Upload a PDF drawing of a sheet-metal part and CUTL builds the 3D model for you: a STEP file, the flat pattern and views as DXF, and a 3D preview. Where the drawing is ambiguous, it stops and asks you instead of guessing.
What it does
An AI interpreter reads your drawing the way an engineer would: it finds the views, reads the dimensions, works out the units, scale and projection, and builds the part from them. Along the way it checks its own work at three checkpoints: Drawing review, Build check and Final review. When something cannot be settled from the drawing alone, such as whether it is in millimetres or inches, the scale, the projection or the sheet thickness, the run pauses and asks you.
What you get for each part:
- A STEP model (AP242, in millimetres).
- The flat pattern and views as DXF files.
- A 3D preview.
PDF to STEP does not cost coins.
When to use it
- A customer sends only a PDF drawing and you need a 3D model to check fit, share for review or make an assembly.
- You want the flat pattern DXF of a bent part that was drawn in 3D views only.
It works best on a vector PDF exported from CAD, in millimetres, showing one sheet-metal part with dimensioned views and a title block (units, scale and projection symbol). The dimensions and title block must be real text, not outlined curves. Two kinds of part are built: a folded part (parallel bends) and a tray (flaps folded up on drawn fold lines).
What it won't do
- Scanned or photographed drawings, or PDFs where the text was turned into curves. They upload fine, then the run ends Failed a few minutes later, without Try again (a scan fails the same way every time).
- Drawings in inches. A drawing that states inches pauses with Units aren't millimetres and is not converted; no answer fixes that. Re-export it in millimetres and upload it as a new run.
- Hems and teardrop bends. They cannot be built.
- Assemblies or several parts on one drawing. The run stops with Assembly could not be determined or Multiple parts on one drawing.
- More than 64 pages. Only the first 64 pages are looked at; a multi-page document is fine as long as it is one part.
- Cancelling. Nothing cancels a running conversion. Dismiss hides the run and stops its emails, but the run carries on.
If you only need the cut contours of a flat part for a quote, upload the PDF to a calculation instead: see Preparing files. If you have the flat part as a DXF and just need to add bends, DXF to STEP is quicker.
Step by step
Starting a conversion
Click Convert a PDF to open Convert a PDF drawing and add your file. Then set:
- Drawing units: Millimetres (mm) (the default), Auto-detect or Inches. Choosing Inches is accepted, but the run will later pause on Units aren't millimetres, because inch drawings are not converted.
- Advanced, Drawing scale: as printed on the drawing, for example 1:2 or 2:1. Leave it blank to auto-detect.
- Advanced, Projection: First angle (the default, ISO and European drawings), Third angle (American drawings) or Auto-detect.
Click Convert. Leaving units on millimetres and projection on first angle means the two most common questions never come up. Only fill in the scale when you know the sheet was really plotted at that scale.
Following a run
Each run has its own page with a progress checklist. You can safely leave it: the run carries on in the background and CUTL emails the person who uploaded it when input is needed and when it finishes. Runs that are waiting for you are pinned in the Needs your review strip on the PDF → STEP list (and are not repeated in All), and you can filter the list by status: All, Needs review, Done, Failed. A run that someone gave up on shows as Escalated and is found under All, not Failed.
A red Stuck chip on a card means the run stopped moving while it was working (for example an hour with no progress). Wait, or press Try again to start it again as a new run. A run waiting for your answer is never marked Stuck, however long it waits.
Dismiss and Restore
The ⋮ menu on a card has Dismiss. It hides the run from the list, stops its emails and notifications, and does not stop the conversion. To bring a dismissed run back, open its page (from the email link or your browser history) and press Restore in the banner: dismissed runs are left out of every list filter.
Answering a question
When a run pauses, the question bar on the run page gives you these choices:
- Approve: confirm the reading, for example confirm millimetres or the scale, and let the run re-check and continue.
- Approve as read: the finding could not be resolved automatically, and you accept the interpreter's best assumption. Your approval is recorded.
- Mark unresolvable: end the run and record your reason.
After you answer, the run usually needs another 10 to 20 minutes and may come back with another question. Approve as read only carries on when the drawing review produced a fold recipe; on a question without one (an inch drawing, an assembly) it ends the run, so use Mark unresolvable there instead. For a scale or projection question there is also a start-over option, see the tip below.
Results
When the run is done, the Results section lists each part with its build-check badge, its 3D preview and the downloads: Download STEP and one button per DXF (DXF 1, DXF 2, and so on). The DXF buttons are not labelled by kind; the file name is in each button's tooltip, so open both if you need the flat pattern. The 3D preview is generated separately and sometimes arrives later or not at all; the STEP and DXF files are ready straight away. If a run fails, its page offers Download my PDF to give you back the drawing you uploaded.
Limits
| Limit | Detail |
|---|---|
| File type | PDF only. CUTL checks the file content, not the name, and refuses anything else with "File must be a PDF drawing". |
| File size | Up to 40 MB. |
| Content | One sheet-metal part per drawing, from a vector CAD PDF. |
| Who can convert | Account administrators and managers can start runs. Users can view runs; manufacturing roles have no access. |
| Pages | Up to 64 pages are read. |
| Retry | Try again starts a new run on the same PDF once a run has finished, is Stuck or is waiting on a question (a waiting run is retried from its card under the Needs review filter). Each run can be retried once; the new run can be retried again. |
| Coins | None. |
Tips
Do
- Export the PDF straight from CAD so the lines stay vector.
- Keep the dimensions and the title block scale on the drawing.
- Set units, scale and projection when you know them.
Avoid
- Scanned or photographed drawings.
- Several different parts on one drawing.
Related pages
- DXF to STEP: add bend lines to a flat part and fold it into a STEP model.
- STEP viewer & review: review a 3D model with your team and customer.
- Preparing files: PDF, DXF and STEP inputs for quoting.