Importing SVG or DXF into LightBurn
LightBurn opens both formats. Most failed jobs do not come from LightBurn itself but from what is inside the file. Here is what to check, in five minutes, before you press Start.
Short answer: import with File → Import (Ctrl+I), then check five things: size, open shapes, duplicates, layers and fill. The menus below are those of LightBurn 2.1.
SVG or DXF?
| SVG | DXF | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Depends on how pixels are read (72, 90 or 96 per inch) | Exact, if the file states its unit |
| Text | Needs the font, or outlines | Must already be outlines |
| Fills and holes | Kept | Rebuilt by LightBurn from closed shapes |
| Best for | Engraving artwork | Cut parts, files from CAD or from other people |
The import settings that matter
In Edit → Settings, LightBurn has a few DXF options. With the defaults we tested (October 2026):
- Unit detection: on, with millimetres as fallback when the file states no unit. A DXF without a unit is therefore read as millimetres, which is wrong for a drawing made in inches. See wrong size.
- Auto-close tolerance: very small (0.01 mm). Shapes whose ends are further apart stay open.
- Text objects: imported. Text should still be converted to outlines before export (why).
- Grouping imported shapes: off, so each shape stays selectable.
Keep the defaults unless you have a reason: they are what other people sending you files will be using too.
The five checks
- Size. Select all (Ctrl+A) and read width and height in the top bar. Compare with a dimension you know.
- Open shapes. Edit → Select Open Shapes. Hinge and score lines are meant to be open; outlines you want to fill are not. How to close them.
- Duplicates. Note the object count shown at the bottom of the window, run Edit → Delete Duplicates, and compare. Fewer objects means the file had double lines.
- Layers. LightBurn creates one layer per colour, not per DXF layer name. If your cut lines and your text share a colour, they share a layer and you cannot cut one and engrave the other.
- Preview. Window → Preview (Alt+P): check that filled areas keep their holes (letters o, e, a) and that the estimated time is plausible.
When Fill engraves a solid block
LightBurn keeps holes when a shape and its holes are on the same layer. It cannot know that, in your design, a white detail or a yellow triangle was painted over a black shape: each layer is engraved on its own. In our tests this turned a warning sign into its negative (a solid black triangle with the symbol carved out) and hid the windows of an aircraft silhouette.
Two ways out: merge the shapes in your design software so that what you see is what each layer contains, or convert with Engrave what you see, which keeps only the visible part of every shape and leaves white out.
Convert files that pass these checks
Our converter was tested against these checks in LightBurn 2.1.04: exact size in millimetres, no duplicates found by Delete Duplicates, and one LightBurn layer per colour of the design, so cut lines and engraved shapes never share a layer (in our test set, only a technical drawing with 27 colours had 2 close shades merged). A laser preset option puts every stroke on a red cut layer and every filled shape on a black engrave layer, and Engrave what you see handles shapes stacked on top of each other (below).
Convert an SVG to DXFQuestions
Should I import SVG or DXF into LightBurn?
Both work. DXF is the safer choice when the file goes through CAD tools or another person, because a clean DXF carries plain geometry and its unit. SVG keeps fills and is convenient for engraving, but its size depends on how the pixel unit is interpreted.
Why does everything land on one layer in LightBurn?
LightBurn sorts imported shapes by colour. If the cut lines and the text to engrave have the same colour in the file, they share a layer. Give them different colours before exporting.
How do I check for double cuts in LightBurn?
Note the number of objects, run Edit, Delete Duplicates, and compare. If the count drops, the file had duplicate lines.