DXF as curves later.
This is where most conversions go wrong. An SVG with only a viewBox has no physical size at all; converting it at “1 SVG unit = 1 mm” produces a part the wrong size, and at 96 dpi it is wrong by 3.78×.
Here you type the finished width in millimetres. The whole drawing scales proportionally from that one number, and the DXF declares millimetres, so LightBurn and AutoCAD read the same size. If your SVG does carry real units (mm, cm, in), the default width comes from those and you can still override it.
Stroked paths with no fill are exported as their centre line. That is what a laser engraves; it is not the outline a vinyl cutter needs.
Live text must be converted to outlines before conversion. There is no font data in a DXF, so converted text would need to be embedded as curves — this converter reads paths, not <text> elements.
Holes inside a shape come through as separate closed contours at the same position. Laser software cuts both loops, which is what you want; if you need fill rules for rendering, keep the SVG.
Clip paths and masks are ignored — the source geometry is exported as drawn, not as clipped.
LightBurn, LaserGRBL, AutoCAD, QCAD, LibreCAD, Inkscape, Fusion 360 and most CAM importers open DXF R12. If a program asks for units on import and offers a choice, pick millimetres; the header already says so, but some importers ignore the header and trust the dialog.
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