Services ยท DXF

STEP to DXF cutting files for a whole assembly

Short answer: STEP to DXF for one part is a file conversion. For a whole assembly you need more: every plate found and measured, bent plates unfolded, and one DXF per part named by its code. That is what we deliver, ready for your cutting machine.

Why a converter is not enough

A converter turns one model into one file. A STEP assembly can hold hundreds of parts, and a STEP has no thickness field; the one in the case study below also came with no parts list. Before the first DXF, every part has to be recognised (flat plate, bent plate, section), its thickness measured on the solid, and bent plates unfolded.

What you send

What you get

Delivered drawing of part P-075: a 25 mm plate with a 75 mm hole and four M12 holes, every dimension, the marking code P-075 and the description with material, thickness and quantity.

Need the sheets too? See steel plate nesting.

A real job: a welded assembly with no parts list

The customer's bill of materials listed the welded assembly as a single line. A script recognised the flat and bent plates of its 200 parts and measured their thickness on the 3D; the designer decided the profiles and the doubtful parts. Every part then got its own DXF: 198 out of 198. Read the case study.

How we check

Code and thickness are checked against the 3D model, material against the bill of materials, and quantity is counted in every file. Every drawing, booklet page and nested part is measured against the model, then reviewed by a mechanical designer.

One trap to know: a STEP part converted to sheet metal can skip a bend without an error.

Questions

Which formats do you deliver?

DXF cutting files, PDF drawings and nesting. Drawings are also available as DWG or native Inventor files.

Can the files follow our naming?

Yes. Send us an example of the files you use: file names, title block, layout. Every file follows it.

What if the design changes?

Send the new revision. We update the files and run every check again.

Are our files confidential?

Yes. We sign an NDA before you send any file.

See also: Put us to the test.

Case study and guides

Case study

Inventor drawing automation on two welded assemblies: 160 hours down to 104

Two welded steel assemblies, from STEP to fabrication drawings, booklet and nesting. Every repetitive step done by scripts instead of by hand: 160 hours became 104.

Inventor 3 min read

How to get a flat pattern from a STEP solid in Inventor with the API

A bent plate from a STEP file is a dumb solid with no sheet-metal data. The four API lines that turn it into a sheet-metal part and unfold it, the test that tells a real bend from a flat plate, and the flat view that silently draws the folded part instead.

Inventor 4 min read

Inventor skips a bend when unfolding a STEP part: why, and how to catch it

On a STEP part converted to sheet metal, Unfold2 can leave a bend folded and return without an error. What we measured on test parts, the thickness rounding that stops every bend, and a short check that catches it before the DXF goes out.

Lessons 4 min read

How to check CAD files produced by an AI agent before they reach the shop

An AI agent reports success confidently, and its checks can agree with its mistakes. The signs that a measuring script is lying, why "0 errors" and "ALL OK" prove nothing, the verification rules we apply to every drawing, DXF and nest, and how each failure becomes a rule.

Other services

Service

Steel fabrication drawings from your STEP file

One dimensioned drawing per part from your STEP assembly, with marking code, bevels, thickness, material and quantity. Every part checked against the 3D model.

Service

Steel plate nesting from your STEP model

Every part of the assembly placed on standard sheets, with cut outlines and marking lines, so you know how many sheets to order.