I have 0 experience in AutoCAD and need to convert some layers to .shp I can use and store in ArcMap. Would anyone be willing to give a step-by-step procedure on this process?
[GIS] How to convert AutoCAD layers to .shp
autocadconvertlayers
Related Solutions
Expanding a bit on Marinheiro's answer: Even if the CAD data is georeferenced, there might still be some significant work to do to make it useable. I've often recieved CAD data that has georeferencing info in it, but the draftsman (or whoever produced it) simply ignored that and drew features all over the place. Then I have to manually align the features using the spatial adjustment tools (in ArcGIS). Granted that's a whole lot easier than starting from scratch, but it can be a pain.
If you're using ArcGIS, there are some CAD tools built into it. First, make sure the proper projection is applied to the CAD data using ArcCatalog or ArcToolbox. If you open the dwg and everything seems to line up properly, you can just right-click on the layer and save it as a shapefile. You can also use the "ArcToolbox > Conversion Tools > To Geodatabase > Cad to Geodatabase" tool to import your CAD data into a Geodatabase.
As far as the "Free-as-in-beer-and-as-in-I-don't-have-any-grant-money-for-this" route: If you don't have access to ESRI tools, QGIS has a plugin that will convert DXF to SHP, but I'm less familiar with that software than I am with ESRI.
As @DPierce pointed out:
The coordinates in your drawing file are wrong. While the coordinate system is set correctly, the coordinates shown in the drawing are ~500 x ~200. You should be seeing coordinates closer to 300,000 x 60,000. QGIS is displaying it in the right place, because 0 x 0 for UTM 47N is in the Pacific to the West.
To import AutoCAD [DWG] to QGIS [SHP] my solution is the following, having AutoCAD Map 3D (ACM3D) as a requirement. This solution is tested with AutoCAD Map 3D 2014 and QGIS 1.8 . You also need some geospatial information (in my case a GPS track) which is georeferenced correctly and is in connection with the drawing you want to import into QGIS.
You have to convert this data into a fileformat that is readable by ACM3D. I've got a GPS-Track saved in GPX which is readable by QGIS. So I imported it into QGIS and exported it as a SHP-file. This SHP-file is readable by ACM3D.
Open your DWG drawing in ACM3D. Import the SHP-file with _MAPIMPORT. (To make the following process easier use _GEOGRAPHICLOCATION and use it to georeference your drawing elements. Now it's easier to find your drwaing elements and the imported SHP-file because you have a Bing Maps as basemap.) Now, use _ADETRANSFORM to, firstly, select the elements you want to transform and, secondly, to select two source and destination points. I selected the crossing of two streets in the drawing, then selected the appropriate point in the GPS track, then selected another crossing in the drawing and another appropriate point in the GPS track. Now, the drawing elements are transformed and should fit to the GPS track. (You can now fine tune the entire setup by redoing this operation.)
If you want to, you can _GEOGRAPHICLOCATION the entire drawing again to have the Bing Maps basemap fit accordingly.
Now, you can export the Drawing as SHP with _MAPEXPORT and import it into QGIS. The drawing is now at its correct location. I'm right now at optimizing this process that drawing elemts that belong to each other are exported as an entire feature... I will update this answer when I found some appropriate solution so that this answer can be called "completely".
Here are some links that helped a bit in finding my way through this Odyssee:
Best Answer
(Assuming you're using ESRI software) Your best bet is to use the CAD to Geodatabase tool. Open the search window in ArcMap, type in "CAD to Geodatabase", and when tool pops up follow the prompts. It will create a feature dataset for you in the GDB of your choosing. Inside it you will see all your CAD files. Just know that working with CAD in ESRI software is a constant battle.