DWG is AutoCAD’s native drawing format. It is proprietary and changes with AutoCAD releases, which is why most other programs cannot open it directly.
The practical answer: convert to DXF
DXF is Autodesk’s documented exchange format. LibreCAD, QCAD, FreeCAD, Inkscape and the software behind laser cutters and CNC machines all read it.
Convert DWG to DXF in your browser →
What comes across
The drawing is read with LibreDWG, the GNU project’s open DWG library. Lines, arcs, polylines, circles, layers, blocks and text convert. Custom objects from AutoCAD add-ons such as Civil 3D may be missing — check the parts that matter before sending the file to a machine.
Confidential drawings
Engineering drawings are often under NDA. The converter runs entirely in your browser, so the DWG is never uploaded to a server.