How do I bring a 2D drawing from Fusion (or another CAD program) into the software as a DXF?

Which Fusion export to use

Autodesk lists three DXF routes and they are not equal.

• Right-click a sketch in the browser > Save As DXF. This writes flat 2D geometry and is the one to use. The option is disabled if the design has no sketch.
• File > Export with a DXF type produces a 3D DXF, which is not what a 2D job needs.
• Export from a 2D drawing includes the drawing sheet. A fabrication service guide warns that this route exports at the scale of the sheet and carries the title block along.

Steps

1. Make a new sketch on the flat face of the part and use Project (P) to copy the current edges into it. A published fabrication guide recommends this so the sketch matches the finished model, including holes and slots added later.
2. Right-click that sketch and choose Save As DXF.
3. In the software, open the DXF. The official documentation says DXF files open at their original size and position, and the Job Setup form appears showing the maximum X and Y size of the drawing. Enter your real material size, thickness and origin there.
4. Measure one known dimension. A DXF stores plain numbers with no enforced unit, so a drawing made in millimeters and read as inches is 25.4 times too large (or too small the other way). Fix it with Set Size, or set the job units to match the drawing.
5. Run Join Open Vectors. The official FAQ notes that CAD DXF files often arrive as separate lines and arcs that cannot be pocketed or V-carved until they are joined.
6. If curves arrive as many short straight pieces, use Fit Curves to Vectors.

Splines

Free-form spline edges are the usual trouble. Fusion's flat pattern export has a Turn Splines to Polylines option (one guide leaves its tolerance at the default .004 inch). The official FAQ adds that DXF carries only arcs and straight lines, not Bezier curves. Where you can, draw the profile from lines and arcs in the sketch.

Pro tips

• If a DXF will not import at all, the official FAQ suggests saving it again from the CAD program as AutoCAD R12 or R14.
• CAD files often bring in empty layers. The Layers list marks them with a blank white sheet icon so you can delete them.
• A sketch full of construction lines exports all of them. Export a clean projected sketch instead.