DXF & SVG Import
Updated v2.4.3At a glance
- All standard DXF entity types: lines, arcs, circles, polylines, splines
- Arcs of any radius stay true — preserved through the pipeline and drawn true on screen
- SVG paths imported as chained polylines with arc-preserving simplification
- Automatic chaining of entities into continuous cut contours
- Quantity import — set copy count per part before importing; duplicates link to their master
- Spline-to-polyline conversion at configurable simplify tolerance
- Automatic winding-order detection (CW vs CCW) for correct kerf side
- Containment depth analysis: classifies contours as outer profile, hole, or open path
- Engrave layer detection — multi-layer files offer Cut/Engrave per layer, so marking text stays with its part
Bring cut-ready profiles into the Plasma workspace with File → Import or by dragging .dxf /
.svg files straight onto the viewport — multiple files at once works. Import runs in a background
worker, so large files chain and classify without freezing the canvas.
From entities to contours
DXF lines, arcs, circles, polylines (classic and lightweight, with bulge arcs), and splines all import; dimension graphics and block contents are deliberately skipped so annotation arrows never become cut geometry. Loose lines and arcs are chained into continuous polylines by endpoint adjacency (0.0005" tolerance), then containment analysis classifies every closed loop as an outer profile or a hole — unclosed chains stay open paths cut on center. Winding order is normalized per contour so kerf compensation lands on the correct side, and arcs survive as true arcs all the way through toolpath generation.
Splines, SVG, and simplification
Splines are converted to polylines with arc-preserving simplification at your machine's Simplify Tolerance (default 0.001"). SVG paths collapse to one polyline per subpath at the same tolerance, and files that arrive as pre-chained polylines — typical of CAM-tool SVG exports — bypass chaining entirely, so a finely tessellated gear with thousands of vertices still imports fast. Need it lighter after import? Right-click a part → Simplify… to re-tune with a live preview.
Engrave layers
Files with more than one layer prompt once — a single dialog across the whole import — with a
Cut / Engrave toggle per layer; layers named Marking, Mark, Scribe, or Engrave come
pre-toggled. Engrave layers are recognized before parts are identified, so closed letters never
become holes and nested marks never split off as phantom parts: the engraving attaches to the part
it sits on and moves with it through nesting. SVG layers import too (Inkscape layers included),
layer names survive files drawn as loose lines and arcs, and marks that land outside every part are
skipped with a note. See Engraving for the scribe setup.
Quantities, units, and placement
File → Import QTY/Part… lists each selected file with a quantity input and a per-file Inch / MM selector, so a metric DXF drops into an inch job without touching global settings — plus the same per-layer Cut/Engrave toggles for multi-layer files, right in the dialog. Extra copies import as linked duplicates that share one toolpath set with their master. When a single file contains several parts, a dialog offers Keep Placement (preserve source X/Y — parts that fall outside every sheet are moved to the staging area, never lost) or Grid Layout (stage everything in a row). From there, drag parts onto the sheet or let auto-nesting place them.