Scanning Paper Drawings

See scan2cad.

I have done conversion of paper plans to DWG for years. I use Autodesk Raster Design that runs inside AutoCAD. There are two methods I offer my customers.

Method 1 is to use Raster Design to convert the entire scan to a DXF file, then save that as a DWG and give it to the customer who then uses their own inhouse CAD staff to clean up the DWG to get the proper linetypes, text styles, layers, etc. For this straight conversion I charge $40 per sheet.

Method 2 is use Raster Design to convert the scanned file to an accurately scaled and sized background image that I then trace over using all the correct linetypes, text styles, dimension styles, layers, etc to create an accurate, well structured 2D DWG file. For this I charge $35 per hour. A typical architectural plan, 24x36 or

30x42, will take from 10 to 20 hours depending on the size of the structure. Residential plans are usually faster than commercial buildings. Obviously, the more detail in the original drawing/picture equates to more hours to create an accurate DWG file.

There are no software packages out there that do a one click, one button conversion of a picture to a vector (CAD,DWG) file that will have all the correct linetypes, layers, etc.

Daryl Stockton

Yes it can be done. The scanned image would have to be georeferenced and then saved in .dxf format which can be edited in AutoCad.

Gordon, The drawings Bruce needs converted will not need georeferencing since they do no have anything to do with any geography, topology, or site work. You should probably read the entire thread before answering questions that have been answered much more completely already.

Daryl