Help please - importing pdf and creating .dwg/.dxf

[Anonymous]

Hi all! I can get through ACAD well enough to create simple 2D drawings so my knowledge is limited.  We are trying to take a simple component that was made out of 16 ga sheetmetal and importing a pdf of it into ACAD for the purposes of creating a .dwg/.dxf file to send to a waterjet shop to reproduce this for us hundreds of times over.  So far this is what we've done:

1.  Scanned actual part into scanner.  Painted it black with a piece of paper on top of it for good contrast.

2.  Attempted to import into ACAD.  I found a post here advising to import via XR command.

3.  I have the pdf in the new .dwg file....black object with a white rectangular (page-sized background).

4.  What I need to do now is to somehow 'trace' the outline of this component (outline is all arcs of varying lengths and radii - looks like an irregularly-shaped teardrop).  I'M STUCK.  I think I can trace it with a polyline but is there a 'smarter' way to do this?

[Anonymous]

I found this freeware worked well to convert a .pdf to a .dwg in AutoCAD LT 2013.

http://anydwg.com/

[pendean]

There is no conversion option inside AutoCAD: you'll need to buy a 3rd party solution.

Ortherwise "tracing" is just drafting in CAD: you have to know all your AutoCAD commands and how they work to use them. There is no magic trick.

Good luck.