Saving 2D drawing as ***.DWG

[CarlPugh]

Is ***.DWG the most common file extension when dealing with vendors?

If ***.DWG is not the most common file extension, what is the most common file extension?

Have AutoSketch 9 and it isn't saved correctly to ***.DWG.

Have TurboCAD Designer 17.2 and find it difficult to use.

Which 2D program do you recommend for drawing simple mechanical parts and saved to ***.DWG?

These are questions that have probably been asked numerous times, but drafting is not my area of expertise.

Thanks for your answers.

Carl

 

[MacGyverS2000]

I would imagine DXF is the most compatible across platforms, though I cannot say if it's also the most common. DWG is certainly well used...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

DWG and DXF are the most common 2D formats.

Try DraftSight from

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/download-draftsight/

 

[Japo]

Both DWG and DXF will have the broadest support from any CAD program, they're both originally creations of AutoCAD. The difference is that DXF is open, so programs other than Autodesk's support it with no glitches, whereas their support of DWG is somewhat of a crack that Autodesk likes to fight against for some reason.

I like to use DXF always. Since you're having issues with DWG, you shouldn't even think twice about it.

(There may be some advanced features of AutoCAD that can be saved into DWG but not into DXF, but those aren't present in most drawings, and besides you aren't drawing with AutoCAD to start with.)

 

[Henneshoe]

I mostly work with circuit boards, but occasionally I need to look at or modify a 2D mechanical drawing from one of our Mechanical Engineers. They use AutoCAD, but I didn't want to buy a license for the few times I would use it. I use A9CAD (

http://www.a9tech.com/).

It is free and has most the basic functions of AutoCAD. It can save in .DWG or .DXF format.

 

[StrykerTECH]

I would suggest DWG editor. It is free from SolidWorks. It is essentially 95% of the functionality of AutoCAD.
You can also save to PDF from it.

StrykerTECH Engineering Staff
Milwaukee, WI

http://www.stryker-tech.com/

 

[KENAT]

I've seen dxf more than dwg as others mention, so that's probably my first choice if you actually need to be able to do something with the file once opened.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[MikeHalloran]

DXF has two advantages:

The format has been documented, and the document is publicly available, so any CAD vendor's product should be able to write a proper DXF file.

A DXF file is not binary; it can be edited with a text editor. You may need a programmer's editor to handle the very large files, but they are still text, and you can work with the DXF specification to correct any malformed files.


Most CAD packages, and even many machine tools, have no particular trouble accepting a DXF file as input.

Many CAD packages have a little difficulty producing a valid DXF file as output. There will typically be a line or group of lines that looks a little odd, formed and/or located similarly in all DXF files produced by that package. Once you have edited one DXF file, the rest get easier. It may not even be necessary, unless you are importing to AutoCAD itself, which is notoriously picky about things that shouldn't bother it.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[chicopee]

In contrast to DWG, DXF uses a lot more memory.

 

[MikeHalloran]

>>>In contrast to DWG, DXF uses a lot more memory. <<<

Uh, not exactly. DXF files only take more memory than DWG files if you're carrying them around on your phone. When they're stored on a computer, both go into file storage, which is distinct from memory.

When they're loaded into an application, e.g. AutoCAD, they assume the exact same form, groups of numbers that represent lines, objects, and attributes, and consume exactly the same amount of memory.

However, going back to file storage, a given DWG file is roughly half the size of a DXF file representing the same object, because a DWG file stores the object in a binary form, whereas DXF stores everything as ASCII text, which is not as dense. On the bright side, both are much, much smaller than an IGES file representing the same object, because IGES files are ASCII text, and the numbers and other data are right-justified on text lines with their left-justified parameter names, so an IGES file contains a _lot_ of space characters.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Mike,

I think most would read "memory" as HD storage, not RAM, in this context...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[MikeHalloran]

Most would be wrong.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[PHovnanian]

Memory is getting cheaper (the phone example being an exception) and processing speed (the ability to load text and convert it to an internal representation or vice versa) is higher than in the 'old days' when AutoCAD was designed.

The advantages of text files* in terms of processing by filters outside of CAD programs outweighs the improvement in load/save speeds of binary formats.

*I like XML data formats generally not seen in many CAD programs (yet) for the ability to do much more powerful processing with external tools. If the day comes to move on from DXF, this would be the way to go.