Convert SketchUp files to DXF

How to convert SKP to DXF

1. Pick the drawing: 3D model for CAD, or 2D top view for cutting. Then pick the units.
2. Click Choose a .skp file above, or drag the file onto the box.
3. Click Download .dxf and open it in AutoCAD, BricsCAD, LibreCAD or your cutter's software.

Changed your mind about 3D or 2D, or the units? Switch the option after converting and it redoes the same file.

3D model

Every face becomes a 3DFACE at real size, with Z as up, so the model stands upright in AutoCAD's 3D views. The lines you see are SketchUp's outlines, not every triangle the faces are split into. SketchUp tags become layers, so you can switch parts of the model on and off in CAD the same way.

2D top view

The model's outlines as seen from directly above, flattened onto one plane as plain lines. That's what laser cutters, CNC software and vinyl cutters read. There's no hidden-line removal: an outline under another one is still drawn. So it works best on parts laid out flat, like a box's panels or a sign, and on simple floor plans. For a full building every floor lands on top of the others.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept: geometry at real size, tags as layers. Not kept: colors and textures, groups and components (everything is drawn in place), dimensions and text. Hidden groups and anything on a hidden tag are left out. Layer names use plain letters and numbers, as the DXF version we write requires, so a tag in another alphabet becomes TAG_1, TAG_2 and so on.

How we tested it

We converted a 20 MB house model saved in SketchUp 2026. The 3D DXF came out at 64 MB with 325,669 faces, the 2D top view at 18.5 MB with 209,131 lines, both on 4 layers. ezdxf, an open-source DXF library, read both with no errors, and we drew the top view and a front elevation to check the house stood upright with clean outlines. 3D DXFs of detailed models are big: DXF is a text format and repeats every corner of every face.

Other ways to get a DXF from SketchUp

• SketchUp Pro exports DXF and DWG, as a 3D model or as a 2D drawing of the current view. It needs a paid subscription and a SketchUp that opens the file.
• Convert3D lists DWG among its output formats, if you need DWG rather than DXF.
• Inkscape is free and saves DXF for cutters, if you can get your shapes into it as a 2D drawing first.

Related tools

For BIM and Revit there's the SKP to IFC converter; for other 3D apps, the SKP to GLB and SKP to OBJ converters; and for 3D printing, the SKP to STL converter. Want to look the model over first? Open it in the free SketchUp viewer.