Convert EDRW to DXF

What the EDRW format is

.edrw is an eDrawings file normally published from a SOLIDWORKS drawing document, .slddrw. Manufacturers, suppliers, and reviewers use it to distribute views, dimensions, annotations, and markups to people who do not have SOLIDWORKS. It is opened with SOLIDWORKS eDrawings Viewer or eDrawings Professional.

EDRW contains a compressed, published representation of the drawing rather than the original editable document. It may omit referenced part and assembly data, layers, blocks, parametric relationships, associative dimensions, hidden geometry, and the export settings available in the source file. A viewing restriction or password can prevent printing, measuring, or exporting; removing that restriction does not reconstruct the original SOLIDWORKS files.

What the DXF format is

DXF, or Drawing Exchange Format, is a CAD interchange format supported by AutoCAD, DraftSight, BricsCAD, LibreCAD, CAM applications, CNC software, laser cutters, and many GIS and technical-drawing tools. It can store 2D entities such as lines, arcs, circles, polylines, splines, text, dimensions, and layers; some DXF variants also store 3D entities.

DXF is appropriate when the recipient needs editable geometry instead of a read-only viewing file. The DXF release and export settings affect compatibility: R12 ASCII DXF is widely accepted by older equipment but cannot preserve every newer entity, while a later release can retain more information in current CAD software.

How to convert the file

Best method: export the source drawing

1. Request the original .slddrw file and its referenced .sldprt and .sldasm files, or request a native DXF from the drawing owner. The source may need to be packaged with its references and custom fonts.
2. Open the drawing in SOLIDWORKS and activate the required sheet.
3. Choose File → Save As, select DXF (*.dxf), and configure the sheet, drawing views, scale, layers, entities, units, and DXF version in the export dialog.
4. For multi-sheet drawings, export each sheet separately if the receiving CAD or manufacturing system expects one file per sheet.
5. Open the result in a CAD application and verify a known dimension, units, line types, text, layers, view orientation, and the number of exported sheets.

Exporting from SOLIDWORKS preserves substantially more information than extracting geometry from EDRW. It also lets the owner control whether model views, annotations, hidden lines, bend lines, and construction geometry are included.

Direct export from eDrawings

Install the current eDrawings Viewer or eDrawings Professional from the official SOLIDWORKS website and open the EDRW file. On supported drawing files and editions, check File → Save As or File → Export for DXF or DWG. If the option is available, select the required sheet and scale, save the file, and inspect it in CAD. The command and available settings vary by eDrawings edition, operating system, file type, and publishing restrictions.

If eDrawings does not offer DXF or DWG output, SOLIDWORKS cannot generally open EDRW as an editable .slddrw document. Ask the author for the source or a native DXF instead; an EDRW is not a substitute for the source file.

Fallback extraction from PDF

When direct export is unavailable, use eDrawings to print or export the required sheet as a vector PDF, then import that PDF into software with vector-PDF import, such as AutoCAD. A scanned or raster PDF produces an image rather than clean CAD entities, and vector imports commonly need manual cleanup, joining, layer assignment, and scaling. This is an approximation, not a faithful format conversion.

Online converters and compatibility limits

There is no generally dependable online EDRW-to-DXF service comparable to ordinary CAD converters; many general-purpose conversion sites do not support proprietary EDRW extraction. Do not upload confidential engineering drawings unless a service explicitly lists EDRW input and DXF output, documents retention and deletion, and meets the relevant customer and commercial-use requirements. For proprietary or regulated designs, use SOLIDWORKS or eDrawings locally.

An extracted DXF can contain only geometry exposed by the published drawing. Raster images, markups, unsupported annotations, missing model edges, broken fonts, suppressed views, and proprietary metadata may be lost. Dimensions may become independent lines and text rather than associative dimensions, and a drawing view may export as flattened 2D geometry rather than an editable model.

Before manufacturing, compare the DXF with the EDRW at a known dimension and confirm the unit system; an inch/millimetre mismatch creates a 25.4 scale error. Check that cutting profiles are closed, remove duplicate or overlapping entities, inspect gaps and arcs, and confirm that text, centerlines, construction geometry, and layers match the intended workflow.