By AutoCAD can create, open, edit, and save a number of other file formats, including several other brands of CAD software. On the Application menu, look at the options under Open and under Import, and then click the Files of Type drop-down list to see the list of supported formats. AutoCAD 2017 added the capability of editing PDF files. From a practical point of view, this is viable only if the PDF was created by exporting a drawing file from AutoCAD or another CAD program. Yes, AutoCAD can edit a PDF that came from a Word document, for example, but you don’t want to do that.
To edit a PDF drawing, do this:. Open a new or existing drawing file. On the Application menu, choose Import → PDF. Press Enter. Browse to and select the desired PDF file using the file dialog box that has appeared. Click Open. The Import PDF dialog box appears.
For your first try, you probably want to go with the defaults. This looks exactly like the original drawing that was used to create the PDF! Even all the text, dimensions, colors, layers, and linetypes are correct.
2D CAD files are often referred to as drawings, while 3D files are often called models, parts, or assemblies. AutoCAD Drawing Database File. Common File Types.
Yes, AutoCAD can now edit a PDF file, but (and it’s a big, uppercase, bold BUT — not to be confused with a big butt) before you get all excited at the prospect, you may want to consider the following discussion of some of the limitations. It’s possible that these may be inherent in the PDF format or with AutoCAD’s capability to analyze the file or both. First, all complex object types have been exploded to their basic constituents.
For example, all block insertions, hatch patterns, text, and dimensions have been reduced to a bunch of individual polylines. That’s right, every line segment in a complex hatch pattern has become an individual, independent polyline segment. Similarly, dimensions get exploded to polylines and text, and are no longer associated with the original definition points. Worse yet, all text is exploded to individual characters. TrueType fonts survive, but the individual characters in AutoCAD’s SHX fonts get redefined as a bunch of polyline segments. There’s more! Curves such as splines and arcs also end up as a multitude of straight polyline segments.
Ah, but here is the worse. There is a great need for accuracy in AutoCAD drawings. Unfortunately, the PDF file doesn’t share those sentiments, and so most objects seem to come in with sizes that vary from the original drawing in the third and fourth decimal place.
This may not sound like much, but you will now find that two lines that are supposed to intersect each other or touch at their ends probably don’t. Other than that, PDF editing is perfect.
You can import most popular CAD file formats into, including, CATIA, IGES, Rhino, and SolidWorks, and export most AutoCAD drawings just as easily. With complex geometry, not every process is the same, and there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all import with CAD. Follow these eight easy AutoCAD tips to get your original 3D or 2D drawings into AutoCAD. Tip 1: Bringing AutoCAD Data into Inventor to Create Inventor Sketch Profiles. Using the Options tab, you can use the Import option to bring extrusions and commands into Inventor as an available profile.
This will keep you from having to redraw your design from scratch in Inventor. 3D solids can even be imported this way. You can turn on layers and select which geometry to bring in and which not to bring in.
To learn how, see more from Infinite Skills. Tip 2: Importing an Inventor model into AutoCAD. To do the opposite of the above (import an Inventor model into AutoCAD), you must first create views inside of an Autodesk Inventor drawing, and then transfer them into 2D AutoCAD and maintain the links, which can then be updated.Symetri UK explains this in more detail. Tip 3: Importing AutoCAD into Rhino 3D. In AutoCAD 2012 and all versions since, you can export line work from AutoCAD into and create a 3D Rhino model from your 2D drawings. You need to delete some unnecessary information and linework first, but the process is actually quite simple. Dimensions, text, and information that won’t be useful in Rhino should be deleted, as you want to minimize file size for your import.
See how from Jason Dembski. Tip 4: Importing AutoCAD DWGs into SolidWorks. Here are two examples of how to import DWG files into SolidWorks. The first shows how to use the “Import to a New Part as” command using either 3D curves or a model. The more complicated import shows how SolidWorks generates planes and creates several parts over the import of a complicated drawing for more than 90 minutes. Thymark shows you how.
Tip 5: Exporting Views out of into AutoCAD (Creating an AutoCAD File from Revit). Using export settings can simplify the process of getting the desired layers, line types, and colors when exporting from Revit to AutoCAD. Follow Prokonbuild’s pop-up video explanation of how to turn off the correct options for a quick-and-easy export to DWG. Tip 6: Importing AutoCAD DXF files to CATIA 5 for 3D Modeling. Importing 2D AutoCAD data to requires a few editing steps but can still be imported very accurately in CATIA 5. Mohammed Shakeel explains how in detail.
Tip 7: Exporting SketchUp to AutoCAD. Many architects design conceptually in SketchUp, then end up losing any groups, components, or layers while trying to export to AutoCAD for design and creation of construction documents. This Sketchucation tutorial explains how to keep your layers, groups, and components while exporting to AutoCAD.
Tip 8: Importing AutoCAD DWGs to SketchUp Pro. This example uses Ubisense’s Site Manager, included in SketchUp Pro, to import CAD information. You need to change settings from architectural to geometry and perform a few other preparations, but your AutoCAD drawing can be imported and opened in SketchUp Pro. See how from Ubisense Support.