Converting CAD files (DWG/DXF) to PDF format

Convert CAD files (DWG and DXF) to PDF when you need to share drawings, store records, or integrate with document workflows. PDF output makes drawings accessible to people who don’t use CAD tools.

Download sample

How Nutrient supports this workflow

Nutrient Python SDK converts CAD files to PDF through a single API call.

You don’t need to manage:

  • CAD file parsing
  • Vector rendering of technical drawings
  • Layer and dimension handling
  • Line weights and drawing styles

Use the SDK API to handle conversion logic in your application.

Complete implementation

This example shows a complete CAD-to-PDF conversion flow.

Import the required Nutrient classes:

from nutrient_sdk import Document
from nutrient_sdk import NutrientException

Open the CAD file with a Python context manager(opens in a new tab). The context manager closes the document automatically:

def main():
    try:
        with Document.open("input.dwg") as document:

Export the file to PDF and handle conversion errors with NutrientException:

            document.export_as_pdf("output.pdf")
            print("Successfully converted to output.pdf")
    except NutrientException as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")




if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Summary

The conversion flow has two steps:

  1. Open the CAD file.
  2. Export it as PDF.

Nutrient handles CAD parsing and PDF rendering, so you don’t need to implement format-specific conversion logic.

You can download this sample package to run the example locally.