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I'm trying to figure out how to import an engineering drawing from AutoCAD into Blender while retaining all layers and fills... is this possible? I also use Carrara and it opens files from CAD in this way... I want to switch fully to Blender but, if this feature doesn't exist, I just cannot make the leap.

Any info would be fantastic.

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There is a built-in importer for DXF file format, if you can save or export your drawing as text-based DXF file. It works fairly well in most cases and should import without major hiccups, though some minor bugs are expected.

Fills and stroke widths will not for the most part be preserved, as there is no such structure in Blender. Blender being a 3D modelling tool has no concepts of fills, hatches or line widths.

Layers get translated into groups since blender's current 20 layer system is too limited to accommodate the potentially unlimited number of CAD layers.

You can activate it from settings under User preferences >Addons search for DXF.

Make sure your drawing has no X-lines or Ray objects since those cause import to fail. Also dynamic blocks and other complex structures will likely fail.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hmm..okay, that seems to be all I'm finding, as well. It would be nice if they could add that feature. As I said, Carrara is incredibly dated, but I can import a CAD model (say, a cabinet) and it will retail all the fills, and nurbs so I can at least work from that base. $\endgroup$ – JordanH Mar 15 '17 at 14:44

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