Exporting sketch as DXF results in an empty file? 🤷‍♂️

[scott.m.campbell11]

So I am following this video tutorial to export my sketch as a DXF file, but all that comes out is just a blank/empty DXF file 🤷‍♂️. I have opened it in a few different pieces of software (Adobe Illustrator, BossLazer, etc.)  and get the same consistent result of an empty file.

I am new to Fusion360, so perhaps there is something wrong with my sketch/design? Or perhaps do I need to like, select something in the sketch before I export it?

[ryan.bales]

Hey @scott.m.campbell11,

I picked up the case you created as well but thought i'd reply here first. Which sketch are you trying to export? The last two sketches are essentially blank empty sketches created on the face of the body. They've auto-projected the profiles but you'll need to project the face to get a meaningful export. 

Look at the version i attached. I projected the face of the body in the last sketch. The resulting dxf should contain the objects. 

[scott.m.campbell11]

Hey Ryan,

Thanks for your response. 

How does one "project the face" on a sketch?

Scott

[ryan.bales · Accepted solution]

Should be like this:

• Open or edit the Sketch by double clicking on it in the browser or right clicking and select edit sketch
• Type 'P'
• Select the left option in Project (a purple box with points)
• Select the face
• Select okay
• Finish sketch
• Right click and Save as DXF

[Anonymous]

Hi Ryan, 

Somehow I am experiencing the same problem as Scot described in his post. I tried to follow the steps you provided but I cannot select the face of my project.

I am fairly new to Fusion (I just use it to create DXF files for a laser cutter). Do you mind looking at my file and pushing me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance!

With kind regards,

Sjors

[g-andresen]

Hi,

select your sketch > rightclick ...

günther

[Anonymous]

Hi Gunther,

Thank you for your reply. I already tried this but the issue I have is that the file I create remains empty (same problem Scott described). I figured I had to follow the steps provided by Ryan but I somehow cant select the face of my drawing.

If I save my sketch as DXF (as you showed me) it results in an empty file. I did not have this issue when it was still possible to export as DXF. It seems that exporting and saving is not the same. 

[TheCADWhisperer]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I did not have this issue when it was still possible to export as DXF.

---

What license type are you running?

[Anonymous]

Currently I on a Personal Plan (free license). 

I used to export my files to DXF and these files could be read by the laser I use. After Autodesk changed the personal plan, exporting to DXF is not longer possible, however saving a sketch as DXF can still be done. Saving to DXF gives me an empty or partionally empty file when I try to open it in the program used to operate the laser though.

I mainly/only use Fusion for 2D drawings / laser cutting. 

[TheCADWhisperer]

Can you Attach example of your "empty" dxf file?

[Anonymous]

Here you go, thank you in advance! 

[TheCADWhisperer]

A dxf file will be of the format *.dxf (see Attached (zipped)).

Attach example of "empty" *.dxf file (zipped).

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I misunderstood.

2 Files included: The Notches test file DXF: which remains empty when importing it. And the Eiken Test file DXF which partially shows the drawing whin importing it (but not everything shows up). Both files were saved in Fusion using the Save As DXF when right clicking the sketch.

FYI: Uploading the files as DXF to this forum gives an error: 

• Correct the highlighted errors and try again.
  The attachment's notches test.dxf content type (application/x-dxf) does not match its file extension and has been removed.
• The attachment's eiken test.dxf content type (application/x-dxf) does not match its file extension and has been removed.

I added the files in a ZIP.

[TheCADWhisperer]

I do not own a rar extractor.

I have only Windows OS on my clean Fusion 360 machine for compressing/extracting *.zip files.

[Anonymous]

I saved them as a ZIP but get the same error when trying to upload them here. I added them to a googledrive. Can you access them using the links: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14yCA8AWbCW8KGj-lVNwkPUEubBRUHJXG/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RZ8MQ0rjOMCbAfG3zgvGgyOzuXlsE85A/view?usp=sharing

[HughesTooling]

From the RAR file size it shows the files are not empty.

Did you try opening in Fusion again as they both seem to import fine, also import into Rhino so think the problem's with your other software.

Mark

[airRPT2H]

Hi all,

I do not know whether the following will be of any help but here goes:

A simple sketch drawn as so

Now, if all the lines are set to construction lines the 'Save as DXF' works and my old laser and other legacy software sees all lines (so far so good).   However, if, for instance, I set the vertical line to be a solid line (not construction) then the saved DXF, when imported to the same laser and legacy software, only shows the solid line!   I can do this the other way and make all outside lines solid and the vertical line construction and get the same (incorrect) result.

I appreciate that when importing the above back into Fusion or Inventor that all lines are seen but this seems like an odd problem and perhaps something to do with the way solid and construction lines are exported (different layers perhaps?).

Anyhow, I thought it was worth mentioning as if you have a mixture of line types in one sketch it seems to screw up the DXF reading capability of legacy software!

Regards,

Ant 

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity, are you trying to place these saved DXF's into Illustrator 2021?

For me placing a DXF (that was generated by right clicking on a Fusion 360 sketch and choosing Save as DXF) into Adobe Illustrator for use on a laser cutter used to work on Adobe Illustrator 2020, but now doesn't work on Adobe Illustrator 2021.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-support/save-as-dxf-s-will-not-place-in-adobe-illustrator-...

Yet Illustrator 2021 can still place dxf's generated by other programs.  There appears to some compatibility issue between the version of DXF that Fusion can save and the DXF version that Illustrator 2021 can import/place?

I'm hoping some other people on the forum might be able to explain why this has started happening or at least verify this same behaviour.

[Anonymous]

It appears that the DXF file format that Fusion 360 exports in is 23 year old, AC1014 (R14) Release by AutoCad in Feb 1997.  I'm guessing this might be causing some problems.  Newer programs like Illustrator V25 (2021) have given up importing files that are that old.  Having said that, there are probably people out there with CNC Machines that are 20 odd years old and still running windows 95 embedded, so they probably won't understand any newer DXF files.

We are stuck between a rock and hard place.  AutoDesk, you might have to look at giving us the option to choose a DXF version that we want to save in.  That is if you want to keep everyone happen.  In the mean time I'm looking for a simple online DXF updater (Simply like, 2 clicks, one to upload old version DXF and one click to download newer version of DXF).

So far I've haven't found anything that appears to work as expected. Everything I've tried so far has to save as a different file type and this appear to break the scaling.

Hopefully some will read this and know of a nice website that does this process.

[Anonymous]

So many replies, thank you everyone!

@ HughesTooling - You are right, when I try to open the "save sketch as DXF" file in Fusion it shows up as it should be. The files are not empty, my apologies for assuming they were. I think it must have something to do with the ancient software I have to use when operating the laser CNC. 

@ airRPT2H - I noticed that using construction lines to support my drawings has some complications as well. Somehow my laser cuts all lines, doesnt matter if its a construction line or not. Before I used to export to DXF I just deleted all my construction lines just to make sure they would mess up my project.

@w.reynolds - I believe you are right here. There seems to be some difference in version of the final DXF file. I experienced no issues at all when it was still possible to "Export to DXF" and although it took quite some time to convert my files in the cloud: my projects were on point. It seems that right clicking the sketch and using the "save as DXF" option somehow results in another kind of DXF file with less overall support hence the issues I am experiencing.

It would be amazing if Autodesk could make sure the "Export to DXF" and the "Save sketch as DXF" results in the same version of DXF.