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ShapeMason

Vector art to a sketch

Art made for screens or print becomes closed profiles that a CAD or laser tool can use. How it works: Vector art to a DXF sketch.

Bring a logo into CAD as an editable sketch

Section titled “Bring a logo into CAD as an editable sketch”

“I’ve got our company logo as a file from our designer, but my 3D design app won’t open it. I just want the logo in there so I can build something with it.”

You have a logo as an SVG and want to extrude it, cut it into a part or trace over it. Your CAD tool imports DXF but not SVG.
Input logo.svg from Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma or Affinity
Output logo.dxf, closed profiles
Works with Shapr3D, Onshape, Fusion, FreeCAD, SolidWorks
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Open logo.svg, keep Sketch (DXF), set Scale to width to 60 mm and Origin to Center, then Convert.

What it does. Resolves the viewBox and transforms, turns shapes and text into paths, snaps endpoints within 0.01 mm so shapes close, deletes duplicate paths, and writes curves that are really arcs, circles or ellipses as true arcs, circles and ellipses. Other curves become exact splines. The units go in the file, so CAD doesn’t guess the scale.

Why. CAD needs closed profiles to extrude. SVG exports often have tiny gaps, duplicate outlines and curves broken into hundreds of segments.

Tips

  • Open paths are reported as warnings (exit code 2 on the CLI). Turn on Closed shapes only (--closed-only) to drop them, or fix the art.
  • SVG text is set in your installed fonts. If one is missing, a fallback is used; choose another with Font (--font) or Extra fonts folder (--font-dir). The web app leaves text out.
  • Raster images and clip paths are skipped and reported. Trace images to vectors in another tool first.
  • If an older importer struggles with splines, set Curves to Polylines (--curves polyline) or DXF version to R12 (--dxf-version r12).

Laser-cut parts with kerf compensation

Section titled “Laser-cut parts with kerf compensation”

“I’m cutting a wooden puzzle on my laser, but the pieces come out a bit loose and wobbly. And my older laser program won’t even open the file.”

The beam burns away about 0.2 mm, so parts cut straight from the art are undersized by half that on every edge. Your laser software only reads older DXF.
Input puzzle.svg
Output puzzle.dxf, R12
Works with LightBurn, xTool Creative Space, older laser and CNC software
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Sketch (DXF); set Offset to 0.1 mm, DXF version to R12 and turn on Closed shapes only. Save it as a profile named “Laser kerf 0.2” in Settings › Profiles.

What it does. Grows every closed shape by the offset, so the cut part comes out at the designed size, and writes the oldest widely read DXF.

Why. Tight joints, inlays and puzzles need kerf compensation.

Tips

  • Offset by half your kerf. Measure the kerf with a test cut; it changes with material and power.
  • Offset flattens curves into polylines. Lower Flattening tolerance (--flatten-tolerance) if you can see segments on round edges.
  • Holes are closed shapes too: check in the preview that internal cut-outs come out the way your part needs.
  • R12 has no splines or ellipses, so curves come out as arcs or polylines.

Clean up a messy DXF from another tool

Section titled “Clean up a messy DXF from another tool”

“Someone sent me a drawing and my design app keeps saying the shapes aren’t finished, so I can’t make it 3D. It looks fine on screen.”

A supplier’s DXF has overlapping lines, tiny gaps and curves broken into segments, so your CAD tool won’t extrude it.
Input bracket.dxf
Output bracket-clean.dxf
Works with Any CAD tool; often files from Fusion, older AutoCAD or CAM software
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Open the DXF and keep Sketch (DXF), then Convert. The result downloads, so the original isn’t touched.

What it does. Reads lines, arcs, circles, ellipses, polylines with bulges, splines and block inserts; closes gaps, deletes duplicates (even reversed ones), simplifies straight runs and writes a clean DXF.

Why. A clean DXF extrudes on the first try.

Tips

  • The default output name is the input’s (bracket.dxf), so ShapeMason refuses rather than overwrite the original. Use -o, -d or another folder.
  • DXF text, dimensions and hatches are skipped and listed in the report. Add them back in CAD.

Mirror art for stamps and back-side engraving

Section titled “Mirror art for stamps and back-side engraving”

“I’m making a rubber stamp of my initials and I need the design flipped backwards so it stamps the right way round, at exactly the size of the stamp.”

A stamp must be mirrored to print the right way round. So must engraving on the back of glass or acrylic.
Input monogram.svg
Output monogram.dxf, mirrored, 25 mm wide
Works with Laser software, stamp makers, CAD for printed stamps
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Sketch (DXF); turn on Mirror and set Scale to width to 25 mm.

What it does. Flips the art left to right and scales it to an exact width in mm.

Why. Forgetting to mirror a stamp is an expensive mistake.

Tips

  • Setting both width and height fits the art inside both; it is never stretched. Set one to get an exact size.
  • Text in the art is mirrored too, which is what a stamp needs.

Separate cut and engrave layers by color

Section titled “Separate cut and engrave layers by color”

“My laser shop told me to color the bits I want cut in red and the bits I want burned in black. Can the file keep those apart for them?”

Your laser shop wants red for cutting and black for engraving, on separate layers.
Input panel.svg with colored fills
Output panel.dxf, one layer per fill color (FILL_FF0000), colored
Works with LightBurn, RDWorks, laser shops, CNC software that maps layers to operations
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Sketch (DXF); set Layers from to Color.

What it does. Puts each fill color on its own layer, named after the color, and colors the entities to match.

Why. Laser and CNC software assign cut, engrave and score per layer, so the file arrives ready to run.

Tips

  • Stroke-only paths have no fill. Convert them with Strokes › Stroke to path (--strokes to-path), or group the art and use Layers from › Group id (--layer-by id).
  • Layer (--layer NAME) names the layer for anything without a color, or, for DXF input, puts everything on one layer.

Take one element from a large sheet

Section titled “Take one element from a large sheet”

“I bought a sheet of 40 icons all in one file, and I only want the little gear, without the big box around everything.”

An icon sheet has 40 icons in one SVG and you need just one, without the artboard background.
Input icons.svg
Output gear.dxf, only the selected element
Works with Any CAD or laser tool
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Sketch (DXF); type the element’s id under Selection › Only, and set Origin to Geometry corner.

What it does. Converts only elements with that id, inside a <g> with that id, or on that layer, and moves the result so its bottom-left corner is at (0,0).

Why. No need to open and edit the source file to isolate one piece.

Tips

  • Skip (--exclude) does the opposite: drop a background rectangle or crop frame and keep the rest.
  • If nothing matches, the error lists the ids and layers in the file.
  • Hidden elements are skipped unless Include hidden elements is on (--include-hidden).

Line art and strokes

Section titled “Line art and strokes”

“My drawing is all lines, like I drew it with a pen. My cutter either ignores it or I get double lines. Sometimes I need solid shapes, and sometimes just the single line for engraving.”

Line art drawn with strokes, not filled shapes, sometimes needs to be cut as shapes and sometimes engraved as single lines.
Input lineart.svg
Output lineart.dxf
Works with Laser engravers, pen plotters, CAD
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Sketch (DXF); set Strokes to Stroke to path and turn on Union for shapes, or keep Centerline for single lines.

What it does. Stroke to path turns each stroke into a closed shape as wide as the stroke, and Union merges the overlaps into one profile. Centerline keeps the single path.

Why. A stroke has no area, so it can’t be extruded or cut as a shape until it is outlined.

Tips

  • Centerlines are open paths, so expect open-path warnings; that’s normal for engraving.
  • Strokes › Drop (--strokes drop) removes guide lines and hairlines from mixed art.
  • Union flattens curves into polylines.