How to import a DXF from Creo

Software Carbide Create
1

I have a Shapeoko 3 that I just cut my first aluminum parts on this past week. That went really well.

Now my problem is that the robotics team I coach is used to using PTC Creo as their 3D CAD package. The one student figured out how to export a DXF from Creo but when I go to suck it into Carbide Create I get a message that there are 0 elements and nothing shows up.

I played with it and used a number of different options such as:
Export splines as polylines
Use DXF version 2013, 2010, or 2000
Export Sheet as “Model space” or as "paper space"
a few others I don’t remember
Nothing seemed to work.

Now I installed Inkscape and used it to import the DXF and then save as an SVG. That helped a little in that I can see the curved lines now - i.e. the holes and the ends of a slot. But it doesn’t show any of the straight lines that make the outline of the object.

So - has anyone been sucessful in exporting a DXF from Creo and into Carbide Create? If so - what’s the magic formula i’m missing??

2

Just fixed a file (yours?) on the support queue by:

  • opening in Inkscape
  • fixing all the non-closed paths
  • re-saving as SVG
  • importing (but the open-ended paths were left out)

The community has notes on this sort of thing at: Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable

it may help to use the OVERKILL command to eliminate any overlapping or intersecting paths before exporting from AUTOCAD
AutoCAD 2000 DXF format (model geometry only, base model scaling) export from the desired face (not isometric view)
2004 Lines

it would be nice to have a similar set of recommendations for Creo, but I’ve put your file in to have a developer look at it.

1 Like
3

William,

Has there been any development on this? We recently purchased a Shapeoko 3 XL for our engineering lab and we use PTC Creo 4 as our primary CAD package. I am getting the same blank import as Dan mentioned above. Any ideas on how to get the DXF to export properly in Creo?

Thanks,

Adam

4

No idea.

Please send a couple of sample files in to support@carbide3d.com — I know @robgrz was looking for test files a while back.

5

Wow - that’s from a while back.

I have dropped trying to use Carbide Create. My robotics team still uses Creo as their primary CAD package. Then they take the .prt file and upload it to Fusion 360. The CAM module there works really pretty well. We post-process to create the g-code and then use Carbide Motion to send it to the Shapeoko.

So for us the solution was to use a different tool chain.