PDF to CAD
Convert a PDF drawing sheet into a CAD file you can measure and cut — free, no signup. The first page is read like an engineer reads it: what the part is, how many holes, what pattern — then one true dimension sets the scale and the DXF is measured before download.
How to convert PDF to CAD, step by step
- Drop the PDF above. Page one is rendered at high resolution in your browser — the file itself never needs to leave as a PDF.
- Recognition reads the drawing: outline, holes, bolt patterns, slots. You see what it understood — part type, features, confidence — before anything is final.
- Give one real dimension. If the sheet has a legible dimension printed on it, the tool reads it and asks you to confirm; otherwise state the overall width.
- Download the DXF. R12 ASCII, millimetres at 1:1, holes as true circle entities, layers explained here. The measured size and hole table sits beside the download button.
Vector PDF or scanned PDF: the honest difference
Every PDF drawing is one of two things, and most converter sites hope you will not ask which.
| Vector PDF (exported from CAD) | Scanned PDF (a print, photographed) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is inside | Real line/arc data with exact coordinates | A picture in a PDF wrapper |
| Best possible conversion | Direct entity extraction, no AI needed | Recognition — there are no entities to extract |
| What this tool does today | Renders the page, then recognition | Renders the page, then recognition |
| What that costs you | Exact coordinates become recognized proportions + your one scale answer | Nothing — recognition is the only path for a scan |
Stated plainly: for a clean CAD-exported PDF, direct vector extraction would preserve exact coordinates, and this tool does not do that yet — it renders first. If you own AutoCAD 2017+, its PDFIMPORT does true vector import and is the right tool for that specific case. For scans, prints, faxed sheets and photographed pages — the PDFs people actually have — extraction has nothing to extract, and recognition is the working path. The full guide covers every route with screenshots.
PDF to DXF, or PDF to DWG?
Searches for PDF conversion split between DXF and DWG targets. This converter is a PDF to DXF path, and that is a choice, not a limitation: DXF is the open interchange format that AutoCAD, FreeCAD, Fusion and every CAM package read directly, so a DXF is the file that works everywhere first. When a workflow specifically requires DWG, open the DXF in AutoCAD and SAVEAS — one step, nothing lost. DXF vs DWG explains when each format is the right ask.
Limits, before you rely on it
- Page one only. Multi-sheet sets: convert the page you need as an image via image to CAD.
- One part per page converts best. A sheet with six details and a title block is a hard read; crop to the part.
- Dimensions printed on the sheet are used for scale when legible, but every recognized diameter is still shown measured — check the table against the title block before cutting.
- Line-weight-heavy architectural sheets (hatching, dimension strings everywhere) recognize worse than part drawings. The tool tells you its confidence rather than hiding it.
Questions
How do I convert a PDF to CAD?
Drop the PDF into the converter on this page. Page one is rendered and recognized into CAD geometry — outline, holes, patterns — then one real dimension scales it and you download a DXF. Free, no signup, output measured before download.
What is the difference between a vector PDF and a scanned PDF?
A PDF exported from CAD contains real line and arc data; a scanned PDF is a photograph in a PDF wrapper. Both convert here via recognition. For CAD-exported PDFs, direct entity extraction — reading the vectors without rasterizing — would preserve exact coordinates; this tool renders the page first today and says so.
How do I convert PDF to CAD DWG?
Convert the PDF to DXF here, open it in AutoCAD, SAVEAS to DWG. AutoCAD 2017 and newer also import vector PDFs directly with PDFIMPORT — worth using when the PDF came from CAD and you own AutoCAD; this free path covers everything else.
Can it convert a multi-page PDF?
Page one only, deliberately — that is where a drawing lives in almost every sheet set. For another page, export or screenshot that page as an image and convert it on the image-to-CAD page.
The rest of the family
Exported views convert as PNG to DXF, photos as JPG to DXF, and anything visual through image to CAD. Or describe the part in a sentence and let the AI CAD generator build it exact by construction.
Open the full tool