cleaning up exported images so it cuts nicer?

[flambore 0]

Hi,

  I have a number of files that were exported from apps like autocad, etc.  They cut ok from my cutter, but not as nice as I would like.  For instance, to make a rectangle with rounded corners, it should be able to just cut that in one pass.  Instead, it skips all over the sheet, cutting a line here, a line there, then come back and round off this corner, then do something else, then do another corner, etc.  The problem is, the stickers don't weed properly.  The corners sometimes catch.  It's not a knife depth thing so much as all the skipping around.

Is there a way in illustrator to merge all the lines into a single object (does that make sense what I'm asking?)

any advice would be appreciated.

thanks,

Frank