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wmodist
wmodist
Known Participant
December 17, 2025
Answered

Feature request: Exact ARC export in DXF

  • December 17, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 591 views

Illustrator internally represents curves as Bézier paths, while CAD/CNC workflows rely on true ARC entities (constant-radius circular arcs).

At the moment, there is no reliable way to export Illustrator geometry containing circular arcs to DXF while preserving them as exact ARC entities. All curves are approximated as splines or segmented polylines, even when the geometry is mathematically circular.

This creates a serious issue for CNC workflows, where exact radii and true arcs are required for correct toolpaths, tolerances, and part fitting.

 

A highly valuable feature would be:

  • Detection of constant-radius Bézier curves

  • Optional conversion of those curves to true ARC entities during DXF export

  • Or an explicit “Export arcs as ARC entities” setting

Many users create simple technical drawings in Illustrator because of its excellent drawing tools, but currently must redraw all rounded geometry in a CAD application to guarantee accuracy.

Enabling exact ARC export would significantly improve Illustrator’s usability in maker, CNC, and fabrication workflows.

 

870194i7CF4BBAF4F922394.png       870193iCFC59ED62807BE26.png

Correct answer Bill Silbert

You can submit this as a feature request at: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests.

2 replies

B
Community Expert
Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 17, 2025

If certain features in a vector path require numerically specific curve radii, and using circular arcs, the path probably needs to be built that way from the outset. Obviously that can't be done by manually eye-balling a path together using the Pen tool. The object has to be built using primitive shapes (such as spheres/circles), positioning them numerically/accurately and then uniting the shapes together. Some of the new snapping features in Illustrator can make object building easier, such as snapping a line to a tangent point on a circle.

 

I'm not sure how a CAD export filter could automatically fix imperfect geometry/math in Bézier-based paths without either altering the shape of the path or even making mistakes -fixing segments of a path that didn't need fixing.

 

Sign making applications, such as Flexi and EnRoute, try to make Bézier-based paths and CAD-style paths work in the same environment. The end result is always some kind of compromise involving polylines, some of which can contain lots of points and are not edit-friendly. It's usually easier/faster to build the graphics in Illustrator and then bring the artwork into the industry-specific app for actual production.

wmodist
wmodistAuthor
Known Participant
December 17, 2025

I largely agree with your analysis.

Blindly “fixing” imperfect Bézier geometry at export time would indeed be dangerous, and that’s not what I’m advocating. Automatically guessing intent from loosely drawn paths is asking for mistakes.

The point I’m trying to make is slightly different. Illustrator already knows when geometry is exact: circles, straight lines, tangential connections, constant-radius curves built from primitives. That information exists while drawing, but is often lost once shapes are combined or exported, even when the underlying geometry is mathematically precise.

A DXF export option that detects and preserves known constant-radius segments as ARC entities wouldn’t be “fixing” geometry or correcting errors — it would simply retain exact geometry instead of approximating it as splines or dense polylines.

I also agree with your statement that “it’s usually easier/faster to build the graphics in Illustrator and then bring the artwork into the industry-specific app for actual production.” That’s exactly the workflow many of us use today. The issue is that this handoff currently forces a redraw of otherwise exact geometry, purely to regain numerical certainty.

That redraw isn’t about better design intent, but about compensating for information lost during export. From a workflow and automation perspective, that feels like a gap rather than a fundamental limitation.

I’m not arguing that Illustrator should become a CAD tool, but if it is widely used as the first step in fabrication workflows, preserving exact geometry where it already exists would make that transition far more robust.

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 17, 2025

    I'm not sure how a DXF export filter could retrieve info from primitive shapes, such as curve radii, after a shape made of primitives is united/welded together using the Pathfinder>Unite command. The default behavior of the Pathfinder>Unite command is "destructive" -the original paths are lost when welded together. Pathfinder commands can be used in a non-destructive manner, but when those visually united shapes are exported they will all be separate shapes that will have to be welded together again in the target application.

     

    It seems like CAD applications need an equivalent of the Vector First Aid plugin for Illustrator. I use that plugin most often to fix technical problems in customer provided artwork. If the artwork is vector-based it's often in the form of a PDF.

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    December 17, 2025

    You can submit this as a feature request at: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests.

      wmodist
      wmodistAuthor
      Known Participant
      December 17, 2025

      I just did. An upvote would be greatly appreciated 🙂

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