Questions answered
Straight answers to what people actually ask about turning photos and sketches into technical drawings. No fluff.
What is a cut list for furniture?
A cut list is the parts table that goes with a furniture shop drawing: every component the piece is built from, with its quantity, material, thickness, width and length. Where the shop drawing shows how the piece goes together, the cut list is the shopping-and-cutting reference a maker works from at the saw. The two have to agree exactly, since a dimension that exists in one place and contradicts the other is the most common source of wasted material.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat is a flat pattern in sheet metal?
A flat pattern is a sheet metal part unfolded into a single flat shape, as if every bend were peeled back to 180 degrees. It is the outline a laser, punch or waterjet actually cuts from the sheet, before any bending happens. Because metal stretches slightly inside every bend, a flat pattern is not just the sum of the finished side lengths; it is calculated using the bend allowance and K-factor, and getting that wrong is the most common reason a home-made flat pattern bends out crooked.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat is GD&T?
GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing) is a symbolic language for controlling a feature's shape, orientation and location relative to named reference surfaces called datums, instead of just its size. Where a plus-minus tolerance controls one dimension between two limits, GD&T controls how a feature actually needs to behave, using a boxed callout called a feature control frame. It is defined by the ASME Y14.5 standard in the US and ISO 1101 internationally.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat are orthographic views in a technical drawing?
Orthographic views are the flat, straight-on views of a part — most commonly the front, top and side — each drawn as if you were looking at that face dead-on, with no perspective. Because each view is to scale and undistorted, you can take real measurements directly off it, and together two or three views describe a 3D part completely on a flat sheet. This is the standard way technical drawings show shape, and it is why a machinist can read sizes and feature positions straight from the page.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat is a title block on a technical drawing?
A title block is the boxed panel, usually in the bottom-right corner of a technical drawing, that holds the information a workshop needs to identify and make the part: the part name and number, the scale, the units, the material and finish, the revision, and who drew it and when. It turns a sheet of geometry into a controlled document, so anyone picking it up knows exactly what they are looking at and which version it is. A drawing without a title block is hard to trust, because there is no record of scale, units or revision.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat is a DXF file?
A DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) is an open, text-based CAD file made by Autodesk so that 2D drawings can move between different programs. It stores a drawing as exact geometry — lines, arcs, circles and text with real coordinates — instead of as pixels, so it scales to any size without losing precision. Because almost every CAD package, laser cutter and CNC machine can read it, DXF is the standard way to send a flat part out to be cut or machined.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I make a laser cut file from a photo?
Take a straight-on, high-contrast photo of the shape, trace or generate the outline into clean vector paths, set one real measurement so it is to scale, and export a DXF or SVG your laser software can read. The key is that a laser cuts vector paths, not pixels, so the photo always has to become vector geometry first, and the cut file has to be at the correct real-world size.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I convert a PDF to DXF?
It depends on what is inside the PDF. If the PDF holds real vector lines (exported from CAD or a vector editor), a converter or CAD tool can extract the geometry and save it as DXF directly. If the PDF is a scan or a photo, there is no geometry to extract, so you have to trace the outline into vectors first, then export DXF. Either way, set one real measurement afterwards so the DXF comes out at true scale.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat is a technical drawing?
A technical drawing is a precise, scaled drawing that communicates exactly how to make a part: its shape shown in standard views, every dimension, the tolerances, and notes for material and finish. Unlike a picture, it is unambiguous and built to scale, so a machine shop can quote and manufacture from it without guessing. It is the common language between the person who designs a part and the person who makes it.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIDo I need a 3D model for CNC, or is a 2D drawing enough?
For most milling and turning of prototypes and simple-to-moderate parts, a clear 2D drawing with dimensions and tolerances is enough, and many shops still program straight from a 2D print. A 3D model, usually a STEP file, saves the machinist setup time and becomes important for complex 3D contours, 5-axis work, and moulds.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I reverse engineer a part when there are no drawings?
Measure the part with calipers, photograph it straight on, and rebuild the geometry into a dimensioned drawing. The fastest route is to let AI lay out the views from the photo, then enter your real caliper readings to lock the scale. You get a manufacturable drawing without modelling the part from scratch in CAD.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIDo I need to put tolerances on a technical drawing?
For most parts that have to fit something, yes. If you leave tolerances off, the shop applies its own default block tolerance, which can be tighter and more expensive than you need, or looser than your part can accept. You do not have to tolerance every dimension though. Call out tight tolerances only on the few features that have to mate, and let one general note cover the rest.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIDo I need to be an engineer to make a technical drawing?
No. You do not need an engineering degree or CAD training to produce a usable technical drawing. AI tools like TechDraw AI do the drafting for you: you photograph the part, enter one real measurement, and the tool lays out the views and dimensions, so makers, shop owners and hobbyists can get a manufacturable drawing without the skill barrier.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I make a drawing for CNC machining?
A CNC machining drawing needs clear views, every critical dimension, tolerances on the features that matter, and material and finish notes, exported as DXF or DWG. With TechDraw AI you can generate that drawing from a photo of the part, set the scale with one measurement, add the tolerances, and export the file your machinist needs.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I make a technical drawing without CAD?
You photograph or sketch the part and let an AI tool generate the dimensioned drawing for you. With TechDraw AI you upload a photo, enter one real measurement to set the scale, and export a technical drawing as DXF, DWG, SVG or PDF, with no CAD software to install and no drafting skills required.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I open a DXF file?
You do not need AutoCAD. The fastest way is a free online DXF viewer that opens the file in your browser with nothing to install. On desktop, free programs like LibreCAD, FreeCAD and Inkscape open and edit DXF, and Autodesk offers a free viewer. For laser or CNC work, your machine software such as LightBurn opens DXF directly. Use a viewer just to look, or a CAD or CAM tool to edit and cut.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I convert a STEP file to DXF for laser cutting?
A STEP file is 3D and a laser needs a flat 2D path, so you cannot simply rename or save it as DXF and get a usable cut file. Open the STEP in any CAD tool, pick the flat face or create a 2D view of the profile you want to cut, then export that single face or view as a DXF. Online STEP-to-DXF converters do the same by flattening one face. Remove duplicate lines before you cut.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWhat file format does a laser cutter use?
Most laser cutters use DXF. It is the standard 2D vector format for laser, plasma and waterjet machines because it stores the cut path as clean lines, arcs and polylines the machine follows directly. Many cutters also accept SVG, AI, EPS or PDF, but DXF is the safest and most widely supported choice. A raster image like a JPG or PNG has to be traced into vectors first, because a laser cannot cut pixels.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AICan you get dimensions from a photo?
Yes, but only with a scale reference. A photo alone cannot reveal a part's true size, because a small object up close and a large one far away produce the same pixels. Once you give one known measurement (a reference object or a caliper reading), software scales everything else. With a square-on shot, accuracy is typically within 1 to 4%.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIDXF vs DWG: which should I use?
Use DXF when you are sending part geometry to a machine shop, laser or waterjet — it is an open, plain-text format nearly every CAD and CNC tool reads. Use DWG when you are editing in AutoCAD and want layers, blocks and 3D preserved in a smaller binary file. Rule of thumb: DWG is your working master, DXF is the handoff.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow much does a technical drawing cost?
A single 2D technical drawing typically costs $45 to $600 or more from a freelancer or drafting service, depending on complexity. Simple parts run $150 to $300; drawings with full GD&T and tolerances cost more. Freelance drafters charge $50 to $150 per hour, and rush jobs add roughly 50%. AI tools that draft from a photo cut this to minutes.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIIs there a free AI technical drawing tool?
Yes. You can start creating technical drawings with TechDraw AI for free, with no credit card and no CAD license required. Free tools are great for getting a clean, dimensioned drawing quickly, as long as you set the real measurements so the result is to scale.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIWill a machine shop accept an AI-generated drawing?
Yes, as long as the sheet is complete. Shops care about the content, not who drafted it. If it has correct views, clear dimensions, stated tolerances and a full title block, it quotes and machines like any other drawing. Confirm the critical dimensions yourself before you send it.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow accurate are AI-generated technical drawings?
They are as accurate as the measurements you give them. Many tools guess the size from the pixels in a photo, which is unreliable. The accurate approach is to set one or more real measurements yourself so every dimension is built from your part, then verify the values that control fit before you manufacture.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I convert an image to a DXF file for CNC or laser cutting?
Use a tool that vectorizes the image into clean lines and arcs, then exports DXF. DXF is the standard 2D format for laser, plasma, waterjet and CNC routing. For best results start from a high-contrast image, and pair the DXF with a PDF drawing if the part has tolerances or notes.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AICan ChatGPT make technical drawings?
ChatGPT and general image generators can make a picture that looks like a technical drawing, but it is not drawn to scale, the dimensions are invented, and you cannot export it to a CAD file. For a drawing a workshop can use, you need a tool that anchors every dimension to real measurements and exports DXF, DWG or PDF.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AICan AI turn a sketch into a CAD drawing?
Yes. A hand sketch works the same as a photo: the AI cleans up the lines, straightens the proportions and produces a tidy, dimensioned drawing you can export to CAD. As with a photo, you set one real measurement so the result is to scale rather than approximate.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AIHow do I convert a photo into a technical drawing?
Upload a clear, straight-on photo of the part, let the AI lay out the views and dimension lines, then enter one real measurement to set the scale and confirm the dimensions that matter. A high-contrast photo with the part filling the frame gives the best result.
Branislav HrivnákCo-Founder, TechDraw AICan AI create technical drawings?
Yes. AI can turn a photo of a part into a clean, dimensioned technical drawing with orthographic views and a title block in seconds. The reliable workflow is for the AI to do the drafting while a person confirms the real measurements, because a single photo cannot reveal a part's true size on its own.
Matúš KolejákCo-Founder, TechDraw AI