Free Online cncKad Viewer (No Signup)
Also opens DWG, DXF, STEP, IGES, IFC, SKP, STL, OBJ, GLB, FBX, 3DM and other 3D/CAD files. Drop any file on the viewer.
Works directly in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge
Also from Innerscene: Circadian Lab, a free lighting calculator for room illuminance, melanopic EML, and glare.
What Is a cncKad File?
Metalix cncKad is CAD/CAM software for sheet-metal fabrication. A part is drawn, or imported from DXF, DWG or a 3-D model, as its flat profile; cncKad then adds the tooling, nests the parts on a sheet and writes the NC program for the punch press, laser or plasma machine. The part itself is saved as a .dft drawing.
The drawing is a text file cut into numbered sections: a banner with the cncKad version, the sheet setup, and the part geometry as lists of lines, arcs, circles and points in millimetres. Solid Edge saves its drafts as .dft too. The viewer tells the two apart by what the file contains: a cncKad drawing opens with its cncKad banner, and a Solid Edge draft goes to the Solid Edge reader.
This viewer reads the part geometry in your browser and draws the part flat, at its size in millimetres. It exports the result as DXF, SVG, PDF, PNG or a self-contained HTML page.
Who Uses cncKad Files?
Sheet-metal shops and the programmers who run their punch presses and laser cutters, estimators who quote from a part drawing, and the engineers, buyers and customers who receive a .dft from a fabricator and have no cncKad licence to open it.
Common Use Cases
- See a cncKad part drawing without a cncKad licence
- Check the outline and holes of a part before quoting or cutting it
- Measure a part in millimetres
- Turn a .dft into a DXF for AutoCAD, SolidWorks or another CAM system
- Send a PDF or PNG of the part to a customer
- Save the flat profile as an SVG
Features
cncKad Drawings
Metalix cncKad .dft files open as the flat part they describe.
Lines, Arcs and Circles
Every line, arc and full circle of the outline and its holes is drawn in place.
Marked Points
The points the drawing stores are shown on their own layer.
In Millimetres
The part is drawn at its size in millimetres, the units cncKad saves in.
Tells Solid Edge Apart
A Solid Edge .dft draft goes to the Solid Edge reader; the viewer decides by what the file holds.
Vector and Sharp
The outline is drawn as vector shapes that stay sharp at any zoom.
Layers
The part geometry and the points sit on separate layers you can hide.
DXF for CAD and CAM
Export the part as a DXF of LINE, ARC and CIRCLE entities in millimetres.
True-Size SVG and PDF
The SVG carries the part size in millimetres, and the vector PDF draws it at 1:1.
Images and HTML
Save a PNG or JPG of the part, or one web page that opens offline.
No cncKad Licence
Nothing to install: no cncKad and no other program.
Nothing Is Uploaded
The file is read and drawn entirely in your browser. No account, no upload, no copy of your file on a server.
Compatibility & Format Notes
The viewer reads the geometry cncKad stores in the drawing: lines, arcs, full circles and marked points, from both of the drawing’s geometry sections, at their saved coordinates in millimetres. Files saved as UTF-16 text, as cncKad 16 writes them, and as single-byte text both open. It has been checked against drawings from cncKad 16.4.
Lines, arcs and circles are drawn on a Part geometry layer and the marked points on a Points layer, which the layer panel can hide. The status line gives the number of entities drawn.
The drawing shows the part as drawn. The tooling, the nest on the sheet, the bend settings and the NC program stay in cncKad.
Embed on Your Website
Add this viewer to your own site with a single line of HTML. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate an embed code, or use the snippet below with your own file URL.
Your Files Stay on Your Computer
Your cncKad files are parsed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or shared unless you explicitly click the Share button. Shared files are hosted for 90 days then deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions
▶How do I open a .dft file without cncKad?
Drop it on this page. The viewer reads the part geometry in your browser and draws the part flat, on Windows, a Mac, a Chromebook, Linux or a phone alike. From the Export menu you can save it as DXF, SVG, PDF, PNG or JPG.
▶My .dft file is a Solid Edge draft. Does it open here?
Yes. The viewer checks what the file holds: a cncKad drawing is drawn by the cncKad reader and a Solid Edge draft by the Solid Edge reader. You open both the same way.
▶Can I get the part into AutoCAD or another CAM system?
Yes. Export it as DXF: the lines, arcs and circles are written as DXF LINE, ARC and CIRCLE entities in millimetres, which AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Inventor and every sheet-metal CAM system import.
▶What units does the drawing use?
Millimetres, the units cncKad saves the geometry in. The SVG export carries the part’s width and height in millimetres, and the vector PDF draws it at 1:1.
▶Is this cncKad viewer really free?
Yes, completely free. No signup, no watermarks, no file size limits on the viewer (the optional share-link feature has a 100 MB upload cap). Built by Innerscene as a tool for architects, engineers, and designers.
▶Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All parsing, rendering, and conversion runs in your browser: nothing is uploaded, stored, or transmitted by default. The Share button is the only feature that uploads a file, and only when you explicitly click it.
▶Can I convert to another format?
Yes. Click Export in the toolbar to save the part as DXF, SVG (at its real size), PDF (a vector page or a snapshot of the view), a self-contained HTML page, or a PNG or JPG image. DWG is also offered: that one is converted on our server from the DXF the viewer writes. The viewer does not write .dft.
▶Can I embed this viewer on my own site?
Yes. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate a one-line <iframe> snippet you can paste into any HTML page. You can choose whether the embed shows the viewer’s toolbar.
cncKad and Metalix are trademarks of Metalix CAD/CAM Ltd. Solid Edge is a trademark of Siemens. Innerscene is not affiliated with Metalix or Siemens.