Convert AEC to DC5

Understanding aec and dc5 file formats

AEC files are After Effects Composition files, primarily used by Adobe After Effects to store project compositions, including layers, effects, and animation data. These files are often used for transferring project data between different software, such as Cinema 4D and After Effects, to facilitate advanced motion graphics and visual effects workflows.

DC5 files are associated with DataCAD, a professional CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software used for architectural design and drafting. The DC5 format is a drawing file that contains 2D and 3D design data, layers, and project information specific to DataCAD.

How to convert aec to dc5

Direct conversion from AEC (After Effects Composition) to DC5 (DataCAD Drawing) is not natively supported, as these formats serve very different purposes—motion graphics versus architectural CAD. However, if your goal is to transfer visual elements or design data from After Effects to DataCAD, you can use an intermediate format such as DXF or DWG, which is supported by most CAD applications.

Here’s a general workflow:

1. In Adobe After Effects, export your composition as an image sequence or vector file (such as SVG or AI if possible).
2. Open the exported file in a vector editing program like Adobe Illustrator and save it as a DXF or DWG file.
3. Import the DXF or DWG file into DataCAD and save it as a DC5 file.

Recommended software for conversion

• Adobe After Effects – for exporting compositions as images or vector files.
• Adobe Illustrator – for converting images or vectors to DXF or DWG formats.
• DataCAD – for importing DXF/DWG and saving as DC5.

For example, in Adobe Illustrator, use File → Export → Export As and select DXF as the format. Then, in DataCAD, use File → Import to bring in the DXF file and File → Save As to save it as a DC5 file.

Summary

While there is no direct converter for AEC to DC5, using intermediate vector and CAD formats like DXF or DWG with the help of Adobe Illustrator and DataCAD provides a practical solution for transferring design elements between these two very different file types.