Free online IFC to DWG converter

Consultants and CAD users may need a .dwg file when AutoCAD-based software, fabrication workflows, or a client deliverable cannot use an IFC coordination model. The conversion creates CAD geometry or drawing output; changing the filename extension does not convert the data.

What the IFC format contains

IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is an open Building Information Modeling (BIM) exchange standard maintained by buildingSMART. Architects, engineers, contractors, fabricators, coordinators, and facility-management teams use .ifc files to exchange models between different software products.

An IFC model can store walls, slabs, doors, windows, structural members, spaces, building services, materials, quantities, classifications, property sets, object identifiers, spatial hierarchies, and relationships as well as 3D geometry. Common versions include IFC2x3, IFC4, and IFC4.3; support depends on the exporting and importing application.

Revit, Archicad, Tekla Structures, Allplan, Vectorworks, Bentley applications, Solibri, and BricsCAD BIM can create, read, inspect, or exchange IFC data. IFC is intended for interoperable model delivery, not as a replacement for the originating application's native project file.

What the DWG format provides

DWG is Autodesk's proprietary drawing format, used by AutoCAD and supported by many compatible CAD applications. A .dwg file can contain model-space and paper-space geometry, layers, blocks, text, dimensions, hatches, layouts, external references, and 3D solids, surfaces, or meshes.

DWG is suitable for editable plans, sections, elevations, fabrication backgrounds, coordination overlays, plotting, and AutoCAD-based drafting. It is generally easier for CAD recipients to edit linework, layers, blocks, and annotations than an IFC model.

DWG does not provide a reliable one-to-one container for IFC semantics. After export, an IFC wall may be represented by lines, polylines, blocks, solids, proxy objects, or meshes rather than a BIM object retaining its properties, quantities, fire rating, classification, or relationships.

Convert the file

For a direct conversion without installing software, upload the .ifc file to the IFC-to-DWG converter on 101convert.com, select DWG as the output format, start the conversion, and download the resulting file. Open the downloaded .dwg in AutoCAD, DWG TrueView, BricsCAD, or the recipient's CAD application before delivery.

Use desktop BIM software when the recipient requires specific views, sheets, layers, coordinates, or a controlled drawing standard. The most reliable route is usually exporting from the application that created the model, using its IFC import and DWG export settings.

1. Confirm what the recipient needs: a 2D plan or sheet set, a section or elevation, or a 3D DWG model. A drawing-oriented export is usually cleaner than exporting an entire coordination model when only plans are needed.
2. Open the IFC and inspect element placement, missing objects, units, orientation, elevations, and coordinates. IFC import results vary by IFC version and by the software's importer.
3. Hide unnecessary categories, detailed manufacturer objects, and duplicate reference geometry before export. Create the required plans, sections, elevations, 3D views, or layouts.
4. Set the required DWG version, drawing units, layer mapping, colors, linetypes, text handling, and coordinate basis where the application provides these options.
5. Open the exported DWG in the receiving software, inspect known dimensions and grid locations, and plot a test sheet at the required scale.

Desktop export options

• Autodesk Revit: Use File → Open → IFC to import the IFC into a Revit project, then create or select the required views and sheets. Export through File → Export → CAD Formats → DWG. The export setup controls DWG release, layers, colors, units, and view or sheet selection. Revit is most appropriate for controlled 2D drawing output rather than preserving every IFC object as independently editable CAD geometry.
• Archicad: Import the IFC with the appropriate IFC translator, verify the model, then export the required views or layouts through File → Save As with DWG selected. The DWG translator controls layers, pens, fills, fonts, line types, and other drawing mappings.
• BricsCAD BIM: Import the IFC, check units and placement, then save the resulting drawing as the requested DWG version. This can be useful where a 3D CAD model is required, but resulting entities may still be solids, meshes, blocks, or proxy-style representations depending on the imported IFC geometry.

Quality and compatibility checks

• Verify units: IFC commonly uses metres or millimetres. A mismatch with the CAD drawing template can make geometry appear 1,000 times too large or too small.
• Verify coordinates: Survey or shared coordinates can place geometry far from the CAD origin. Large coordinates can reduce display precision and affect snapping, hatches, and some operations; compare a known grid intersection and benchmark elevation.
• Expect data loss: IFC property sets, GUIDs, relationships, schedules, classifications, quantities, and parametric behavior do not reliably survive as ordinary DWG entities. Send the original .ifc with the DWG if BIM data remains contractually required.
• Expect geometry changes: Curved surfaces, openings, curtain walls, boolean geometry, and detailed components can become faceted meshes, fragmented solids, blocks, or excessive linework. Simplify the source model when file size or CAD performance is a problem.
• Check graphics: Fonts, lineweights, linetypes, hatches, fills, colors, dimensions, and layer names are mapped between different systems and may require correction in the DWG.
• Match the DWG release: Export the version requested by the recipient. A DWG version converter can change the version of an existing DWG, but it cannot convert IFC BIM data into DWG geometry.