I am am having a real issue when sending DXF files to people.
I will make a drawing in Lightburn (Pro. 2.0.05) on a windows 11 computer and export the drawing in a DXF format. When the person receives the exported DXF file and opens it, it is full of hundreds of polylines where curves were, and in seemingly random places. This makes the file unusable for the recipient.
What was a nice 4 node circle in Lightburn changes to a partial segmented (90 degree portion) of a circle after exporting. It is not even the entire circle, but 2 90 degree opposing segments of the circle with the other 2 90 degree segments still perfect.
When I save and send the file, it looks good in Lightburn but when I re-import it from an exported DXF file, it is horrible and full of polylines and random nodes that don’t exist in the Lightburn drawing.
If you create circle entities in LB with the circle tool and don’t convert to path, and export to DXF, LB exports DXF circle entities regardless of whether the DXF export setting is set to export lines or arcs. The setting s/b set to “Export Arcs” if you don’t want too many short line segments representing arcs. The problem happens when you arcs in LB are bezier curves. LB has to approximate them, and does so with short line segments that are polyline shapes. If you draw a closed shape with the straight line tool, and use the radius tool on the square corners, LB does a pretty good job exporting DXF arcs, but will break some of the arcs up into 2 arcs, which is typical for graphic programs like Illustrator and CorelDraw.
If your customer is “driving the bus”, you would be better off designing your files in a AutoCAD knockoff like Draftsight, and then export a DXF to import into LB (for yoursel), and send your customer the DXF file from Draftsight.
Here is an example of the issue.
The circle has one quarter of it (o degrees to 90 degrees) as multiple polylines while the rest of it remains fine.
The drawing was created in Lightburn, Exported as a DXF, and imported back in to Lightburn.
Are you able to upload your original LB design file here? If you can’t upload the entire design perhaps you can upload just a representative portion of it. Some more information on how these features have been created might help too.
You are not drawing perfect circle entities in Lightburn. Lightburn exports perfect circle DXF entities if you draw perfect circle entities regardless of “Arcs”
