PNG → DXF · Outline trace
PNG to DXF
Convert a PNG into a DXF outline for laser cutting, CNC or plotting. Transparent areas drop out automatically; the shape is traced into vector polylines. Free and local.
Works best on high-contrast art: logos, silhouettes, stencils, line drawings. A photo with soft gradients has no clean edge to follow, so it traces into noise.
Converting a PNG to DXF
A PNG is traced to DXF by splitting it into ink and background at a brightness threshold, then following that border and writing it out as DXF polylines a laser cutter, CNC router or plotter can drive.
PNGs have one advantage over JPGs here: transparency. Fully transparent pixels are treated as background, so a logo exported with a clear background traces cleanly without any threshold fiddling — and there's no JPG compression noise to speckle the edges.
Everything runs in your browser: drop the PNG, tune the threshold and smoothing, set the width in millimetres, download an R12 DXF. No upload, no signup, no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I convert a PNG to DXF?
- Drop the PNG above. It traces immediately — adjust the threshold if needed, set the width in millimetres, then click Download DXF. Everything happens on your device.
- Does it handle transparent PNGs?
- Yes. Fully transparent pixels count as background, so a logo on a clear background traces to its actual silhouette instead of picking up a white box.
- Is this PNG to DXF converter free?
- Yes — free, no signup, no watermark, no file-size paywall.
- What DXF version is written?
- AutoCAD R12 (AC1009) ASCII using POLYLINE entities, with millimetre units declared. It opens in LightBurn, LaserGRBL, Inkscape, Illustrator, Fusion 360 and standard CAM software.
- My PNG is a photo — will it work?
- It will produce an outline, but photos rarely trace usefully: their tones run continuously, so a single brightness cut lands in the middle of the subject. This is built for logos, silhouettes, stencils and line art.
- Why are the edges jagged?
- The trace follows pixel boundaries, so a low-resolution source gives a visible staircase. Raise the Smoothing slider to straighten it, or start from a higher-resolution PNG. Smoothing trades fine detail for cleaner lines.
- Is my PNG uploaded anywhere?
- No. There's no server and no upload — the file is decoded and traced entirely in your browser, and nothing is stored.