The AI DXF editor is CUTL's in-browser tool for fixing and preparing part geometry. You open a DXF, let the AI clean it up, adjust anything by hand, and see the price update as you work. No CAD seat, no install, and no bouncing files back and forth between programs.
It sits between getting a file and sending it to production. When a supplier drawing has open contours or stray lines, or when all you have is a photo of a part, the editor gets the geometry to a clean, quotable state without leaving the browser.
What it does
- Cleans geometry automatically. The AI scans a DXF for open contours, duplicate lines and small gaps between segments, then closes and de-duplicates them so the part is ready to nest.
- Turns a photo or sketch into a DXF. Snap a photo of a physical part or a hand drawing on paper, and the AI traces it into a clean, quotable DXF you can refine.
- Edits in the browser. Move, trim and redraw geometry directly on the canvas. No CAD licence and nothing to install.
- Re-prices instantly. Every change re-runs the cost engine, so the quoted price reflects the geometry you are looking at.
- Feeds nesting and production. Once a part is clean, send it straight into nesting without exporting and re-importing.
When to use it
Reach for the editor when a part is not yet in a state you can quote or cut:
| Situation | What the editor gives you |
|---|---|
| Supplier DXF with open or broken contours | One-click repair of gaps, overlaps and duplicates |
| A photo of a sample part or an old drawing | A traced DXF you can refine and price |
| A hand sketch on paper | A clean vector part instead of manual redraw |
| A part that is nearly right | Quick manual trim, move and redraw on the canvas |
| A price that needs checking as you tweak | Live re-pricing on every edit |
If your files are already clean and you only need to load them, you may not need the editor at all. See Preparing files for how CUTL reads a well-formed DXF, and use the editor when a file needs work before it will quote or nest cleanly.
AI Reviewer: check before you fix
Before you change anything, CUTL's AI Reviewer scans an uploaded DXF and flags problems that would distort a quote, without altering the file. It runs automatically when you upload to a Quick Calculation or a project, so it is the fastest way to catch a bad file before it reaches a customer.
It checks for:
- Open or overlapping paths: contours that do not close, or that intersect incorrectly.
- Duplicate contours: repeated lines that inflate the cutting length.
- Incorrect scale or unit mismatches: a drawing that came in at the wrong size.
- Too-small internal holes: features below the machine's minimum cutting capability.
- Missing closed loops: shapes that should be closed but are not.
- Construction lines: helper geometry that should not be cut.
The Reviewer shows a summary listing each issue with a severity (warning or error), the specific contour or line it found, and a suggested fix.
Cleaning an imported DXF
One-click cleanup
The cleanup pass targets the problems that most often stop a part from quoting or cutting:
- Open contours that should be closed loops are joined up.
- Duplicate lines stacked on top of each other are removed.
- Small gaps between segments are bridged so a contour reads as one closed shape.
After the pass, review the result on the canvas. The AI handles the common cases automatically, and anything it misses you can correct by hand in the same view.
Photo or sketch to DXF
You do not need an existing DXF to start. Give the AI a picture of the part and it produces the geometry for you.
- Take a photo of the physical part or a drawing on paper, or upload an existing image.
- The AI traces the outline into a DXF.
- Open the traced part in the editor and refine it: fix any misread edges, set the true size, and clean up stray geometry.
- Quote and nest it like any other part.
This is useful for one-off parts, samples brought in by a customer, or legacy drawings that were never digitised.
Do
- Photograph parts flat, well lit, and square to the camera for the cleanest trace.
- Check overall dimensions after tracing; a photo has no built-in scale.
Avoid
- Relying on a blurry or angled photo and quoting straight from it without a review.
- Skipping the manual check on fine detail such as small holes or tight corners.
Editing in the browser
The canvas gives you the core operations you need to finish a part:
- Move geometry to reposition edges or features.
- Trim to remove overshoots and tidy corners.
- Redraw segments that came in wrong or need replacing.
Because everything runs in the browser, there is no round trip to a CAD seat. You are not exporting a file, editing it elsewhere, and re-importing it. The part you edit is the part CUTL quotes and nests.
Instant re-pricing
Every edit re-runs the cost engine. As you close a contour, change a dimension, or add a feature, the quoted price updates to match. This keeps the number in front of you honest: what you see is priced from the geometry currently on the canvas, not from an earlier version of the file.
For how that price is built up (material, cutting, and other cost factors), see Quoting and cost.
Straight to nesting
When a part is clean and priced, send it into nesting without any export step. The cleaned geometry carries through to the sheet layout and on to production, so the file you approved in the editor is the one that gets cut.
Next steps
Once your parts are clean and quotable, head to Nesting to lay them out on sheets and prepare cutting output.