{"id":570,"date":"2026-08-26T10:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/?p=570"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T10:24:23","slug":"artwork-is-the-wrong-size-after-import","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/laser-cutting\/troubleshooting-laser-cutting\/570\/artwork-is-the-wrong-size-after-import\/","title":{"rendered":"Artwork is the wrong size after import"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Symptoms:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Parts are too large or too small.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dimensions don&#8217;t match the CAD model.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Measurements read in inches, points, or astronomical units instead of millimetres.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fixes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check that you have <a href=\"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/laser-cutting\/adobe-illustrator\/461\/importing-dxf-and-dwg-files-into-illustrator\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"461\">imported the CAD data at the correct scale<\/a>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check the export units in the original CAD software.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Confirm Illustrator is <a href=\"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/laser-cutting\/adobe-illustrator\/560\/setting-up-adobe-illustrator-for-laser-cutting\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"560\">displaying measurements in millimetres<\/a> (Edit \u2192 Preferences \u2192 Units).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Measure a known feature rather than estimating visually.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Re-export the file at millimetres and 1:1 scale if the above doesn&#8217;t resolve it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Measure a known dimension:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/illustrator-transform-window-211x300.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/illustrator-transform-window-211x300.png 211w, https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/illustrator-transform-window.png 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select an object with a known size, such as a window on a building facade, or a hole for a screw.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open <strong>Window <\/strong>\u2192 <strong>Transform <\/strong>(Shift+F8).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check <strong>Width (W)<\/strong> and <strong>Height (H)<\/strong> against the expected value.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take care when using a bolt hole as a scale reference. A hole designed to accept an M5 bolt, for example, will normally be larger than the nominal 5 mm to provide clearance. If possible, use a known dimension from the original drawing rather than assuming the hole diameter matches the bolt size.\u00a0Refer back to the original CAD whenever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>No known dimension to hand? Draw a reference square.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are unsure whether the imported file is the correct size, draw a square that is exactly 100 mm \u00d7 100 mm. You can then use this square as a reference to quickly check the size and scale of the other parts in the drawing. Draw a rectangle.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select the Rectangle tool from the tool box.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click once anywhere in the artboard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set the size to:\u00a0\u00a0<br>Width = 100 mm<br>Height = 100 mm\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Place it beside the imported drawing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compare both objects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the 100 mm square looks too large or too small compared with the artwork, check the original CAD file. Make sure the export units are set to millimetres (mm) and that no scaling has been applied during import.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the 100 mm square appears to be the correct size compared with the artwork, the file has most likely been exported and imported at the correct scale.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using a known dimension on the artwork, such as a 10 mm bolt hole or a 100 mm-long edge, is the most reliable way to confirm that the scale is correct.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Symptoms: Fixes: Measure a known dimension: Take care when using a bolt hole as a scale reference. A hole designed to accept an M5 bolt, for example, will normally be larger than the nominal 5 mm to provide clearance. If possible, use a known dimension from the original drawing rather than assuming the hole diameter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[110,218,111,51,108,68],"class_list":["post-570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-troubleshooting-laser-cutting","tag-adobe","tag-cutting","tag-illustrator","tag-laser","tag-laser-cutter","tag-troubleshooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makeinsalford.com\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}