We have lots of large format scanning and file conversion jobs going on in our cad conversion shop this week and as usual our scanning and raster to vector conversion experts are going full steam ahead. One of our more interesting jobs this week is the scanning of hundreds of old construction drawings to bring into a CAD system for update. It occurred to me that it would an interesting topic to discuss just how we here at Cad/Cam perform the scanning and cad conversion process.
Scanning
The process starts with a high quality scan. The only large format scanners we use to scan work for raster to vector jobs are 4-camera scanners. Image quality is everything here. If two lines are muddied up and appear as a single line how can our drafters know they should be separate? All of our R/V scanners sell for ~ $28-30,000. Once we have the best scanned raster image possible, we rectify the image to make sure it is aligned correctly, scaled correctly, and rectified to make sure it measures correctly on all axes points.
Cad Conversion
We use several different methods to convert drawings into CAD. Sometimes we use heads up digitizing, sometimes we use commercial R/V software, or sometimes we use our own custom written CAD conversion scripts and software. We use the method that provides the best end result CAD conversion for our customers. We’ve spent years refining this process. Again, one process does not fit all. If you need 100 drawings converted, we might do 30 one way, 30 another, and 40 a third way. There is a learned art to this CAD conversion process. On large ongoing projects we even set up dedicated teams who work only on one project throughout the entire year.
Quality Control
All work is checked by a different member of our drafting department. Our staff shifts to keep the drafters and checkers fresh. All are experienced with a minimum of 3 years of CAD work. We guarantee our work to be 100% correct, 100% of the time. No exceptions. No excuses.
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