Almost always one cause: your SVG was originally a **DXF that you opened in Inkscape and re-saved as SVG**. Inkscape's DXF importer leaves a pile of junk in the `<defs>` block — most fatally, `<symbol id="*Model_Space" />` and friends. The leading `*` is not a legal XML id character, and the cncfoam.com loader (plus a few browsers) refuses to parse anything that contains it.
**Fix, two ways:**
1. **Easy** — drop the file into https://cncfoam.com/svg_cleaner.php . It strips the junk in your browser (nothing is uploaded) and hands back a `*_clean.svg`. Works with a single file or a whole folder at once.
2. **Automatic** — as of this week, every file you load INTO the tool (drag-drop or 📂 Load) is auto-cleaned on the way in. If the cleaner spots anything, it logs to the browser console and flashes a green note in the Parts modal saying what got stripped. You don't have to do anything.
If neither path works for your file, post the SVG here (attach it) and we'll figure out why.
**Fix, two ways:**
1. **Easy** — drop the file into https://cncfoam.com/svg_cleaner.php . It strips the junk in your browser (nothing is uploaded) and hands back a `*_clean.svg`. Works with a single file or a whole folder at once.
2. **Automatic** — as of this week, every file you load INTO the tool (drag-drop or 📂 Load) is auto-cleaned on the way in. If the cleaner spots anything, it logs to the browser console and flashes a green note in the Parts modal saying what got stripped. You don't have to do anything.
If neither path works for your file, post the SVG here (attach it) and we'll figure out why.