TechDrawAI
Workflow · 2026
Pairs withFreeCAD logoFreeCAD

TechDraw AI
+ FreeCAD

They aren't competitors. They're two ends of one pipeline. TechDraw AI turns a photo or a sketch into a dimensioned DXF. FreeCAD turns that DXF into a parametric 3D model — free, open-source, on any OS — Padded and revolved into shape with a real feature tree. This is the exact handoff, click by click.

maria, TechDraw AI usermustafa, TechDraw AI usersarah, TechDraw AI userdavid, TechDraw AI user
Trusted by 213,000+ usersEngineers, makers and machine shops.
★★★★★
4.8 out of 5
Updated June 2026·Works with FreeCAD 1.0
Step in the jobTechDraw AIFreeCAD
Capture from a photo✓✗
Real measured dimensions✓~
Dimensioned 2D drawing✓~
DXF / DWG / SVG import✓✓
Parametric 3D (Pad / Revolution)✗✓
Free & open-source, no licence~✓
Runs offline on Win / Mac / Linux✗✓

Why pair TechDraw AI with FreeCAD?

FreeCAD is a capable parametric modeller and a useless scanner. It has no idea what the part in your spares drawer actually measures. TechDraw AI does the measuring and the drawing; FreeCAD does everything that comes after — for free.

Step one

From a photo to a dimensioned drawing

Upload a photo of the part, anchor one real measurement, and get back a clean, dimensioned drawing you can export as DXF.

PhotoPhoto of a cast aluminium L-shaped motor mount bracket on a workbench
DrawingDimensioned technical drawing generated by TechDraw AI
Step two

Then Pad or Revolve in FreeCAD

Import the DXF, convert the Draft wires to a sketch, then Pad the prismatic parts and revolve the round ones. You have a parametric solid without redrawing a single line — with a full feature tree you can edit later.

A cast aluminium L-shaped motor mount bracket modelled in FreeCAD
FreeCADFreeCAD
The bridge

One clean DXF connects the two

The DXF is the seam between the tools. TechDraw AI exports it scaled to your measured reference, so once you set the DXF scale on import FreeCAD reads real-size geometry. No guessing, no rescaling. If your part is flat, the DXF is already the production file.

Dimensioned stepped-pulley drawing exported as DXF
Exports FreeCAD reads
DXF, the curves you Pad or revolve
DWG, the same geometry, AutoCAD-native
SVG, a clean vector FreeCAD imports directly
PDF, the spec to keep open beside FreeCAD
Opens inFreeCADFreeCADFusion 360SolidWorksOnshapeShapr3DAutoCAD
An undocumented machined stepped pulley with no drawing
The part in your hand
A caliper measuring a stepped V-belt pulley
One real measurement
A dimensioned technical drawing of a stepped V-belt pulley
Dimensioned drawing
A stepped V-belt pulley modelled in FreeCAD
3D model in FreeCAD
Free & open-source
no licence, ever
Photo → 3D
skip the manual tracing
DXF · DWG · SVG
FreeCAD imports all three
Import → Pad
a real parametric solid
What are you trying to do?
Reverse engineer a part for free

Photograph a discontinued part, get the DXF, import it into FreeCAD, then Pad or revolve and redesign. No original model, no CAD subscription, and no licence to renew.

Model on any machine you own

FreeCAD runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and installs in minutes. Bring the DXF in on whatever's on the bench — even an old laptop — and build the solid offline.

Learn parametric CAD without paying

The DXF hands you a real profile to start from, so you skip the blank-canvas problem and learn Sketcher, Pad and Revolution on actual geometry instead of a tutorial cube.

Fast 2D straight to the cutter

For laser, waterjet or router work the DXF often goes straight to the machine; FreeCAD just confirms and details the geometry before it ships.

Who does what

Division of labour, not redundancy. Each tool owns the half of the job it's actually good at.

Step in the jobTechDraw AIFreeCAD
Capture from a photo✓✗
Real measured dimensions✓~
Dimensioned 2D drawing✓~
DXF / DWG / SVG import✓✓
Parametric 3D (Pad / Revolution)✗✓
Free & open-source, no licence~✓
Runs offline on Win / Mac / Linux✗✓
Best atPhoto → drawingDrawing → 3D, free
What each tool hands you
TechDraw AI
Dimensioned 2D drawing
One measured reference dimension
Closed vector profile
DXF, DWG, SVG, PDF export
FreeCAD
A real parametric solid — Pad & Revolution
Sketcher constraints and a feature tree
Free and open-source, no licence
Runs offline on Windows, Mac & Linux

See it for yourself

Drop in a photo of a part. You'll get a dimensioned drawing and a clean DXF, ready to import into FreeCAD on Windows, Mac or Linux. No account needed to start.

Convert an image to DXF
Section 01

The five-step handoff

Once you've exported the drawing from TechDraw AI as a DXF, the import into FreeCAD runs through the Draft workbench. If your part is flat, like a gasket, bracket or laser plate, the DXF is the production file and you can stop after the import.

From DXF to a 3D body
1
Import the DXFFile › Import — opens in the Draft workbench
→
2
Set the import scalePreferences › Import-Export › DXF
→
3
Lands as Draft wireseditable 2D geometry, not yet a sketch
→
4
Draft → SketchModification › convert to a Sketcher sketch
→
5
Pad or Revolutiondrop it in a Part Design Body and solid it
A bracket built from an imported profile in FreeCAD
The imported profile, Padded into a bracket in FreeCAD.
A bracket-and-pulley assembly in FreeCAD
From there: combine bodies, fillet and export STEP.
Verdict

The seam is a DXF. Mind your import scale, the closed wire and the Draft-to-Sketch stepand it's a seam you barely notice. Geometry in, a free parametric solid out.

Section 02

Pad vs. Revolution

The DXF is always a flat 2D profile. Once the Draft wires are converted to a sketch, how you give them depth depends on the part.

A prismatic plate, padded up from a flat profile
Prismatic parts → Pad
  • Brackets, plates, housings, constant cross-section
  • Convert to a sketch and drop it into a Body
  • Pad sets the length; pad symmetric if needed
  • Pad a second sketch as a Pocket to cut holes
A round part being turned on a lathe, revolved from a half-section
Turned parts → Revolution
  • Shafts, bushings, pulleys, anything round
  • Keep just the half-section profile
  • Add a construction axis and Revolve 360°
  • Revolve a groove profile as a Pocket for reliefs
Section 03

Three gotchas that break the import

Almost every “my DXF won't Pad in FreeCAD” thread comes down to one of these. Knowing them up front saves the ten minutes.

1. The geometry needs a closed wire. Pad needs a single closed loop. An imported DXF usually arrives as loose Draft edges, so select them and run Draft Upgrade to join them into one closed wire before you convert it to a sketch.
2. Wrong scale resizes the part.A DXF carries no guaranteed unit, so FreeCAD applies the DXF scale factor from Preferences › Import-Export › DXF. If a 50 mm part lands 25.4× too big, the scale read it as inches. Set it to match the drawing.
3. Part Design won't pad Draft objects. Draft wires aren't a sketch. Run Modification › Draft to Sketch to convert the imported geometry into a Sketcher sketch, then Part Design can Pad or Revolve it.

Cleanest habit: from TechDraw AI, export one DXF of just the profile geometry to import and Pad, and keep the full dimensioned drawing (or a PDF) open beside FreeCAD as your spec. The model gets clean lines; you keep the numbers in view.

Section 04

Where this combo earns its keep

Best tool for each step of these jobs
JobTechDraw AIFreeCAD
Capture an undocumented part
Dimension it to real size
Build the 3D model
Model for free on any OS
Redesign / modify
Who leads where
Capture & dimensioningTechDraw AI
2D drawing & DXF exportTechDraw AI
Parametric 3D modelingFreeCAD
Free & open-source, any OSFreeCAD
The full pipelineBoth, together
More

Other CAD workflows

TechDraw AI hands a clean, dimensioned DXF to whatever you model in. Here's the same photo-to-3D handoff written up for other CAD tools.

All CAD workflows →

The full hub: every TechDraw AI photo-to-DXF pairing in one place.

TechDraw AI + Fusion 360

Insert the DXF into a Fusion sketch, then extrude or revolve it into a parametric model.

TechDraw AI + SolidWorks

Open the DXF with the DXF/DWG Import Wizard, then build a parametric SolidWorks model.

TechDraw AI + Onshape

Import the DXF, Use the curves in a Part Studio and model it in the browser.

TechDraw AI + Shapr3D

Import the DXF onto a sketch plane, then Push/Pull or revolve it on iPad or Mac.

TechDraw AI + Inventor

Import the DXF into a sketch, extrude or revolve it, then drive a production drawing and BOM.

TechDraw AI + SketchUp

Import the DXF in SketchUp Pro, explode it to edges, then Push/Pull or Follow Me into a model.

TechDraw AI + Tinkercad

Export as SVG, import it into Tinkercad in the browser, and extrude it into a printable solid.

TechDraw AI + Blender

Import the DXF or SVG as a curve, convert to mesh, then Solidify or Screw it — free.

TechDraw AI + Rhino

Import the DXF as exact curves, Join them, then ExtrudeCrv or Revolve into NURBS surfaces.

Start at the part, end at the 3D model

Generate the dimensioned DXF in minutes, then import it into FreeCAD. No tracing, no blank canvas, no licence to buy. Free to start, no account needed.

DWG vs. DXF: which to send

Frequently asked questions

Does TechDraw AI replace FreeCAD?

No. They solve different halves of the job. TechDraw AI gets you from a physical part or an idea to a dimensioned 2D drawing and a clean DXF in minutes. FreeCAD is the free, open-source parametric modeller where that DXF becomes a 3D solid you Pad, revolve and refine — with a real feature tree, on any OS, for nothing.

How do I import a TechDraw AI drawing into FreeCAD?

Export the drawing as DXF (or SVG) from TechDraw AI. In FreeCAD, use File › Import and pick the file — it opens in the Draft workbench as editable Draft wires. Select them and run Modification › 'Draft to Sketch' to convert to a Sketcher sketch, then switch to Part Design, drop the sketch into a Body and Pad it.

Why won't my imported DXF Pad in FreeCAD?

Pad needs a single closed wire inside a real sketch, and imports trip on two things. First, the geometry usually arrives as loose Draft edges rather than one closed loop — select them and run Draft Upgrade to join them. Second, Part Design can't pad raw Draft objects, so convert with 'Draft to Sketch' first. A clean export from TechDraw AI is already closed, so the join is normally one click.

Does the part come in at the wrong size?

A DXF carries no guaranteed unit, and FreeCAD's importer applies a scale factor set in Edit › Preferences › Import-Export › DXF. If a 50 mm part lands 25.4× or 1000× off, the scale is wrong — set it to match the drawing. A clean export from TechDraw AI is scaled to your measured reference, so once the scale is right it lands real-size.

Do I need to install anything to import a DXF?

No — FreeCAD imports DXF out of the box. The first time, it may offer to download the optional legacy importer; you can accept, but the built-in importer handles clean DXF and SVG fine. Only DWG needs an extra free tool (the ODA File Converter); plain DXF from TechDraw AI needs nothing.