Abbreviation for 'Drawing Exchange Format' (later also: Drawing Interchange Format which doesn´t correspond to the abbreviation), a file format specified 1982 for the exchange of CAD data by Autodesk for the program AutoCad.

Since this format has now established as a kind of standard, it is supported by nearly all providers of CAD software. Also, almost all manufacturers of CNC-machining centres for woodworking offer .dxf data import at least as an option.

Benefits

From the start, this file format was foreseen for the exchange of CAD files with machines. It therefore has the special feature that each information is arranged in a single line ASCII text, as well as the direct programming of a CNC controlled machine is done line by line in this text format. This allows to open and edit .dxf files using any text editor. Certainly this is one of the reasons for the popularity of this format. Especially with new purchase of a machining center and already existing CAD software, workpiece drawings can be taken over and edited for CNC machining.

Limits

.dxf files contain only geometric data, but no information about procedures or tool data. Therefore, it is necessary to postprocess the transmitted data.

For this, many manufacturers offer so-called postprocessors. These are programs in which predetermined agreements must be established (in a way like e.g.: 'a green line is an external contour routing with a tool D=20mm and 10mm routing depth'). After establishing these predeterminations .dxf drawing files can be read and appropriate CNC programs can be created automatically. So the programming of such a post-processor can be very time-consuming, especially if there are many different working parameters and many different tools. If once installed, this permits a fully automatic generation of CNC programs from CAD drawing data. A precondition is, that all drawing data are in accordance with the agreements predefined in the postprocessor.