Problem exporting as dwg/dxf

[skip40]

This is my scenario

I am in the mfg business and all my product drawings are in pdf.
I need to modify certain pieces for the manufacturing shop floor without touching the original dwg. I thought if I saved the pdf as ai, then export the ai and save it as dwg and then bring it into Autocad I could manipulate the drawing. Not working. All I get when I open the new dwg file is a large black square. Any help would be truly appreciate.

 

[jmgalvin]

Depending on your version of AI you can import dwg and/or dxf (autocad interchange) without going the pdf route. I have AI CS and it can do it. Before that I used 9, but cannot remember if it had those import/export options.

If you can't open the dwg, try saving the Autocad doc as dxf and opening in AI. Then try exporting as either dxf or dwg. I've read anecdotal stuff about dxf more faithfully importing the paths into AI from Autocad, but nothing about the reverse, so you might experiment with exporting the AI doc to both dwg abd dxf to see which gives a better result in autocad.

 

[skip40]

Problem is that the file originates as a pdf format. I need to bring it into autocad and need to convert it to dwg/dwf.

 

[jmgalvin]

No original is not too good. Your original post mentioned not touvhing the original dwg. don't know what apps you have, but here are some possibilities. First try exporting from AI to dxf instead of dwg and see if that opens.

If you have full Acrobat, open the pdf and try Save As EPS and open that in AI. If you get all the paths, try exporting to dxf and see if that opens in autocad.

 

[skip40]

Thanks, I guess the trick was the eps step. Thanks for the help.

Now I need to figure out how to manipulate the file now that I can see it in Autocad. It won't allow me to explode and delete lines.

 

[jmgalvin]

When you get the export dwg-dxf window, take a look at some options. This is really beyond me. We get dxf files occasionally (architectural renederings) to be combined into publications (eps) but don't anything about autocad.

You might have to do some of the editing in AI first. You might also play with some of the Path tools in AI, to make sure that things are not, blended, joined, whatever.

 

[Brushman]

Have a look at

http://www.aidsoftware.co.uk

- there may be answers there to help
Alan